6 days to go

Well Its the week, that everyone loves and hates in equal measure. The last week at an employer.
I have had a couple of reasons for not blogging recently and mostly they are down to health, mine and other peoples.
I have had a persistent stomach ache for the last 5 days, which to be fair, was not pleasant at all. Like a stitch but with more pain. The doctors still think its a muscle twinge but its not getting any better, although I am able to cough now without tears forming in my eyes with pain, so it must be getting better I guess.
We also had a death in the family. We were actually present at that moment they passed away, it was horrible.

But away from personal reality for just a second, I'm at work I have 6 days left at my current employer, which is the reason for this blog. The last time i saw morale this bad was in the RAF after the  first set of redundancies in 1994. It seems that whilst I was away there were some choice words amongst the team, which has not done anything except assist a lot of the team to make a decision that its time to get off this train.In fact the more people I speak to , the more want to leave and this has more than justified my own decision to leave. There are other factors but I cannot legally disclose them yet.

I read a blog this morning, about dream jobs and following dreams .Chasing dreams is like climbing a mountain, the feeling when you get to the top is like nothing else. Some will stay at the top and enjoy the view, but unless you can see the next mountain to climb, the only way is down.

 It occurred to me that after achieving what I set out to do in the RAF, I had achieved the goal I had set, I had reached the summit of my mountain. But now I had got to where I had set myself I didn't know what to do. I was just floating ( enjoying the view), and this indecision effectively made me lose 2 years of life, I may have lost more but I had nothing to aim for and didn't set myself realistic goals, which probably was a sign that I would leave at my 22 year point.

This article made me realise that I was back pursuing my dreams with goals. The other thing that struck me is that at the interview stage with my new employer, we were already discussing career progression but with time frames attached , so I now have goals with my new employer. It motivated me because now I know there is progression available and a new shiny mountain has appeared. It has pitfalls , and probably lots of traps , but there is a path, that has been trodden before. Hopefully those people can give me guidance on how best to navigate this path to help me get to the top of my next mountain.

If you ask any members of my family why I chose to apply for this job they will not get it, especially my wife ( she doesnt like heights). I would say I am pursuing short term pain for long term gain. Yes OK I will be away 3 or 4 nights a week potentially, but within 2 years I could be working in Leeds and could commute.

When I researched my future employer and their interview process on the internet, it said that more people get into Harvard university than are successful getting through this process.(i did mention this in my previous blog, sorry)m but I have done that,I got through. So the message of the day , do not give up, have faith in yourself, confidence in your ability and ensure it shines through at interview.

The other thing to learn is that once you have achieved a goal dont enjoy the success too long, its time to look up at the next mountain.