In a recent Daily Reminder I wrote about how I'd dug out an old career change workbook to discover, to my surprise, that the dream I'd written down had actually come true.
(Albeit a couple of decades later.)
And something else I stumbled upon in that workbook is too good not to share with you. Again, to set the scene, this is when I was on the cusp of leaving my career as a surgeon, 20+ years ago, because I was hacked off with how much of my life it was taking over.
The remit was simple enough: Write a poem about your career.
I've always been more of a prose than poetry person, so I didn't really fancy my chances, but it looks like I got out of my own way, because what ended up coming through 30-something Giles wasn't half bad!
My Career
My career is odd, it is
It started here, with much a fizz
And if you look at how I felt
(back then, when all I'd do was help)
You'll see I thought I knew it all,
To be The Boss - walking tall!
Curing ills, the famous blade
“Look at him, he's got it made:
The car, the house, the kids, the wife
Why surely that's one happy life?”
But all these treasures have a price
To sell your soul, it isn't nice
Outside there's still the happy grin
While all that's good rots from within
Helping others? Help yourself!
You've left your values on the shelf
Time cuts through you like the blade
“Oh heavens, what a mess I've made!”
So now it's time to start again
Pick it up, look closely, then
Make choices that you know are true
You're further on, you know what's you
Strength is needed. Yes, it's tough
To change it all, start in the rough
But this is what you'll leave behind:
Your life, your works, your peace of mind.
I've always maintained that this juncture in my life was the first time I really started to realise the inside-out nature of things on some level – that all the ‘stuff’ and the ‘success’ didn't actually equate to peace of mind.
And here's the evidence!
💟
Giles
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Giles P Croft
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