GOWI: Getting On With It
Lots of times in life we have to do things we don’t want to do. Initially we don’t have the inclination to see it through. I learned that we shouldn’t complain.
This is me. I was 5000 miles away from home with my newfound family. Actual family, I just hadn’t spent anytime with them in the last 20 years.
I’ve never liked long car journeys. Fort Worth, TX is about 4.5 hours away from Austin on the MegaBus — a journey I dreaded.
I did that journey twice. Four times to be exact, accounting for return journeys. While spending 18 hours on a coach sounds horrible (it was), I did it anyway.
I realised a long time ago, the more you procrastinate on a task or the more you dawdle getting up in the morning — the harder the task becomes.
Yes, I didn’t want to sit on that bus for 18 hours spread over 4 trips but I made it worth it.
On the first trip, I met Vishruthi — a first year at UT from Dallas studying electrical engineering, she was going home for Labo(u)r Day weekend. We talked, exchanged contact information and are now close friends despite my return to the UK.
I made the best out of bad situation because there was no other way to go about it.
I learned this trait because I used to work in a golf centre. It was early starts, often at 6:30am. That meant waking up at 5:30am. I usually went to bed around 11:30pm in those days, much earlier than I do now and I used to get anxious about waking up early.
I nearly called in to say I was unwell countless times before my shift. But as I endured through the anxiety, I became more accustomed to the early starts and routine of being as quick as possible.
Towards the end, I used to get up at 6:10am because I knew I was going to hop out of bed and in the car by 6:23am. Yes I was that precise. Gave me 5 mins to drive to work and 2 mins to open up.
That’s besides the point.
I learned a habit to not hit the snooze and get on with my day.
I (and most of us) have nothing to complain about. We’re millennials doing degrees that will boost our employability prospects and live stress-free.
The reason this is important is because I have been feeling unwell recently. My stomach isn’t sitting right, I’ve had trouble with my digestive system. But I still had a job to do this morning, go to work.
I love my job, it’s challenging and I thoroughly enjoy being a part of a movement to end modern slavery, facilitate better energy solutions and stop cyber warfare. It was a job made for me.
I needed to remind myself of this today because I really didn’t want to go in and suffer for 8 hours. I managed to keep myself busy and I was productive.
Sometimes we don’t want to do things because they’re hard, they take a long time or we can’t be bothered. Today I needed that reminder that I have everything to be grateful for and I should use my opportunities more effectively whilst they’re still here.
No-one is perfect after all, we all forget where we came from and why we do what we do.
Tomorrow I know I’ll be up and ready to the conquer the day because I love where I am and where I’m going.