I have been in the corporate circuit for 12 years and have enjoyed my stint there in every aspect. I have always enjoyed my work and the good and the bad aspects of the corporate ladder.
Unfortunately, last November, a restructuring decision of the last company I was working with, left me searching my next assignment since then. I think I just need some time to figure out what I want to do. I’m still in the settling phase in my mind, my job hunt is on. I don’t know when I’ll get a job of my own choice to start with. Only time will tell.
My “break” that I’m in’ the last a few months turned into this perpetual state of happiness. There are few other noteworthy lessons I’ve learnt these past few months. Saving money is easier when you don’t have a choice.
When I earned, I spent it, knowing that every month end I’d get a salary. In fact, I felt justified spending it because I worked hard for that money, why shouldn’t I be able to enjoy it! All these years, I can’t even imagine what I used to spend my money on. When I buy things now, I know my husband can pay for it at any time. It’s all about priorities. So I prioritise saving whatever money I have.
Shopping compulsions can go away
Since my outings are now limited mainly to the supermarket and the occasional visit to the mall or meal with friends and husband, my daily outfit consists of a tee and jeans. I no longer stare aimlessly at my full closet every morning saddened by the fact that I have nothing to wear to work that day. I don’t get tired of wearing the same thing.
I believe my shopping compulsion previously had a lot more to do with my routineness at work and needing to something that made me feel good about having to go to work—buying clothes for it. Once in a while, I’ll buy a few things, always at a good value. And if I come home feeling like I spent too much money, I will always go back and return it.
Eating and sleeping are important
This sounds like a no-brainer, but this is the biggest lesson I’ve learnt in my corporate stint so far. When I was working full time, I ate poorly and slept little. I ate poorly because I didn’t have a lot of options., I never had time to cook with peace of mind.
I slept little because the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was sleep. I wanted to watch TV, read, talk with my husband, my parents, my friends – all the things that work deprived me of. I was determined not to let my weeks go by in a haze of wake up, get ready, go to work, get ready for bed, and do the whole thing over again. Now I eat well and listen to my body when it tells me to go to bed and wake up. I can’t blame my routine for my bad mood now. I can only blame the way I’ve treated my body.
There’s never enough time.
I now have enough time to do everything I ever wanted. I’ve started going for walks, started using our facility gym and started to write and read too, something that I’ve always craved for. I’ve also developed a habit of cooking every day, something I was never used to.
There has to be a line between work and home.
By far, this was the hardest lesson for me to learn. I’m not a workaholic. But I found it difficult to stop working. I didn’t want to be away from the computer. The wake-up call came on my own. My husband never complained, but I had started to get bored of my work. I consider myself lucky that I’m financially stable to don’t have to have a job for the month-end salary. But now I realise that since I’m unsocial by nature, so being forced in a work environment where I had to interact with people daily was good for me.
Things always work out. We adapt and we find ways to get by. It’s just whether or not you want to. When I find something I really want to pursue, the sacrifices in my unemployed days become very easy to make.
Sreyashi Kochhar
**All the photos are from Google Images
I quit my job 8 years ago and I have been freelancing for 6 years now. It is challenging but very fulfilling. I get to do my own creative projects that I do not think I would be able to do if I was working full-time.
nice to know you’re enjoying your break from work! frankly speaking i would love to be able to stop working and just take a long break to reconnect with myself. but… i also can’t let go of the financial stability of my monthly salary.
It would be nice to be able to catch some break after working for a long time. I guess this turned out to be a blessing in disguise since you ended up learning a lot of lessons in life too! I’m sure you’ll be able to find a job soon, but for now, enjoy life as it is!
There are times that we need this kind of break in order to realize that there are better things waiting for us. I love the lessons that you have here. It’s really nice that you were able to realize these things despite the fact that you had to lose work in order to learn them. I hope you’ll take it easy on yourself once you find work!
I’ve been in the corporate world for about 18 years now and maybe in 2 years, I might try a different route. I guess it’s really a hard time when you adjust to a new situation.
That’s a great post! I’ve been in corporate too and left it to be on my own. It is one of the most difficult decisions of life. No one will give you money at the end of every month. If you go on leave, you have to pay for it! Entrepreneurship is indeed a difficult ladder to climb which many don’t realize…
There really is so much lessons to be learned once you got out of your usual daily grind and take a break from it. As if seeing it from the eyes of an outsider, you’d realize that while it does bring food for the table and all that stuff, there is also many a number of lessons to be learned while in between jobs. I am in the same boat at the moment, but I left the corporate world some few years back in order to be a full-time mum. Although, I do not earn on a regular basis these days, I also get to enjoy more stuff that I never get to do while working, including being with my son 24/7 and providing for his every need. Those are priceless precious opportunities that I would not trade for the highest-paying job in this world! 🙂