Don't Just Look At What. Look At Why. More On Transitioning

One of the interesting things about having transitioned into a life where work is still a component but not the major component is the difficulty others have in conceptualizing what you are and what you are doing.

The issue comes because when you work (or at least when I work), I am fully engaged in that work. It really is not any different than when I worked full-time. So the people who are still working full-time conceptualize you in that way. But then one (me) goes off for weeks at a time traveling. How do these same work acquaintances conceptualize that? Well they do it by fitting it into a box that is recognizable. They say, "You went on vacation."

Except I don't conceptualize myself as "going on vacation". For one thing 'vacation' implies, 'escape', 'getting away', not working, recharging, etc. None of those things really apply to my travel life. I am not 'escaping work'. I work because I like to when I am not traveling and it funds my travel. I am not 'getting away' from work. I frequently work when I travel via phone calls and emails and I find that totally fine even stimulating. Travel the way we do it is very demanding in its own right, so I can't say I'm 'recharging' to go back to work. Though I will admit that I come back from our trips feeling very sharp and acute.

In my own mind, there really isn't a whole lot of difference between when I'm at home and mostly working and partially traveling (planning), or when I am gone and am mostly traveling and doing some work. It is just my life.

So I got to thinking, why is that? Why do I feel like these really aren't all that different when others see them as so very different. I started to look at the reasons why I like these two components of my transitioned life so much.

What do I like about the way we travel?

• We explore and constantly get exposed to new things
• I get to do all kinds of planning
• We meet all kinds of interesting people
• I am put in a position where we need to problem solve and get positive feedback from successfully doing that
• I am constantly learning
• I feel that I am continuing to grow

So what is it that I like about the work I continue to do?

• I constantly get exposed to new things
• I get to do all kinds of planning
• I meet all kinds of interesting people
• I am put in a position where I need to problem solve and get positive feedback from successfully doing that
• I am constantly learning
• I feel that I am continuing to grow

When I looked at it that way, it was this AHA moment. Or maybe I should say DUH moment lol. No wonder I don't feel there is a great difference. From the standpoint of why I like to do these, they are the same. It's just that one creates money and the other uses money.

So as you consider how you might be transitioning, keep in mind it's not what you what you think you want to do, it is why you want to do it.