Pollyism of the week
Apparently people are quitting jobs left, right and centre here in New Zealand because they have no work-life balance. Nice idea, but looking at it practically, I’d have no bank balance, so I’ll stick to work for now.
A friend of mine is a teacher in her late 20s. She’s smart, funny, sassy and gorgeous. Her fiancé is a mountain of a man. He’s 6’6’’ and 140kg. He’d been a builder since he left school and just wasn’t content. For some time he’d been feeling he wasn’t fulfilling his destiny – his job was OK, but it wasn’t his passion.
He said to her one night, “Babe, I’m not happy in my job. I really believe there’s something out there for me, but it’s not being a builder.”
He waited for a lecture, I imagine, about paying bills and being grateful to have such a fabulous trade.
But she didn’t give him that lecture at all. Instead, she looked into his eyes and said, “Babe, if you’re not happy, then take some time out to really think about what you want to do. If you want to go to uni, then go to uni! If you want to do a course in something completely different, then take a course! You should be happy in your job. There’s no use waiting until you’re old and then decide on what you want to do, when it might be getting harder to adjust. Do it now before we have kids. Go out! Discover the world of choices and find what makes you happy!”
A few weeks later, after doing his very studious, extensive research on all kinds of jobs, courses and options from A to Z, he came back, sat her down and with a big, happy smile on his big, happy bearded face said, “Babe, I know what it is. I know what I want to be!”
My friend sat next to him, smiling up into his big, happy face, and said, “What, babe? What do you want to do?”
He replied, “I want to be a forklift driver!”
She looked at him with loving eyes and said, “Good on you, honey bunny! If that’s what you want to do, then that’s great!”
He went off and got his training, and now he’s living his dream. He’s now a happy mountain of a forklift driver.
I love so much that he wanted a job that made him happy, and so thrilled he’s marrying a woman who understands her man and the importance of feeling content. That’s work-life balance and I believe that teacher and that happy forklift driver will be together forever. Seems they’ve got their balance and loving support of each other pretty much nailed.
‘Babe, I know what it is. I know what I want to be!’