I've realized that for the last 10 years or so I've kind of been a loner. I work alone 80% of the time. And with so much communication done by email now, some days it feels like I hardly talk to anyone.After leaving Advertising, I needed some downtime. Daily life there was pretty chaotic. I was majorly stressed and on overload. There was a particular person at the agency that made me absolutely miserable and I had to leave or I knew I would lose it. So I made a sudden move to my current position. And life suddenly got a lot more quiet.
My once merry-go-round world got real confined, real quick.
Even at home I feel alone. My husband works odd hours and a lot of the time our schedules clash. And sometimes even when he's home he falls asleep early, so I feel alone.
My kids live in different towns some distance away so we hardly see each other. My friends all have kids and lots of family activities which keeps them pretty busy. So I can go for months it seems before I get to see anyone beyond my daily existence. And let's face it, life can end up pretty routine. We get stuck in our wake-work-family-sleep cycle and forget that there is life beyond that.
So being alone a lot leaves me a lot of time with my thoughts. And most of the time I think my world feels pretty small.
As a kid I was pretty shy with strangers, and sometimes in a non-work related environment I still feel like that shy girl. I'm not sure why, as a general rule I feel pretty confident that I'm able to talk to almost anyone and make a connection. But when I'm unsure of myself, I retreat inward where it's safe.
But now, in this new phase of my life, I'm ready to shake it up again. I've had a chance to re-group. To re-think my goals, to remember what I'm passionate about. And I'm ready. Ready for some new interests, new challenges and new people.Going to my networking group has been really good for me. It gets me out there and involved. It makes my world seem bigger. It makes it feel like there are endless opportunities at hand. It reminds me that life should be filled with passion and experiences. And it gets my wheels turning, ideas are coming to me at all hours. Ideas that finally seem within reach. So all I have to do now, is stretch.
