Now retired, I sure didn’t always do this daily balancing act well. It was a difficult one to master at the best of times. Especially when work involves travel and was dictated by unpredictable events and demands. In aviation, I mean experiences like accidents and incidents, and the more unusual, like the closure of airspace by the volcanic eruptions in Iceland in 2010.
The maxim: “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life” can be a deceptive little ditty. That’s because time travels incredibly fast when busy and working at interesting problems.
What advice would I give to my younger self? Learn to say “no” in a smart way. Don’t let pride or guilt, those testy emotions, influence too much. And don’t let others use them against you.
Additionally, jobs with responsibility do have unpleasant and mundane aspects. Say, someone’s performance appraisal didn’t go well, or the budgetary forecast were way off or the advice you gave was based on flawed assumptions. These situations happen to everyone. The message is don’t take this baggage home if you can avoid it.
John Vincent 