Whether you’re a Veteran who has just started a new civilian job or a military spouse trying to maintain a career despite yet another PCS, sometimes it feels like all of your challenges boil down to one: Keep all the plates spinning (and in the air).
It seems like it should be enough, this focus on sustaining what you already have. There’s a cyclical quality to it that’s almost hypnotic (or maybe you’re just really that tired). Find a job. Keep the job. Get to work on time. Negotiate for what you want. Pick up groceries (eat less take-out). Find a work/life balance. Maintain relationships. Get more sleep… Some days the plates manage to keep themselves going, but more often than not, it’s a real challenge to keep them in orbit.
When you are working hard to sustain your life professionally and personally, it can be difficult to remember what you really want and what it might take to get there. While there’s nothing wrong with focusing on the essentials that make up your daily
life, sometimes those so-called essentials aren’t enough. You can find yourself feeling tired, burnt out, uninspired, and unmotivated.
If you are checking the boxes on your essentials (have the job, do the job), but find yourself wondering why you still feel like something is missing in your professional life, you are not alone. You may be wondering if you’re in the wrong profession altogether. Maybe that’s true—I can’t answer that particular question for you.
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Over the past few years, I’ve started to notice something about those plates and all of the spinning that I do. The more I focus on keeping them moving at a heady pace—no matter the cost—the more I stop remembering why some of those blasted plates are in the air at all.
Attend the Things
By: Emilie Duck
(Photo by Vincent Cornelius) Used in accordance with CC Attribution 2.0 Generic.
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