2023 will be the 6th year since I left the workplace, the 6th year since I turned my hobby into a career, and the 3rd year since I started my own business. During these more than 2,000 days, I was initially driven by the anxiety of freelancing, but later became driven by inertia. I put work first, dare not miss any opportunity, and gradually become a self-disciplined work machine in the eyes of others. However, this year I found that work no longer brings me enthusiasm, but endless consumption.
I tried to perfectly combine emotion and business. This was my ambition when I started my business. But unfortunately, I failed. Until this summer, I saw a sentence: "Career, hobby, and career are completely different things." At that moment, I seemed to have found the source of my long-term pain. So, I decided to turn my hobby into a hobby and my business into a business.
If there's one thing I did right in 2023, it was getting out there again and again.
In the spring , while traveling and working in Hong Kong, I met a friend I had known online for more than three years. We lived together for 7 days and had deep conversations. When we left, we signed a five-year deal. At that time, for the first time, I had a vague vision of the future: who I wanted to be and where I wanted to live in five years.
During the summer vacation , I went on a business trip to Xiamen, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou. Along the way, I conducted interviews, held events, and met many new and old friends. The creative enthusiasm that had gradually disappeared in the three years since starting the business has returned.
In early autumn , I moved to Liangzhu Cultural Village on the outskirts of Hangzhou with a friend I had known for seven years. I began to step out of my own little world, build real relationships offline, and feel the warmth and sincerity between people.
In late fall and early winter , I began living in Europe for a month to explore whether the digital nomad lifestyle was right for me. Within a month I was in Vienna, Budapest, Salzburg and Prague. In a completely unfamiliar cultural background and language environment, I felt like a puddle of water flowing freely in different scenes, and like a baby observing everything happening around me with innate curiosity. The closed and repetitive life of the past three years gradually faded away in my mind, and I deeply realized that there is more than one path in life.
One day, I sat by the lake in Salzburg and asked myself three questions under the snow-capped mountains. First question: In a few years, do you want to be one of those successful role models? My answer is: I don’t envy them, and I don’t want to be them. Second question: What is indispensable in your ideal life? I think of it as intimacy, healthy relationships, work that I recognize, and peace of mind. The third question: What is the worst result of giving up everything you already own? That is to spend all my savings and go back to work, just like the question I asked myself when I left the workplace 6 years ago. This time, I once again got the answers that guided my life.
Goodbye, a rough 2023. Thank you for teaching me to let go of pain. In 2024, I am ready to face new challenges and opportunities! Dear readers, what unforgettable experiences and insights have you had in the past year? Feel free to share your stories in the comments section.
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