No matter what phase you’re in right now, when you get to where you want to be, you’ll look back and miss something about the life you have in this moment.
ONE OF THE THINGS I MISS MOST ABOUT HONG KONG ARE MY GIRLFRIENDS.
I miss our giggly coffees and philosophical chats, and that feeling of being able to be all the parts of me at once, from the super silly to the super serious.
Well, I finally got a much-needed dose of girly goodness last week – I am back in Hong Kong after 15 months in Hawaii.
On my first night here, Sara and I had one of our typical marathon chats into the wee hours of the morning. We talked about how different life is compared to 15 months ago, the things we love about our new lives, and the stuff we miss about our old.
I was telling her how it hasn’t been entirely easy adjusting to the life of a stay-at-home-mum, that while I love spending this time with Bailey and know that it is so very, very precious, I miss being busy with my therapy practice and psychology teaching and social life.
I told her what’s kept me ‘sane’ is having wise women talk to me all day long, through the countless podcasts and audios and TED talks that I’ve been tuning in to. I told her that, ironically, I’m feeling more inspired and juiced up than I did when I was seeing clients every day. I’m overflowing with love and inspiration but don’t have any coachees to give it to! (I’ve actually had a little breakthrough recently on how I can do my heart-work virtually, more on that soon…!)
Sara, looked at me and said, “You know, I would LOVE to have some of that! I would love to have time to soak up inspiration, and dream, and learn, and chase ideas down rabbit holes. But by the time I’m done with work, I don’t have the headspace or energy to do any of that!”
And then she said it, 3 little words that we ALL need to hear:
It was a total ‘aha’ for me. What felt like a compromise to me was an ‘if-only’ for someone else.
HERE’S THE THING. NO MATTER WHAT PHASE YOU’RE IN RIGHT NOW, WHEN YOU GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO BE, THERE’LL PROBABLY BE SOMETHING ABOUT THIS PHASE THAT YOU’LL REALLY MISS.
Whether you’re single and wish you had someone to snuggle up with at night; or you’re in a relationship and wish you had more freedom.
Or you feel like you won’t be complete until you have a baby; or you’re a mum desperate for some quiet time for yourself.
Or you’re at the start of a new venture, and things are moving slower than you’d like, and all you want it to be busy and productive. Or you’re at the opposite end, up to your eyeballs with work and success, but you just wish you could shed all this responsibility, bum around, and answer to nobody but yourself.
IS THAT NOT THE ULTIMATE SECRET TO HAPPINESS? TO NOT NEED HINDSIGHT TO KNOW HOW GOOD WE HAVE IT RIGHT NOW?
So, here’s my question for you:
WHAT ARE 3 THINGS ABOUT YOUR CURRENT PHASE IN LIFE THAT THE FUTURE YOU WILL LIKELY MISS?
Hold these 3 things close to you heart, love. There’s no greater tragedy than not enjoying the tiny blessings we have right here, right now. Because nearly everything in life is ‘just a phase’.
