Beer Belly Career Blues

"Beer Belly Career Blues" -- That's the title of this week's CareerMoments newsletter from Pilot Workplace Advisors. The newsletter, which really does just take a moment to read, says:

Your physical health and your career health are more closely related than you may think. Among middle managers in one study (Roberts and Friend) workers with career momentum were over 50% more inclined to engage in healthy life habits than those who reported that their careers had stalled. Maybe an unhealthy lifestyle could be your first tip off that your career is floundering. Maybe getting fit can help get your career back on track. It sure can’t hurt! Take great care of yourself- and your career.

I don't know about the beer belly part, but I sincerely believe that this study's findings have merit. Over the past several years, as I tried to make the jump to fulltime writership, I was very bad to my body. I often felt like I would never be able to advance in my career (which for me, meant quitting my job). I had little time, motivation, or energy to exercise or practice healthy habits. Of course, part of that is due to the fact that these things have always been hard for me. Plus, I was spending WAY too much time at a desk -- 8 hours at work and then more time in the evenings for writing.

I went picnicking and hiking with Allyson yesterday and seriously felt the pain of several sedentary years. I'm so sore today that I cringe walking down steps.

But I feel like I have a new lease on life now. Being my own boss is great so far. (Okay, so it's only been two days, but still!) I plan to use this big life change to treat my body right. It's amazing how much more energy and pep I have just in the past few days. And a pair of aching thighs is just a reminder to be better to myself.

[Okay, funny aside: I initially typed that last sentence to read, "And a pair of aching things is just a reminder to be better to myself." Ha!]

For more fun picnic photos, vist Ally's blog.

All I gotta say is...

...that it's 1:30am Sunday night (or Monday morning, if you like), and I'm not in bed and I'm not even worried about it.

I didn't have to wash clothes for work tomorrow.

I didn't have to work all weekend to finish the article that's due at 5:00 on Monday. (Although, judging by the current state of the article, perhaps I should have worked all weekend. But the point is, there is still time.)

I'm a night owl and now I don't even have to try to hide it and wrestle it into submission. It's 1:30 in the morning and I'm still up doing work because that's what I chose to do, darn it. And there will be no early-morning-alarm and working-for-someone-else to bother me. (But there is that pesky article... which may drag me out of bed earlier than I'd like, but still...)

So all I'm sayin' is, I quit my job and now I'm my own job.

I'm just sayin'.

hee-hee!

I Did It!

I quit my job on Friday.

Well, I gave my 30 days' notice. So starting June 12, I'm a free agent. Literally.

I suppose I should have more to say about such a monumental decision, but I'm actually a bit tired of talking about it. I spent so long talking about whether or not to do it, when to do it, oh-dear-what-if-I-do-it-?, that I'm worn out.

So I've done it. Let the adventure begin.

Magpies and Tongues of Fire

I have been struggling with the idea of quitting my day job to focus all of my professional energy on freelance writing and editing. I even quit once last winter only to have my home equity line of credit fall through and force me to unquit a few days later.

Every time I make plans to quit, something goes wrong. Most recently, it was our tax return, which ended up being half what we thought it would be. It's clear now that there will never be a good time to quit, only better times. Now is as good a time as any. And James thinks that I should just go for it.

But I'm scared.

And then I have a flash of inspiration and decide to take the plunge.

And then I get scared.

You can see the pattern here.

I think about this incessantly. I pray about this a lot. I talk about this ad nauseum.

I'm tired of the whole thing.

I look for signs to tell me what to do, and then I ignore them. Or rather, I embrace them, then I think about the money situation, and then I ignore them.

A few days ago I was reading a letter from Linford of Over the Rhine, and one line just got me where I live. It said:

"A good life: Believe in what you do, and do it."

Two parts here. First, believe. Second, do.

I went downstairs and announced that I was ready to quit. (That's when I went over the financials one last time and chickened out.)

My day job is not a bad job. But it does not feed me. In fact, it wears me down. It makes me feel like less of myself. Thus, I hate it. Even though it's not a bad job.

I was reading the Superhero Journal today and she wrote, "Sometimes I feel like I've lost my mojo." Amen sister.

She went on to explain a game she plays with the dictionary: "I discovered that I could meditate for a few minutes on an issue or question, open up the dictionary at random, point to a word, and find my answer." She calls this game Magpie, which is the word that came up when she asked where the answers were coming from. (In the comments section she explains that in Native American folklore, the magpie is the messenger between the two worlds. Interesting.)

I'm all about looking for answers and signs. But I also think that they should come from God. But I'm game for a game involving words and random questions. So I got a dictionary, silently asked "When should I quit my job?" and opened up the pages. The answer?

Pentecost.

Pentecost is the seventh Sunday after Easter Sunday. This year, Pentecost falls on June 4. Which means, if I gave my month's notice by next Monday, I could be done by Pentecost.

Hm. Pentecost. A sign? From God?

Pentecost marks the day when the Holy Spirit descended on Christ's followers, after his ascension.

Acts 2:1-4 says, "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."

This image of rushing wind and tongues of fire. And the ability to speak in new tongues. It's so powerful. Those people must have felt that their souls had been scrubbed clean and empowered. They must have felt so alive.

I long for a Pentecost of my own. I feel so flat inside. Could this be God's way of telling me to take a leap of faith and to trust him?

Five Guilty Pleasures

There's a "Life's Simple Pleasures" tag that's been going around. Hannah, my blog fried by proxy (via Allyson), has suggested a Guilty Pleasures tag. Always one for some good, clean guilty pleasures, I'd liked to volunteer for the initial post.

Five Guilty Pleasures
1. 80s music (also see #6 in the list of weird things about me.)

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Dawson's Creek, and Angel

3. Oh-so-many really-good-tasting, really-bad-for-you foods (which is a really great guilty pleasure, since you need to eat to live; it's like a bonus!) There's just not enough space to list them all.

3. Bottled water (the guilt comes in when you factor the cost)

4. Advice columns (like Since You Asked and Dear Prudence)

5. Playing hooky

And I'm tagging:
Hanna
Allyson
Jess (since you have no blog, you must post on mine)
David