Work Life Balance?

[Al Fowler]

At the moment running comes first even in exam time but come university time im not to sure. Lucky for me i guess that my course and sport will be the same though

Nah, uni still gets put last

[Pilgrim]

Having just had a long chat with the mum of a friend of my daughter, I'm now thinking of going back into driving instruction. I did it for six months on a trainee license about ten years ago and really enjoyed it... it even paid for flying lessons. Unfortunately I didn't pass the final test that time and didn't have the money to start the process over again. Plenty of potential customers in Carlisle and the Lake District...

[Duncan R]

Hey good man OLLI, v good to read the content, fantastic to read how you feel, I reckon that attitude of yours is everything, nurture it. Life is simply too short to waste living on someone else's terms. Fear is just an acronym, False Expectations Appearing Real, be interested to hear what your goals are, what work intrigues or draws you & where you choose to go. I still believe that opportunities are out there if we are open to them.
Good luck OLLI, keep us informed & go well on OCT...

[Rainbow]

Interesting thread-a matter close to my heart.After working stupid hours in my 30's and becoming increasingly depressed and demotivated by hum drum life,I ,also, decided that I wanted to run more and work less.The break up of my marriage a coup;le of years ago acted as a catalyst to change.To work less ,I needed to spend less.I do not now own a car and choose to live in a touring caravan(I'm in Skegness-lots of campsites!)-cheap rent,no council tax=less work!
The lives of the new breed of US trail runners provided inspiration-people like Anton Krupicka and the Skaggs brothers-who live to run-and often have unconventional living arrangements(Krupicka living for a long period in the back of his car).It was a scene reminiscent of the 70's yosemite climbing scene and the surf bums-people living for a passion ,often on very little incomes.
In march I traveled to Mexico to compete in the Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon(featured in the book-Born to Run).I had the pleasure in meeting Micah True(El Caballo Blanco).The guy lives to run and only does the minimum of work in order to live in the canyons.The Copper Canyons-being beautiful and cheap certainly help this'
I returned even more determined to live the dirtbag lifestyle.Its not for everybody-its a simple life-and no new kit every month!!I am currently working 4 eight hour days a week and plan to try the winter in Gran Canaria-staying in a tent on one of the free state run campsites,living a super basic life and doing lots of running and relaxing!!
I love these forums-not done alot of fell running -but am supporting my twin brothers BG attempt at the end of June.Happy Running folks!

[Clive]

Another great one Rainbow, to make me think!
Wonder if one life live it knew what he started with his first post.
Keep them coming, all fantastic +ve mind blowing stories and ideas and free thinking.........

[mr brightside]

A thread and subject that is very close to me at the moment.

I have hated my career for about 5 years now. I ended up doing a job to pay the bills 10 years ago and then as the money got better and better it became harder to give it up, what with 2 kids to feed etc. So you understand where I am coming from, I am a health and safety consultant and have serious issues about where health and safety has been heading. I am not a risk averse person but the industry is nowadays, so I have to more and more often give advice I don't actually believe in.

For me it's not simply a case of I hate my job and so I can find another one it's a case of hate the career full stop and want to start again. But I'm 40.

I looked at all the 'give it up and do a job I want to do' (working in the outdoors or with animals) options but increasingly found that those types of jobs are very very competitive and very badly paid and frequently require years and years of expensive re-training too.

I know money isn't the be all and end all but a certain amount of money is important to me. House prices are horrendous (especially here), mountian bikes and road bikes and trainers and kit and event fees and fuel travelling to do stuff are expensive when added together. I do quite like to go skiing too. I didn't holiday for 15 years when I was a broke single mum and so I don't really want to go back to that point.

So I am in a sort of in no-mans land at the moment. I gave up my full time, well paid job last September and became self employed as a consultant, technically, just so I could justify on my CV the time out, but I'm not actually doing any work right now. I've just been trying to de-stress and figure things out. I have been lucky my husband could afford to support us all over the last months. But we can't sustain this and I need to be bringing in some money.

I've been offered a job back in the same profession I've done for the last 10 years. But I don't know what to do. I feel guilty about the thought of giving up a well paid career. Not fair to my hard working husband and a sense of failure in myself. Perhaps feeling selfish that I want to be happy in a career when most people just put up with their careers for the money (so my family keep telling me).

Yet the thought of returning to the job fills me with real dread. I don't know if I can do it.

Unless i can think of something else to do with my life I will end up back in that career. But I don't know what else to do and I feel guilty about the thought of giving up a well paid career.

Sorry, just had to get all that off my chest, so to speak.

Well done onelife.

Health and safety winds me up too. On the wall of our workshop we have a blue 's' for safety divided up into days of the month, every day without an LTA someone has to come down and colour in that day's box with a blue felt tip pen, waste of someone's time.

Re-training doesn't necessarily mean more college and studying, i'm an electrical engineer but i applied for my apprenticeship as a mechanical engineer so technically i'm in a trade i didn't really apply for but the money can be circa 30-40kPA for a process control technician on shifts. I don't want to do shifts really so am i wasting my time? hell knows. A lot of employers will employ people rather than qualifications, i'm always looking for interesting little vacancies that would require no experience such as a porter in an auction house, Sainsbury's delivery driver covering the dales, job outside with the NT doing whatever. I check the jobcenter website daily and do a search for all types of job, now and again stuff just pops up.

[ZootHornRollo]

reckon I've got the old work-life balance right today, with a day off, and what a glorious day

off to the train now to Lancaster and on to Foxfield, walk to Broughton, pint at the Manor, hitch a lift up the valley to Seathwaite .... freedom, bliss ...

[Flopsy]

Flopsy
If you are set up as a consultant then surely there must be an opportunity for you to give advice you do believe in, for someone to start giving out sane advice.
Make it your mission to help people through and round the risk averse crap that we all hate so much.
could be a real USP

Sadly I have tried but so many clients are contractors and they have to jump through ridiculous hoops to get the contract. I give them advice based on sensible risk management and then they fail the assessment becuase they haven't done enough. Then they lose the contract.

Then there are the insurance compaines poking their noses in demanding ridiculous levels of safety or else they refuse to insure.

I believe people at work should be protected from death and injury where possible but nowadays it is just a theoretical paperwork exercise run by people who haven't got a clue and want to remove all risk, which is nonsense.

Drives me nuts.

...see, I'm getting cross just thinking about it

I get well paid but is it worth it for the damge it does to my sanity?

[Brotherton Lad]

Drives me nuts.

...see, I'm getting cross just thinking about it

I get well paid but is it worth it for the damge it does to my sanity?

This sounds like the old-fashioned definition of dis-ease. Can't be good for you.

Obviously, every job has elements that you don't like or agree with, but when it's the fundamental premise that troubles you, then that's going to cause you major problems.

Looks like this fascinating thread is launching a thousand mid-life crises!

[daz h]

A thread and subject that is very close to me at the moment.

I have hated my career for about 5 years now. I ended up doing a job to pay the bills 10 years ago and then as the money got better and better it became harder to give it up, what with 2 kids to feed etc. So you understand where I am coming from, I am a health and safety consultant and have serious issues about where health and safety has been heading. I am not a risk averse person but the industry is nowadays, so I have to more and more often give advice I don't actually believe in.

For me it's not simply a case of I hate my job and so I can find another one it's a case of hate the career full stop and want to start again. But I'm 40.

I looked at all the 'give it up and do a job I want to do' (working in the outdoors or with animals) options but increasingly found that those types of jobs are very very competitive and very badly paid and frequently require years and years of expensive re-training too.

I know money isn't the be all and end all but a certain amount of money is important to me. House prices are horrendous (especially here), mountian bikes and road bikes and trainers and kit and event fees and fuel travelling to do stuff are expensive when added together. I do quite like to go skiing too. I didn't holiday for 15 years when I was a broke single mum and so I don't really want to go back to that point.

So I am in a sort of in no-mans land at the moment. I gave up my full time, well paid job last September and became self employed as a consultant, technically, just so I could justify on my CV the time out, but I'm not actually doing any work right now. I've just been trying to de-stress and figure things out. I have been lucky my husband could afford to support us all over the last months. But we can't sustain this and I need to be bringing in some money.

I've been offered a job back in the same profession I've done for the last 10 years. But I don't know what to do. I feel guilty about the thought of giving up a well paid career. Not fair to my hard working husband and a sense of failure in myself. Perhaps feeling selfish that I want to be happy in a career when most people just put up with their careers for the money (so my family keep telling me).

Yet the thought of returning to the job fills me with real dread. I don't know if I can do it.

Unless i can think of something else to do with my life I will end up back in that career. But I don't know what else to do and I feel guilty about the thought of giving up a well paid career.

Sorry, just had to get all that off my chest, so to speak.

Well done onelife.

very good post flopsy