Maybe its not timing

Timing, it’s a simple term that’s generally referred to as an alignment of the stars to reach an objective. That moment might involve financial freedom, being emotionally ready, an opportunity to escape or perhaps finding love. The idea of perfect timing to reach an objective is encased in whimsey, its fanciful, it’s a daydream and that makes it dangerous.

Maybe it’s not timing at all that we mean. Instead, what we seek is having the will power to push past the notion of ‘being ready’ and just taking the leap. Accepting we are strong enough to overcome the risks and challenges if we choose the unknown path. Maybe we need to make that choice and we then become ready. Maybe it’s the cart before the horse.

I reached that point on Friday 17th of December 2021. That was the date that I drew a line. I decided I could not continue down the road I was walking. After twelve years in banking, eight years of being a homeowner and I was single and childless. I needed more than a break; I needed a life change.

I had done all the right things hadn’t I? I had worked hard, I saved my money and paid my debts, I went to the gym, and I was honest. There was no reward. I had been overlooked for jobs that went to a less qualified man, I had been made redundant, I purchased a car from a dishonest car dealer and was now out of pocket with an unreliable lemon, I changed jobs only to end up working for a horrible manager. All the while I watched others lie, cheat, and succeed.

I made a point to be someone who was there for their friends and family, only to find at the most vulnerable time of my life when I needed surgery to investigate cervical cancer, my best friend and my family were not there for me. I had spent my thirties being loyal to a job, friends and family who were not loyal to me.

But this is not a story of poor me.

This is not a moment of pity and despair.

This is an awakening. The date was December 17th, 2021.

I had caught a cold a few days prior and had some days off work and a COVID test, etc. It was in these days that I realised I would do almost anything if it meant I didn’t have to return to that job.

I started researching job vacancies, only I found something better. I stumbled across a website for a recruitment agency that specialises in remote Australia job opportunities and no experience necessary. Middle of nowhere, minimum pay jobs that had live in accommodation and almost no expenses. In Australia the minimum wages are not so bad if there are minimum living expenses. This allows workers the opportunity to save money; if you can work in the middle of no-where, in extreme heat and some rough living conditions. Maybe some dangerous weather, wildlife, and difficult travel.

Maybe I’ll be cleaning toilets and, in my time off I can explore remote beaches or wilderness, to work with new people and travellers, to live a simple life and read books, swim and to get some much-needed life education.

So here I am. Its 1st January 2022. I am unemployed, packing my belongings into storage, renting out my house and my flight is booked for 23rd January 2022.

Where will I end up? I don’t know. I can’t apply for jobs in the north until I am in the north.

My plans are not a fantasy. They are booked and paid for.

For the first time in my life I don’t know where I am going, and this is a motivation and peace I have never experienced before. The future looks bright, it looks difficult, and it looks like growth.

This is my year.

The first lesson I’ve learnt; it was never about timing.