Unhappiness is the norm
I never really understood the extent of unhappiness seeping through Sydney until an incident 2 weeks ago and today. As someone who works with energies, I would quite rarely get glimpses of the "sentiment" around particular towns as I was driving through them but nowadays the sensitivity (or perhaps the work that I need to do on myself) is increasing and I can feel a lot more.
A few weeks ago I was out at Double Bay for their fair. I was doing some work there for a few hours. Initially I was fine, and then I started to feel anxious. I didn't know what it was. Walking through Double Bay I began to find it so difficult to breathe I was almost panicking. My bf got us to the car quickly and took me back home but I still couldn't shake off the terrible feeling I was getting - that was until I went to the park and touched a tree. That tree saved me a lot of pain!
But I digress - what this experience made me realise was that people are bloody unhappy. Double Bay has a reputation for being the suburb where many well-off people live. It's got lots of expensive stores, is right close to the harbour, and the houses and neighbourhood is immaculate and almost like a little Europe. You would've thought that people would be happy with all that money and luxury they have but no - the resounding feeling from the environment is that these people are bloody anxious, and that you could live in the most beautiful place in the world and have all the money that you could ask for and still be damn unhappy.
A similar story goes for the Sydney CBD. I've pretty much extricated myself from the CBD having left the corporate world in July. Whilst my massage clinic is in the CBD, it's more based on the "outskirts", closer to the gorgeous botanical gardens and the Opera House. Today I had to go into the city to drop off some sample packs to some of my friends. The city was full of construction works (which were noisy and incredibly claustrophobic) and a lot of people rushing around and being "busy".
When I went to the reception at two particular banks where my friends work to drop off the sample, I was met by hostility. With the benefit of hindsight, I understand that it's difficult to ask to be the "exception" to the cause of leaving things at reception to be picked up later because it sets a precedent and the reception would be regarded as a post box. The disappointing thing was that I didn't even feel welcome when I approached the desk. They didn't smile and ask how I was or anything like that, I asked if I could leave a package and they pretty much said "no".
With one, the lady was very strict and difficult to get through but by the end of it she made the exception and kept the sample for my friend. I really got the impression however that it was such a HUGE ask and a pain in the ass to do it but begrudgingly they agreed. No smile during the conversation at all and no "have a nice day" even though I told them I really appreciated it and that it would definitely be collected by my friend. The lady was asking if I wanted her to msg my friend in a manner which was like "do I really have to" and I told her it was OK as I would tell her. The one thing she did explain to me was about their policy about why they usually don't do it which I understood. One of the other male receptionists didn't even want to speak to other people who were waiting to be served and had to be told by the lady serving me to go and serve those waiting! *sigh*
With the next one, as I approached the desk, the two men just became silent and looked at me without saying a hello or anything. I asked if I could leave a package there and I just got "no". No explanation, no nothing. Didn't even try to help me out. Just plain and simple no and "try to get it to him another way". Wtf.
Initially as I left the area I was pissed off. I thought they had been quite rude and didn't think I had really done anything to deserve that kind of treatment. Then it dawned on me that maybe these people just hated their job - hated doing what they did, and I just got the wrong end of the stick. It wasn't personal. It took me back to my last few years as a lawyer in corporate. Quite frankly, I was a bitch to people. I knew it. I also knew that the reason for that was because I was in a job that I wasn't passionate about. Nuh uh - the job was crap, the money was good, but I felt like I was swimming in shit during that time.
For me, the answer was simple. To stop feeling like shit, to stop feeling unhappy, I had to change. How I felt was in my complete control, and I was able to take the next step to feel happier and better about myself by leaving the law and going into the alternative health industry. You would know that there have been days where I have been depressed in the new career as I wasn't getting clients, but I have also had really positive days where I would get a lot of clients. The main thing was this - there is not ever a time when I am doing my job that I feel unhappy. Sure there are times where I might not have the confidence to do something, but lack of confidence is not the same as unhappiness. To be truthful, I am the happiest I have been in my entire life. I have the most perfect boyfriend that suits my values to a tee and is so incredibly supportive (not to mention a great healer himself), I am surrounded by a bunch of friends who are non-judgmental and have supported me wholeheartedly whilst I undertake this new phase of my life, and I am doing what I love the most - really helping people.
How many of us can truly say that they are happy and are doing what they love? I wager that not of lot of us can say it. It's tough making a change - I know. Fear stops us from doing so many things. But I will guarantee you this - if you do decide to take the plunge and do what really makes you tick, you might just find that the grass is definitely a lot greener on the other side.
A few weeks ago I was out at Double Bay for their fair. I was doing some work there for a few hours. Initially I was fine, and then I started to feel anxious. I didn't know what it was. Walking through Double Bay I began to find it so difficult to breathe I was almost panicking. My bf got us to the car quickly and took me back home but I still couldn't shake off the terrible feeling I was getting - that was until I went to the park and touched a tree. That tree saved me a lot of pain!
But I digress - what this experience made me realise was that people are bloody unhappy. Double Bay has a reputation for being the suburb where many well-off people live. It's got lots of expensive stores, is right close to the harbour, and the houses and neighbourhood is immaculate and almost like a little Europe. You would've thought that people would be happy with all that money and luxury they have but no - the resounding feeling from the environment is that these people are bloody anxious, and that you could live in the most beautiful place in the world and have all the money that you could ask for and still be damn unhappy.
A similar story goes for the Sydney CBD. I've pretty much extricated myself from the CBD having left the corporate world in July. Whilst my massage clinic is in the CBD, it's more based on the "outskirts", closer to the gorgeous botanical gardens and the Opera House. Today I had to go into the city to drop off some sample packs to some of my friends. The city was full of construction works (which were noisy and incredibly claustrophobic) and a lot of people rushing around and being "busy".
When I went to the reception at two particular banks where my friends work to drop off the sample, I was met by hostility. With the benefit of hindsight, I understand that it's difficult to ask to be the "exception" to the cause of leaving things at reception to be picked up later because it sets a precedent and the reception would be regarded as a post box. The disappointing thing was that I didn't even feel welcome when I approached the desk. They didn't smile and ask how I was or anything like that, I asked if I could leave a package and they pretty much said "no".
With one, the lady was very strict and difficult to get through but by the end of it she made the exception and kept the sample for my friend. I really got the impression however that it was such a HUGE ask and a pain in the ass to do it but begrudgingly they agreed. No smile during the conversation at all and no "have a nice day" even though I told them I really appreciated it and that it would definitely be collected by my friend. The lady was asking if I wanted her to msg my friend in a manner which was like "do I really have to" and I told her it was OK as I would tell her. The one thing she did explain to me was about their policy about why they usually don't do it which I understood. One of the other male receptionists didn't even want to speak to other people who were waiting to be served and had to be told by the lady serving me to go and serve those waiting! *sigh*
With the next one, as I approached the desk, the two men just became silent and looked at me without saying a hello or anything. I asked if I could leave a package there and I just got "no". No explanation, no nothing. Didn't even try to help me out. Just plain and simple no and "try to get it to him another way". Wtf.
Initially as I left the area I was pissed off. I thought they had been quite rude and didn't think I had really done anything to deserve that kind of treatment. Then it dawned on me that maybe these people just hated their job - hated doing what they did, and I just got the wrong end of the stick. It wasn't personal. It took me back to my last few years as a lawyer in corporate. Quite frankly, I was a bitch to people. I knew it. I also knew that the reason for that was because I was in a job that I wasn't passionate about. Nuh uh - the job was crap, the money was good, but I felt like I was swimming in shit during that time.
For me, the answer was simple. To stop feeling like shit, to stop feeling unhappy, I had to change. How I felt was in my complete control, and I was able to take the next step to feel happier and better about myself by leaving the law and going into the alternative health industry. You would know that there have been days where I have been depressed in the new career as I wasn't getting clients, but I have also had really positive days where I would get a lot of clients. The main thing was this - there is not ever a time when I am doing my job that I feel unhappy. Sure there are times where I might not have the confidence to do something, but lack of confidence is not the same as unhappiness. To be truthful, I am the happiest I have been in my entire life. I have the most perfect boyfriend that suits my values to a tee and is so incredibly supportive (not to mention a great healer himself), I am surrounded by a bunch of friends who are non-judgmental and have supported me wholeheartedly whilst I undertake this new phase of my life, and I am doing what I love the most - really helping people.
How many of us can truly say that they are happy and are doing what they love? I wager that not of lot of us can say it. It's tough making a change - I know. Fear stops us from doing so many things. But I will guarantee you this - if you do decide to take the plunge and do what really makes you tick, you might just find that the grass is definitely a lot greener on the other side.