Reflecting on Goals and Success: Remote Year Month 4.
I wanted to write this 10 days ago but didn’t have the time. I told myself I would make more time to write but then somehow writing dropped down on my list of priorities. For me, as it stands, work comes first, building a side business comes second during the week, exploring the city (or side tripping) comes second during the weekend, getting some type of sleep comes third, and writing somehow ended up fourth. I keep having this feeling that experiencing everything around me is worth more than documenting it. Somehow I’ve ended up with fewer pictures of Marrakech than I thought I had, but I think that’s okay. It’s important to be okay with how you spend your time and I’m getting more comfortable with how I chose to spend mine.
As I wrap up Month 4 of Remote Year, I have a lot of feelings. I feel that I am changing, in the sense that I am becoming much more comfortable with myself and confident in who I am. Although the community I have around me is what makes the experience so incredible, I do feel that the experience is worthwhile in it of itself. The opportunity to figure out how to work remotely, travel the world and learn about the different cultures and business environments is so unique. I was about to get on the phone with a friend from home recently and he said “When are you calling? I’m bored.” Back home, I wouldn’t have thought twice about his sentence. It’s a common phrase. But in that moment, I realized that in the last four months, I have felt a lot of feelings, but boredom has not been one of them. There is so much constantly happening around me that I don’t have the chance to feel bored. I don’t mean to say that everything is perfect, because it isn’t, however, it really isn’t boring.
When I left Toronto, I hate to say it, I was bored. My friends from home are awesome, work was good, I loved my apartment, but I was so comfortable in the life I had that I stopped enjoying it fully. It often felt as though life was simply passing by with me as a passenger. Here, I am such an active participant. Almost every day holds something new. Be it exploring the Medina, going to a Hammam, eating a Tajine, working from a rooftop, learning to surf, stepping into a beautiful Riad, riding a camel, learning something new about my roommate of the month, there is so much variety in my life. The crazy part is that each month, I get a whole new set of adventures. Each month I have the chance to live differently but taking what I’ve learned the last couple of months to make the experience even more enriching.
Over the past few months, I’ve started to think more deeply about what I want out of life and out of a career. Being surrounded by people with such different professional backgrounds and life experiences has made me question the conventional definition of career success I had at home. Before leaving, a goal of mine was to be one of the youngest female partners at Monitor Deloitte. I felt that I had the drive to push through the crazy hours, travel and stress to make it and be great. The thing is, taking a step back, I don’t fully understand what the rush was all about. Does it matter if you become a partner at 31 or 34? What happens if you aren’t one of the first in your cohort to achieve something? The more time I spend on Remote Year the more I realize that life is not just about achieving goals. Life is the path to accomplishing those goals. The goal in it of itself is achieved in a single passing moment but all the experiences that led up to that moment are the wonderful thing we call life.
Before leaving, I was 24 going on 34, I wanted to be older all the time. I felt that becoming older would give me a greater sense of credibility. The thing is, I kept aiming for the impossible. There truly is no way to age faster than one day at a time (unless you can time travel, have some magical powers, etc. but I don’t have these and I don’t know anyone else who does). So by wanting to speed up the process, I was losing my days. Now, I feel 25 going on 25. For the first time in a long time I am enjoying my age. I am happy to be 25. Accepting my age has meant that I no longer try to take the drive-thru lane through each day, but instead, walk in to place my order. I sit down and enjoy whatever it is I have chosen for that day. My days are worth so much. One day I will be 34, but when that day comes, I will be full of all these memorable days behind me. The days leading up to my mid-thirties won’t be a blur of drive-thru orders and eating in the car. The days will be plentiful experiences, enjoyed to the fullest.
I thought I was going to do Remote Year for six months and head back to Canada. I thought six months would be enough of an experience to set me apart on a resume but not so long as to lead to a setback in my career trajectory. After four months, I can’t picture having only two more to go. Last week, I spoke with my mentors at Deloitte and had another six months approved. Knowing I have eight more months ahead gives me pure joy. It doesn’t matter if I don’t make partner as fast, but it matters that I continue learning how to make the most out of my life. I know that the skills I am learning will make me a better leader, enabling others to better manage uncertainty, change and appreciation.
I’m not saying every day is going to be great, because some days, be it on Remote Year or anywhere else, are not good. We all have good days and bad days, great moments and awful moments, that said, relishing in those opportunities to feel our daily life is such a gift. No matter what you are doing right now, think about one thing you are going to do today that you will remember next week, maybe next month and hopefully next year. Make your days count, because each day of your life is worth so much.
Adieu for now!
For those that are reading this, whether you are family, friends, colleagues or someone that stumbled upon this post, I hope my blogging is interesting to you. There is more to come, so if there is anything you want to know more (or less) about, please feel free to comment below!
