A Change is (soon) Coming

Hi all:

I have mentioned a few times that I am planning some changes. I am leaving my job by the end of March. Yes, I know it’s not the best time to leave a job. But…

“There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing”. (Aristotle)

Why am I leaving? There are a variety of reasons, but I’ve found this reflection by Steve Jobs that gets to the heart of it:

“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.” (Steve Jobs)

I’ve made some changes to my life in recent years. I moved to the UK now many years back, I studied psychiatry and worked in it, I decided to leave it and studied American Literature (BA and PhD) and came back to psychiatry for a few years. More recently I’ve started publishing my books (I’ve been writing for many years but it was never the right moment. You know how it is). I loved studying Literature. I’ve always loved books and reading, and it was a fantastic period of my life, even though I had to do locums and work during my holidays. I have loved some jobs, or to be more specific, some periods at some of my jobs. But since taking up writing more seriously, the gap between what I’d really love to do and what I do everyday has become more evident.

And so, as Mark Twain says:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails.  Explore, Dream, Discover.” (Mark Twain)

Image courtesy of Dominic Harness / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’ve tried to do what in Spain we call ‘to swim and keep an eye on your clothes’, to have it all: security and adventure and do what I love. It doesn’t work. Maybe there are more important things.

“What’s money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.”  (Bob Dylan)

I hope that applies to a woman too. (Don’t worry. I only need to look after myself and have no dependants.)

After all, the definition of success is personal:

“Success is falling nine times and getting up ten.” (Jon Bon Jovi)

And:

“He has achieved success who has worked well, laughed often, and loved much.”(Elbert Hubbard)

I think I need to laugh more. See if I manage.

“You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.” (Christopher Columbus)

I hope you come with me!

Thanks for reading and if you fancy liking, sharing or commenting, don’t let me stop you!

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Some quotes I’ve collected over time but most of them come from Brainyquote.com. I leave you a link for your inspiration.

Links:

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_future.html