There Is No Plan...

I read an interesting piece today called Is 'Follow Your Passion' Bad Career Advice? and it gave me pause for thought.

I hear many people bemoan their jobs and wish that they could follow their 'true passion'. But what is that? Are we sitting around waiting for our passion to 'arrive' or do we need to go out and 'get it'? And how do we know what 'it' is anyway?

I am a passionate person. I feel and express things I believe in strongly and can become slightly addictive about the things I love to do. And over the years, I have been surprised to find some of these passions change. Strongly held opinions suddenly seem less important, replaced by some other perspective or tempered by time or a particular experience. Other times, they just drift quietly away.

One of the things I have always believed is that you get one shot at this life - and along the way, stuff happens. The good, the bad and the ugly - relationships and jobs, friends and viewpoints, and even circumstances - arrive and wipe their feet all over my metaphorical welcome mat. Some are polite and considerate, others barrel in with not much more than a cursory stomp on the threshold. And when they leave, it is with alacrity or nonchalance or something in between, leaving their impressions and their impact behind.

So the whole notion of 'following my passion'...like a well-thought through career plan...feels a bit at odds for me.

I remember being in an organisation in my 20s, formed to promote networking amongst young Australian women embarking on their business careers. One of our founding committee members was telling me about her career plan - to be working for this organisation and to be in this and that role by such and such a time. She was so passionate and unyielding in her commitment to this plan. Part of me admired her conviction. But part of me reeled back in silent disbelief. What about life and all of its unexpected twists and turns, the anomalies it sees fit to deliver?

The article I read speaks specifically about career but for me, career is not something separate. All of the different things I do - work, play, rest, relationships, wellbeing - are intertwined, with yours truly as the common denominator. So I think the lessons quoted in the article apply to life in total. Things like making excellent mistakes, persistence trumping talent and making an imprint.

And the point that rang most truly? That there is no plan.

There is no way of knowing what will really happen so embracing uncertainty and making decisions based on our fundamental beliefs - for me, the opportunity to contribute and make a difference - is likely to stand us in better stead than all of the best laid and well-reasoned plans.

And bringing my passion to the things I do and decide often results in these very same things taking on a surprising meaning for me. So when I stop being vocal, when my passion seems a little dimmed and my natural enthusiasm is on the wane, it usually means that a change is on the way...

...and that the current plan has gone out the window.

So how about you? Do you have a plan?

Sheepish...

I am perturbed people. Seriously perturbed.

With Christmas fast approaching and a trip Down Under on the agenda, it goes without saying (but I shall say it anyway) that I am looking forward to embracing all things festive with loved ones in Oz this year.

You know, the Christmas Day feast, either a BBQ or a seafood selection depending on whether we are at Mum's or Lil Chicky's.

The annual Stocking Sprint - or who can open all the small, ridiculously over-wrapped presents in their stocking first, thereby spoiling the 'surprise' element of each piece of tat gift for everyone else.

Or the Festive Forage otherwise known as where will Husband of Lil Chicky hide random pieces of Christmas wrapping at Mum's place and how long will it be before she finds them.

Yes I am confident that these traditions will resist our continued path through adulthood the test of time as well as Mum's desire to have a clean house/stop staying up til all hours wrapping teeny tiny presents.

But there is one tradition unique to Melbourne that really brings out the big kid in me, the 5-year-old who presses her nose against the window in wonder (okay maybe my nose doesn't exactly touch the window any more but you get my drift.)

The Myer Christmas Windows.

Every year, the windows of the Myer Store in Bourke Street Mall pay tribute to the festive season with an animated display of fairytale movement and magic. The crowds, young and old alike, line up and file past the windows, ooh-ing and aah-ing at Cinderella, The Nutcracker, The Night Before Christmas, Santa Claus is Coming to Town and many other well-known storybook worlds.

But this year, things have gone awry in a big way.

This year's windows, unveiled last week, pay glittery homage to...

...Russell the Sheep...who has apparently saved Christmas.

Who is this interloper?

What on earth happened to Rudolph and his shiny nose?

Only 33 sleeps to go til I can investigate for myself. 

Stay tuned peeps, I'm on the case...

Film Favourites...

It's Sunday again here at Gidday HQ and after a month of on-and-off work travelling, I am looking forward to being at home for a few weeks. Today I've done the washing, vacuumed and cleaned, and even popped out to replenish my lately depleted stock of vegetables. I have plans to cook some favourites: there's a veggie stir fry, a warm Mexican chicken salad and some sort of pasta on my culinary horizon this week. 

It's brisk and cold out today and right now I'm curled up on the comfy couch watching You've Got Mail. It's one of my favourite films. I have watched it so many times and yet I still well up when Kathleen closes the store and Joe's 'bouquet of freshly sharpened pencils' brings a smile to my face every time. My favourite line is when Kathleen's wise old friend Birdie tells her that closing the store is the brave thing to do because she's daring to imagine life without it. It's such a beautiful sentiment and really strikes a chord with me. 

Yesterday was a different kettle of fish. It was grey and damp after the overnight rain yet the prospect of being indoors all day was making me feel restless. So I hopped on the bus just after lunch and headed down to the Odeon Cinema at Swiss Cottage with Skyfall in my sights.

I'm not what you would call a Bond fan. I have seen a few, enjoyed a few and have Sean Connery firmly placed on The Best Bond pedestal. And I've had my doubts about Daniel Craig's iteration of the world's most famous spy.

Not any more. Skyfall was brilliant.

For two and a half hours I was glued to my seat - from the opening chase and the strains of Adele's thrilling Bond theme right though to the closing credits. Javier Bardem may just be the best Bond villain ever and Ben Wishaw's Q is brilliant as the world's coolest gadget man. The story shines, the stellar cast sparkles and Craig has finally won me over.

A fellow blogger has bemoaned the similarities between this and Batman: The Dark Knight and while there are some parallels, there is a richer story than such a simple comparison offers. I'm not one for issuing plot spoilers here on Gidday From The UK - suffice to say I would recommend you avoid finding out what happens and just enjoy the journey. In the meantime, I have been left in a state of excited anticipation, wondering what this brave new Bond world will bring. Bring on number 24 I say!

And on top of all of that, I have 'discovered' Swiss Cottage - well the intersection where the cinema, tube station and bus stop all congregate...

THE Swiss Cottage at...Swiss Cottage

Seems to me that that's a weekend very well-spent.


ps...speaking of weekends, I heard on the radio this morning that there are only 5 weekends left until Christmas. That makes it sounds really close. Let's stick with the sleeps to go thing shall we?  So that would be 37 sleeps to go. See? Plenty of time really...

Travel Broadens The Mind...Worrywarts

I have been a bit of a travelling wilbury of late, meaning much mile-high consumption of a vast range of reading material. Audrey's had quite a workout but with the rules being what they are, there are about 20 minutes per flight when, after dutifully switching her off for take-off and landing, I wonder what to do with myself. And that's when BA's business:life magazine comes to the fore.

There's been a bit of a change in format with the latest edition and I'm not sure of some of the new 'regulars' (rare earth metal of the month being the most random). But you'll be pleased to know that the fascinating facts are still there so I'm delighted to bring you this latest edition of Travel Broadens The Mind.

This post's theme has been inspired by the pessimism of the British. Amazingly, in this nation of worrywarts, one quarter of Britain's HR Executives have no formal policy to manage employee stress and anxiety.

It's a big problem. British workers have a lot to contend with on a daily basis. I mean did you know that they lose 10 million individual socks each year?

I wonder where all of the lost socks go. A lot seem to disappear in my washing machine, odd socks finding their way into my basket without their significant other. Sometimes I find a rogue sock ensconsed in a trouser leg but some seem to have disappeared for all eternity. business:life reveals that there's a fair bit of clutter in the average UK attic - £2,800 worth in fact. Gidday HQ doesn't have an attic but does have a cellar - do you think they might be there?

In the meantime, what should one do? I'm not sure about wearing odd socks so should one buy all socks the same so that they can be re-paired with new matchy mates? It's quite a conundrum. Particularly since 1 in 3 UK women hates shopping for clothes. (For the record, I'm in the two thirds.)

Maybe it's best to take a rest from the issue at hand altogether. Not only does a holiday sound like an excellent plan but by getting the destination right, you can actually avoid sock-gate altogether with a range of sandals, slides and flip flops thongs (unless you are a socks and sandals kind of saddo gal/guy). But it will likely take you 9 days to get back into a work routine after returning from holiday so all of those HR executives will have just a little bit more to worry about.

Just goes to show what goes around comes around.

But it won't be long before the stress-o-meter will be up again - at least for the 14 million families in Britain living with unfinished home improvements.

Because let's face it.

There's nothing like an un-done to-do list to give you something to worry about.

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Travel Broadens The Mind - Back Catalogue
...Let's Play!
...It's A Virtual Life
...The Euro Zone
...All About The Readies
...Flights Of Fancy
...Or So They Say