BootsnAll Travel Community

I have been at my job for over a year and a half. I love it--my coworkers are fairly pleasant, my boss is easy to work with, they're flexible (they let me work 4 longer days, and a half day on Friday), and I'm thinking about promotions and increased responsibility and I take pride in my work.

My mom might say I'm becoming an adult.

However, the bad thing is, I'm so busy with work, that when I come home, I barely have time to do my extensive marathon training (running, lifting weights, yoga, cross-training) and socializing, and tend to forget about how much I love to travel. I haven't left the country since Feb and haven't even figured out my next trip. I plan on (eventually in a couple years) going on a really extended trip, but wanted to take a mini-trip of three weeks or so in April. I can't decide but I don't have time to decide, it seems. While I love my job, I seem to forget about my love for traveling, which is stronger.

I guess I'm feeling conflicted. Does anyone else feel twisted between their love for traveling and their job? Does anyone sometimes forget about it in the midst of promotions and meetings and performance management and such?

Yeah. Since I was 15, I lived for travel. I'd plan for 9 months, travel for 3, then do the whole thing over again the next year. That is, until life, work, rent, and career goals appeared after college.

Now, if I get 2 weeks away it seems like a miracle.

I love my life and wouldn't trade it for, well, the world. But I desperately miss losing myself in exploration, feeling the rush of culture shock, and the thrill of planning new adventures.

As Carrie Bradshaw says: can we really ever have it all?

I tend to do it all in cycles depending on what opportunites provide themselves. With a good job I might spend a few years working and being a weekend warrior in the mountains. Then, I may find a break in work and spend time traveling which wreaks havoc on my physical conditioning. Only to come back and work part time and spend my time training for expeditions. It´s all good. You just have to take advantages of the opportunites in life as they present themselves. There is nothing wrong with just working and ultra marathoning for a while.

I always feel this way and can completely relate.

I think it's great that we have so many options, really I do. But, I constantly feel like I always am making or having to make a decision-work, travel, school, personal relationships. I know I put it on myself. But I agree with the other poster to take opportunities as they present themselves.

I tend to feel this way alot of the time, but agree with halfnine.

Make the most of your current set of circumstances, and in the end, you will continue to find ways to quench your wanderlust.

quote:

Originally posted by cherie:
I have been at my job for over a year and a half. I love it--my coworkers are fairly pleasant, my boss is easy to work with, they're flexible (they let me work 4 longer days, and a half day on Friday).

Considering how much people vent about NOT having these things in their jobs, it's good that you've stopped to realize how lucky you are. Many would give anything to be in a job situation they could describe that way. So, I'd advise hanging onto it as long as possible and work your current travel around it. Weekend trips, making sure to use holiday weekends for getting farther away, and saving up vacation days for a long trip.

If you love your job, that's not really something to give up, unfortunately. Everyone has to work, and not enjoying it is an awful way to live.

That said, my thinking is to try to get more time off for other things you love. Maybe next time the subject of a raise comes up, try to negotiate an extra week of vacation instead. If you have something in mind, you could also ask about taking some unpaid days.

So, no, I don't think neglecting your other passions is the right thing to do, but giving up a job you love isn't a good plan either.