This image was taken at almost midnight last night, unfortunately on my phone. The air had the look of a hot evening sunset back in Australia and it felt homely.
I went to grab a quick chat with my friend who has just moved back to Finland, a guy who now is no longer forced to work. The last few years he has been positioned in the UAE and he earned well enough and he is bright enough to have set his family in a very good position, one most dream of, financial security.
It took its toll though as the work, organisation and his boss were not the easiest and the job was essentially 24/7. He said he could have kept going and worked for the next step but, one or two more climbs and his family wouldn't follow and he didn't want to lose them.
There is a balance point somewhere though isn't there? Where in order to provide sone kind of security, some kind of risk has to be taken. The investment will come at a cost but the trick is knowing when enough is enough and walking on to other things.
My friend was saying many don't walk in his business. They work and keep achieving material upgrades but end up socially bankrupt, alone, worn out.
I find that these days the opportunity to even be like that is limited as more and more people don't risk anything that makes them uncomfortable. Risk by almost definition is discomfort and to have the reward, some must be accepted.
I think a lot about this in many ways and when I look backward, I know I was not risk-seeking enough when the costs of failure were much lower. The older one gets, the more difficult the recovery. As I approach 40, I umderstand why many have midlife crises as they step back, review and ask, "what have I achieved?"
Every decision has a cost. As does every decision unmade.
Taraz
[ a Steem original ]
(posted from phone )