14 Comments

In general, whenever I see that a post was written by a guest, I tend to skip them.

But something led me to read this one, and I'm glad I did! Great story.

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author

i make sure my guest posts are top notch!

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Oct 26Liked by Paul Millerd

I hope I can conjure this mindset! I have 6 months left in my sabbatical and I don’t feel I’ve changed my thoughts or beliefs too much.

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i dont think its about changing mindset as much as getting to know what works for you

for me, I still dont think i could "go back"

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Thank you for sharing Tom’s story. He beautifully describes the power of slowing down and the value of working with a coach to change your way of being around work.

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Really enjoyed this one. Don’t want to do it, mind you, but I do like the idea that reality is all what you make of it.

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This is interesting and well-written. I have a lot of admiration, and probably envy, for folks who manage to transform their mindset around and relationship with a previously shitty situation.

This year I also returned to an old line of work out of necessity. The more I've tried to reframe my relationship with it, apply what I learned from the time working for myself, practice gratitude, etc, the more I have come to resent it. For a while I thought it was a failure on my part to be grateful and shift my perspective. Part of me still does. But I think I am just not wired for that model of working or living. Every cell in my body rebels against it, day in and day out. I dread it viscerally.

Finally I decided to just savor that dread - to use it as fuel and not let myself slowly corrode from in the inside out. It's looking like I'm a few months away from being able to return to my preferred manner of living, and that day cannot come soon enough. Tigers and stripes, I guess.

Still, I really admire this perspective and am happy that Tom had the resolve and maturity to shift his mindset. Pretty cool story. I signed up for the e-book, and there's some great stuff in there.

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author

For sure - I think this perspective is one that's not told enough and keeps a lot of people from experimenting with space.

I am VERY much like you, however. I am no longer wired for FT employment

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Yeah, I'm glad you shared this. As you mentioned in another comment we need more dispatches from the other side.

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Is he still working in the bank now? His LinkedIn profile suggests he is only doing the coaching.

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I'm so glad that you shared this story and perspective. We tend to see grandiose stories about life at the extremes (extreme success or extreme failure) but the "a little off-center" tales are far more common, relatable and believable for most.

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author

Yup. I’ve tried to get some to talk about it. But many don’t want to share once they go back to work.

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Why is that?

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Employed folks less likely to share doubts about work

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