Think outside the CUBE(icle)

I think it's fair to say the majority of us have to work at some point in our lives. For some people, a job is just a means to live the rest of their life and they're not too worried about what they do. For other people, a job may define who they are.

I'd say I'm somewhere in between. While I understand work isn't everything in life, I often throw myself into whatever I do and can find it hard to switch off when I leave work. I generally write notes or a 'to do' list when I'm at home for when I get back to work the next day and my 45 minute commute to and from work generally consists of thinking about what I need to do when I get to the office or what I didn't get done during the day. I've been known to work very long hours and definitely don't get paid overtime.

When people ask if I like what I do, my response is "no, I hate it". Without going into detail about my job, I consider it soul-destroying. All my education and training in the past has geared me for a job to help people, but in most cases, I'm not.

So why don't I just get a new job? If only it was that easy. The problem is that I've been in my job for a few years now so although I hate it, I'm comfortable. I know what to expect on a day-to-day basis and I'm one of the longest serving employees in my department (due to the nature of the industry, there's a very high staff turnover). The thought of learning a new job and being the new kid again is daunting. However I consider it would be worth it if it was a job I really wanted to do.

That's my problem. I have no idea what I want to do! About 6 months ago, I had a bit of a breakdown. I'm not usually one to turn to self-help books, but I guess I knew I needed something so I headed to my local Borders store and found The Anti 9-5 Guide. I started reading it as soon as I got home and immediately connected with it. Unfortunately, due to life taking over, I only made it half way through the book and 6 months later I find myself in the same job.

For anyone who is feeling lost or have no idea what you want to be when you grow up, I 100% recommend this book. It's an easy read and I think everyone could relate to this in some way.

Now I need to finish the book, work out the job of my dreams and reclaim some work/life balance!

Are you working your dream job? Or do you just work so you can enjoy the sweet things in life?

Love is a Battlefield!

It's taken me a while to get to the 'love' post, mostly because I really didn't know what to say or I wanted it to be profound. So, I'm just going to keep it basic.

People say love is the greatest thing in the world. Isn't it ultimately what everyone wants in life? I mean sure, a great job, a big house and fun holidays are great, but isn't love what it's all about. Having someone to share the ups and downs in life. To hold, to laugh with (or at), to cry, to have secrets with.

To be honest, I wouldn't know. I've never been in love. Or even close. Yes, there have been boys that have come and gone, but no one special.

I am pretty much the only single person left out of my group of friends and family. Most of my friends have been in serious relationships since school so when it comes to talking about meeting people, they admit they have no idea how to do it. I have a close group of friends and we all grew up together, so I know most of their friends, and even their boyfriend's friends. The option of finding love with any mutual friends is pretty much out of the question.

One of my goals this year is to fall in love. I know that might sound crazy because you can't force love but I figure if I put it out to the universe, I might just get lucky.

How am I going to find love? I have no freaking idea! If I knew this, I probably would have found love before. But there are a couple of things that I will try to do that just might help:

• Be more open to who and what my friends suggest - they will sometimes say they know someone "and he's the nicest guy" and I automatically say no because blind dates are just not for me - yes I've tried it and it was tragic!!
• Flirt more! I want to flirt with guys that I just meet on a daily basis, even if I'm not attracted to them or there's no chance anything more will happen, I think I just need to practice flirting. Plus it might give them a little ego boost too!
• Be more involved in extra curricular activities - my life is fairly routine and I really don't meet many new people. I've wanted to find a hobby to take classes or volunteer with or something that will take up some of my time (preferably something health/fitness related) and will open up the options of meeting people.

Are you in love? If so, how did you find love? Have any hints/tips/suggestions for me (and others) in finding love?

Health - One Day at a Time

Health is one topic I feel as though I can talk about forever - I guess it's one of the reasons I started this blog. I love talking about it, learning about it and discussing different opinions. Health, to me, is about making good decisions on a daily basis that lead to a healthy life. Sometimes it's hard to be 100% healthy all day, every day. But I think it's important to remember that if you indulge in another slice of cake (or the whole thing), it's not the end of the world. 

My goals for this year are to:

• Continue my healthy eating - I started eating healthy foods about 2 years ago. It's no longer a struggle for me, but it used to be. I'll go into more detail in another post.
• Run a race every month - I started running last year and I love it. I only ran 2 races last year but I love training for them and love the hype of the race and the feeling after you finish. I've planned a race every month so far except April and December because I can't find any yet, but I will!
• Play field hockey again - I started playing when I was about 9 and by the time I was 16 I was playing in 6 teams at once and played or trained every day of the week. I stopped playing a couple of years ago due to travel and picked up my hockey stick for the first time a few weeks ago and loved it. I just need to find a team to join!

And to look this good while playing.

• Keep active with fun activities and exercise - I love the kind of exercise that doesn't feel like exercise at the time. I love playing tennis, I've been kayaking a couple of times and want to get into yoga
• Go to the dentist - another reason I started this blog is to keep me accountable. I almost didn't include this in the post because I just really don't want to go, but I know I have to. I have a fear of the dentist and the last time I went was just over a year ago. The dentist told me I needed to have 3 fillings and I would need to book another appointment for this. I have not yet booked this appointment... I aim to get this done by the end of February!

If I don't go to the dentist...

• Have a check up at the doctors - I don't exactly have a fear of doctors, I have just never had a good experience. I feel they rush through things and I always leave feeling worse about myself (and not because I'm sick). I've been meaning to get a full check up for about a year. I think I'm healthy, but who knows what's going on inside! This will be done by mid February.
  
  

What are the small things you do each day to live a healthy life?

The Big 3

So here we are at the start of a new year, reflecting on the previous and planning for the coming. 2010 wasn't necessarily a bad year for me, it just wasn't a great one. I would say the one word to sum up my 2010 is bland.

Source

So naturally, I have been thinking about what I want out of this next year and ultimately I just want to be happy. But how do you get to "happiness"? For me, there are The Big 3 areas of my life that I want to improve. Of course, there is a lot more that I feel I can improve on, but to save me from being totally overwhelmed, let's start with The Big 3:

• Health - I started focusing on my health last year and started running. I lost 15kg (33lbs) but I don't feel (or look) much different. 
• Love - I have never been in love. Never even been close. This year I want to fall in love.
• Work - I hate my job. Hate. I want to work out what I want to be when I grow up. 

I'm going to delve into these aspects of my life in more detail over the next week. I'm excited to share this pursuit of happiness with the world and looking forward to where this may take me.

What are your Big 3 areas of life that you want to improve?