So the holidays are over and here we are, January 2nd 2012 with no next real holiday break in sight for quite some time. Over the past two weeks of squeezing in web design work when and where I can (mostly in 30 min segments) one thought has kind of stayed in my mind and that thought has been “ugh, can’t wait to go back to work after all this is over.” I know what you’re thinking, super lame, but honestly, it’s true and I think it’s wonderful, let me explain why.
The Wise Man
A wise man once told me a story about a time when he was on vacation with his family. He was sitting down in the lobby with his laptop catching up on some email and doing a bit of ‘work.’ He was a small business owner and entrepreneur and wanted to stay on top of things while he was out of town. Someone walked by and the wise man overheard them say “I feel so bad for that guy, it would be terrible to have to work on vacation.” Hearing this made the wise man think about his situation, he was indeed doing some work on vacation, but it also made him realize something else. The guy who passed by has made a very big assumption that work and vacation are two completely separate and opposite things — work is terrible, not fun, something to avoid at all costs. While vacation is fun, freedom, doing what you want when you want.
Different Views
The wise man immediately understood the disconnect. The man passing by assumed the wise man did not want to be working because in his experience work is dull and to be avoided. However, the wise man enjoyed his work, in fact he actually liked taking time on his vacation to sit down and catch up on his projects and put a bit of time into this passion he has found and built for himself. The wise man knew that he had already put himself in a situation where he liked the work he was doing and that because of this he was always ‘on vacation’ (as defined by the man passing by).
The Challenge
It’s really up to you how you define ‘work’ and what kind of ‘work’ you put yourself in a position to do. If you wish you could spend your time a bit differently, now is the time, fresh new year, full of opportunity. Hope this has been a bit of a help to give a push for those who are thinking of starting their journey towards creating something for themselves.
