Not long ago, I left a staff
position at a large association that I’d held for 13 years and took a
management position at a small nonprofit. I had stayed in my previous position
due to many externalities related to being a married working mother and longed
for a change. The new position was one that I’d said I’d hoped one day to hold
on my graduate school applications. The career move changed my entire life, but
left me wondering if it was for the better.
I’d previously worked about 40 hours a week, commuted two hours daily, and completed two graduate classes a semester. I ascribed to a philosophy of yin and yang—as I understood it—and counterbalanced work and studying by the equal and opposing physical activity of training for and running my third half marathon. However, my training plan and fitness level were modest. In my new position, I worked about 50 hours a week, commuted up to 3 hours daily, and completed a single graduate class a semester. As the pace of the job sped up and the months flew by, life got out of balance as I found it difficult to get back into a fitness routine and fended off minor stress-related physical problems. At my lowest point, after a difficult day at the office, I sprained my ankle getting up from the couch, and after sitting on the couch another month to recuperate, I could barely walk two blocks without getting winded.
I've greatly enjoyed the ups and downs of running and multisport. I originally started running to lose weight. Then I ran for various other reasons...
Reasons Why….
- I run because it’s a back-to-nature experience and I enjoy seeing the local ecosystems change with the seasons
- I run for the endorphins
- I run because I want to give it another season
- I run because it allows me to run away from my stress at the end of the day
- I run because it wakes me up in the morning (if I can get up to run!)
- I run because it allows me to review my class material
- I run because I think it might reduce migraines (of course, there’s no proof, but it’s motivating!)
- I run because I want to tri
I'm ready to ponder the central theme of Joanne Ciulla’s book, The Working Life: The Promise and Betrayal of Modern Work (2000), which focuses on the meaning of work, it's place in our lives, and leisure. Send your muse my way because that's the topic of my next paper.
