Stress Fracture

Time does heal all wounds. I had so many...Perhaps it is because my old job is 4th on the list of the 10 most stressfuljobs (per moststressfuljobs.com)

Nope, I’m not a surgeon (#1) or a pilot (#2). Having someone’s life in your hands is understandably stressful. #3 is a photojournalist. Taking pictures in war zones with bullets flying by your head would get my adrenaline pumping.

So, what could #4 possibly be? Ambulance driver? Cop in aninner city? Fireman? Try again. It’s Advertising Account Executive. Now, I’ve risen in the ranks and am at a Director level but the point is the same. Burn and churn. Run as fast as you can. Work really late hours. Ad people generally look pale and have dark circles under their eyes. It is because they are utterly and completely stressed out for no reason. We’re not curing cancer. We’re not documenting war crimes. We’re selling you crap you don’t need on inhuman deadlines. And its only gotten worse since the economy has tanked.

Every new project felt like another 10 lb weight on my shoulders. I was a joyless ember on the verge of extinguishing.

So funemployment came at the right time. After taking careof myself and having some fun, I’m on my way back. I finally feel inspired. Not about working at an agency but about anything OTHER than working at an agency. I’m thinking about the next step. What I could do that would make me money but would allow me to have a life, some flexibility, time to live. Time to myself. Time to exercise. Time to do what I feel like I'm alive, not on a treadmill running back to back marathons. Even stress fractures heal. They just need time.