7 Thoughts on Life, Work & Life as a Work of Art
One month ago, I moved to London from Vancouver. My current partly-voluntary hiatus from work before the new year has led me to find more time to think about how hard we work and how this affects our wellbeing.
On a personal level, I uncovered 10 learnings from my first impressions in a new city of new opportunities, networks, and experiences. Some of these insights are more so pertinent for LinkedIn as they apply in some way to our professional pursuits. I wanted to share these with you in case my vantage point can help you gain more perspective on where you stand now and where you want to go in work and in life. (Get ready to get a bit philosophical.)
1. Change is easier when you slow down.
Break big steps into little steps. Take time to process. Take time for sleep (another way to help yourself process change better and regulate your emotions).
2. Don't get caught up in the extro/introvert dichotomy.
As someone who thinks of myself as an extrovert, I thought living in a new city would be all about making new friends. I've been surprised to find how essential my time alone has been during this transition. I realize life is best lived when striking a balance between these two outlooks regardless or where you are on the spectrum. Inevitably this begins, I think, with an acute self-awareness that can only come with spending quality time with yourself. It helps you be more mindful of how you spend your time with other people to make sure it really counts.
3. Life is an existential compromise.
You win some, you lose some. The sooner you decide which battles to pick, the more energy and power you'll have in deciding your compromises.
4. Feedback is key.
I took some career personality assessments as part of a PD course I’m taking through UBC and learned that I feel most motivated at work when I see that what I’m doing has impact on others. A common way to see the impact we make is through feedback. I also learned that I prefer to not have to ask for feedback. In my opinion, feedback is a kind of sign of respect?—?from the mellowest nod of approval or thanks, to constructive criticism, gentle suggestions, or full-fledged credit, awards or large thank you’s. Next time you see someone ask you for money on the street, say something (it needn’t be a yes). Next time your colleague helps you with a project (whether you asked or not), give them credit. Go beyond just feeling gratitude for good people in your life; show them thanks. It'll come back twofold and perhaps help further motivate you and everyone else around.
5. Physical activity helps to keep us (pro)active.
Running pushes me to see new places and spaces outside - and within myself. Exercise in general, I think, just lets thoughts and emotions move through in a healthy way and get better figured out. (This has never been more true than since moving to a new city.) And if they don't get figured out, at the very least, exercise will still get you moving in the right direction. By literally moving, you start to notice the ways in which you are always moving, infinitely dynamic, always breathing and very much alive?—?even at times (and especially useful) when we feel stagnated, still, lazy, stuck.
6. Be a social butterfly - so long as you actually come out of your cocoon.
Being new to the city with somewhat erratic connections to people and places through all kinds of left-field, off-hand, random introductions, I’ve had the incredible opportunity to explore all sorts of lifestyles, groups, events, interests, and activities - but only by saying yes to things. My first impressions (and judgmental biases which tempted me to often say no) have many times been wrong. I've really opened myself up to people of a variety of ages, cultures and walks of life - from strangers on the tube, to new professional contacts, long-lost family members, or new potential friends. To my amazement, I’ve "clicked" with most of these people rather quickly and in a very sincere way, even when doing activities outside my comfort zone. Some people would think I was fluttering around like a social butterfly, but in the end, I realize it's more about being a social chameleon.
Social butterflies get a bad rep for appearing to be acting on the surface, for being shallow or inauthentic. However, as long as you remain open and honest about the things you know and the things you don't know, you can adapt to situations and always have something valuable to offer and discover - there's always something to relate around if you look hard enough. Everyone can teach us something if we're willing to learn and come out of our cocoon. Every person's story is a lesson we can apply to how we're living our life and the decisions we make in our continued evolving. Share your own story and yourself, too, for the benefit of others.
7. Life is work - and a work of art.
Balancing life and work is really about integrating them rather than separating them. Even if we slice up our days and still call it “work-life balance,” in the long run, they are one. It takes effort to live fully, and well, and to play; but in the end, the quality of our limited time here is a consequence of how hard we worked to live a good life (read that in any way you wish).
What do you think? What resonates? What's missing? Let me know below :)