Ever So Slightly.....Motivated

Earlier this year I was forced to think about what I want to do with my life. I have reached a point in my life where I have the opportunity to do something different. To change the path that I have been on and really look at where I want to be. Last year I was given the chance to become self-employed working for an organisation as a consultant. Since then I have been working for myself, on a variety of contracts, plodding along doing what I have done for the last 12 years. And frankly I have been bored out of my mind! I am good at what I do and there is a part of me that enjoys it, but there is no challenge any more. Having spent 12 years in a corporate environment I have learned an awful lot, but I have reached a point of saturation, a point where it is easy, I do it on auto pilot, dealing with the same challenges and solving the same problems. There is no fire in my belly any more.

Fate decided to played a hand in this and a couple of months ago things went pretty pear shaped, I lost a lot of work, was screwed over a little bit essentially working for 6 weeks for nothing and was left with no income and very little motivation to continue. So I took some time to really think about what I wanted for my future, and asked myself the question, what do I actually want to do? All of my life I have imagined being self-employed but never during those moments did I think I would involve business consultancy. Those day dreams were always focused around writing and art, or animals. So after some reflection, mind mapping and advice from the people I love I made the decision to make a change, take the leap and try to make a start doing what I enjoy.

Truth be known, throughout my career I have always found myself writing bits and pieces, to be honest, mostly boring stuff such as operations manuals, job specs and adverts, however it occurred to me that I have more experience than I gave myself credit for.

For the past few years I have also been writing a book. It’s a novel that I started after realising that I have many stories to tell, having been a wedding coordinator in my mid-twenties and a disastrous love life throughout my twenties and early thirties, all of which, if strung together in the right way with some intertwining sub plots and a few unique characters, makes for an interesting story (well hopefully).

There are people in my life who don't know this about me and may be surprised to hear this. There are also people in my life who haven't been encouraging, have raised eyebrows at the mention of writing a book and then there are those who know that if I put my mind to something there is no stopping me. As a first time writer it is daunting to think that my thoughts are going to be out there and that a piece of me is there for all to see, but I am a believer that you should do things in life that scare you the most, these are the things that you learn from, that you grow through and the stories you will tell when you are old and grey and living with 30 cats!

This blog is a starting point on my journey to finishing the book, growing my career in writing and to creating the life that I would like for myself and my family. It's terrifying and exciting in equal measure, but for the first time in a very long time I am excited about the work I am doing, it has ignited a passion that I didn't realise was there and has given me the motivation to get stuff done!

So on this Saturday evening I am sitting in my kitchen only illuminated by the light of the laptop, with a cup of coffee, the dog curled up at my feet, a knot in my stomach and a smile on my face. Long may it continue.