The seasons of change

“Plans are nothing; planning is everything.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34^th President of the United States

Here I am, once again. I’ve been in this spot before. The time where plans don’t work out like you want them to and I’m left changing things last minute. Hey, I’m not upset. In fact, I’ve been kind of expecting this and I actually welcome a bit of change. Too much of the same thing can be boring anyway. Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

It turns out that my job in Federal government (FEMA) currently has no more work for me now. Since my job for now is temporary in nature, they can call me down whenever there’s no more work to be done. So here I am, saying my goodbyes to everyone that has made my stay in FEMA an interesting experience. What my final role will be here or in another federal job remains to be seen. However, just because I find myself changing things up last minute doesn’t mean I’ve been unprepared. Not only have I been applying for other positions more permanent in nature within FEMA, but I’ve been applying to other government jobs that I feel I have a good fit for. Even though I make a conscious effort (now that I know better in my more advanced years) to relax, it doesn’t mean that I’m a slouch either.

Some people (myself included) can get hung up on saying their goodbyes and languishing how they would’ve, could’ve, should’ve done more during “their time.” I think their focus is misdirected in that sense. Sure, it’s nice to say goodbye to those you care about and maintain relationships that you want to keep for the future, but being hung up on a time that has now officially “passed” doesn’t do you any favors. There’s a time and place for everything and the best way to get the most out of those moments is to realize when it begins and when it ends (now known as Rule #27). For example, now that work is “finishing,” I realize it’s time for what happens to be a huge passion of mine: traveling. It’s been a while, even though it hasn’t felt like it due to meditation really helping me out by keeping my composure and calmness in the face of stressful situations. Things are different (fortunately) in that respect, and it was a huge commitment for me to improve in that aspect. It was much needed as well.

Now that for the main part, I’ve released myself (and continue to release more every day) from the worries, stress and problems that a troubled mind that’s not at peace brings, I look forward to my “new time.” This is when planning comes in handy. It gives me a focus and a set of goals for me to accomplish whenever it comes, so I’m not caught off-guard when the time comes, whenever it may be. Plans really are nothing, because what I thought was going to be a two-week vacation is now probably going to be longer than that. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I don’t know how long this vacation will last, but I can be rest assured that I’ll take full advantage of it.

Speaking of plans, I have a whole array of them right now that can keep me busy for the rest of my life. However, I will only do those that I see is the right time for. For example, I’ve been wanting to work more on this blog and improve on it for the longest now, but I knew that these past few months were not the time for it. Instead, I elected to concentrate on things such as my work, my meditation, my mental and physical well-being (since I’d still had some left-over problems as a result from the time I hit my “quarter-life crisis”). Now that for the main part, that has been handled and done, I can move on to bigger and better things. Wow, I still can’t believe how much of a different person I was even a few months ago. I was still starting to get back into shape again because my heart wasn’t yet strong enough due to more poor physical and mental stress stemming from the fallout that happened during my personal quarter-life crisis.

So now the focus goes toward a new project: blogging and social media. After trying out blogging and social media in a professional setting, I’m ready to take this concept and run wild with it. However, it’s not as easy as it seems (and I’ve been knowing this). It’s a commitment, just like with anything else worthwhile that needs proper planning and devotion (Rule #28: Easy come, easy go. If you expect something to stay and work for you, expect to devote some time and effort to it, even if it doesn’t do anything for you at first). It’s not as simple as just posting a blog. Up until now, this blog was supposed to be a side project and something that I did for fun. Now that the time has come, I’m going to try and put some real effort toward it because I want it to be taken seriously. My ultimate objective with this blog is to provide others a “lifestyle guide” that can hopefully give others ideas on what to do in life, since life doesn’t come with an instruction manual. Many of my friends (and myself at times) can’t help but be amused at the life events that happens to me that seemingly always make for an interesting story while drinking with friends on a Friday night out

Eventually, I plan to build more of an audience with my blog and trust me when I say I have PLENTY more to say. With that in mind, I ask you all: what exactly do you want to hear about? Are there any pressing issues or topics that you’d like me to address? For example, would you like to hear how I managed to travel around Europe for six weeks while having no real income at the time (during my first time there ever)? Or maybe how I’ve used meditation to bring my body and mind back from being so bad in health that even regularly-prescribed drugs from my doctor stopped working (it was until I started my training regimen that the drugs started working again, but quickly moved past that even)? Or maybe when I got hit on by a male cab driver (okay, maybe not that one)?

What exactly do you want to read about in this lifestyle guide and how do you want to make it work for yourself? Feel free to post your responses below.