Five years into my Journalism career I quit. I quit without having a Plan B. Deep down I knew I had to leave if I was going to find any balance. Do not get me wrong, there are incredible journalists who find fulfillment in their work, but I wasn’t.
It seemed all I did was work long hours and when I had time off, all I wanted to do was sleep. Relationships with my family and friends suffered. As a matter of fact, I lost many friends during the five-year period. My parents lived and still live only two hours away from the city yet I was only able to go home twice a year.
That was not the life I had envisioned for myself, so I had to step back and take stock. It became very clear that I was unhappy and my personal life had suffered.
Whatever passion I had for my work, had died during the first year in my career. It was time to reclaim my life.
In my plan, I wanted to take time-off for three-months in order to determine what I wanted. Perhaps find a job that wasn’t too demanding but fulfilling. I needed to regain my creativity and reconnect with old friends. It didn’t exactly work like that. Three days after handing in my notice, I got a job offer from a Parastatal. I took the job.
After all, the wind does not break the tree that bends!
This meant I only had a two-week break in between jobs, but I realized that was more than enough time to create a new plan. I
n this new plan, I decided to create a balanced life. One that involved exercise, work, family, and friends.
I was determined to create a balanced life for myself.
My new job allowed this, but more importantly, I projected what I wanted and worked towards it.
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