Seo muid idir an dá Nollag – we are between the two Christmases when all the days roll into one and inevitably some of us start to weigh up the year that was, and look to the new year.
The panic and madness of the last few weeks has hopefully dissipated and now we don’t know what to do with ourselves. I will be tucking in to another Christmas dinner at Mummy’s house – sure, why not?
Perspective can be very difficult to find at this time of year. Whoever said comparison is the thief of joy was on to something.
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At Christmas and new year, we sometimes tend to look inward as we review and look forward. At times like this, depending on where we are in life, and how content we are with our lot, it can be difficult to avoid comparison, particularly on social media.
You think you have a boring life, the next person might be striving for your lifestyle. The person you see as a millionaire might be living from paycheque to paycheque. Life is one big game of perspective.
Trying to gain perspective on your own life is a big challenge. It’s difficult, isn’t it? This is usually the one time of year when most of us get a break and take time off the treadmill of the everyday grind.
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This year has worked out well for many who are taking a full two weeks off. A good break, space like this often offers the chance to take a step back and gain perspective on what is working and what is not in life.
For me personally, a lot of stressful situations over the past few years have brought life into very sharp focus. I found myself talking things through with those closest to me, and came to the conclusion that I needed to at least try to move in a different direction in my professional life, because if I didn’t do it now, I never would.
When the need to change something in life presents itself, it can be unsettling. It must be how people who find themselves in a divorce or separation situation feel. We go through life conditioned to be accepting of certain things and circumstances, we get comfortable, even complacent, and changing anything in life, for whatever reason, is the difficult thing to do.
Staying is also a decision and if that is what you choose, you have to live with that too. Regret is something I have had to think about a lot in recent months.
I came to the conclusion that I needed to at least try to move in a different direction in my professional life, because if I didn’t do it now, I never would
The urge to change takes a while to understand and process, at least it did in my case. Will I regret moving on from a job that I loved to change direction? I might, but this is something I will only understand in due course.
Those closest to me know that I have been wanting to move on and do different things in my career for some time now. It was interesting to hear the views of those outside my inner circle when the news broke. A few people mentioned to me that I was very brave. I would never have described the decision as such.
Brave is protecting your child in the shell of a house with war waging outside. Brave is walking hundreds of miles, leaving all your belongings behind, in search of a better life in another country for your children.
I am following my gut. By doing so, I am also defying an ancient convention which tells us that we should stay in one job for life.
Thankfully, this idea will soon be consigned to history. Being a woman in her mid 40s changing direction in her career? That is another conversation which involves a lot of conversations about confidence and drive. I will follow up on that one.
I look towards 2025 with hope. I have many plans, dreams, schemes, ambitions. As should anyone who is trying to do something new.
Leaving Radio Ulster was the biggest decision I have made in my professional life. Change frightens us, but it also presents opportunity. Nothing changes if nothing changes. Any time is a good time to start something, to change if it feels right.
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