Thursday, February 9, 2012

Roller Coaster Rides

micron pen in mixed media journal

At the beginning of the year, my husband asked me why I didn't choose to go down a certain educational path even though he thought that I was really good at it. Being horrible at answering questions on the spot, I just shrugged and said that I didn't like it. He pushed a little more and asked me what specifically did I not like about it.  Again I shrugged and answered that I just didn't.

Why one path and not the other?
His question was stuck in my head.  What didn't I like about it?  Why did I choose to go down a completely different path even though I was good at it?

Eventually, roller coaster rides came to mind.
Have you ever rode a roller coaster that was full of twists and turns and loops, only to decide that you never want to ride that specific ride again?  And then jump onto a another roller coaster also full of ups and downs, twists and turns, and loop-the-loops, except this time when you are finished you want to hop right back onto that ride?

The path I chose not to do down, was like the roller coaster ride I did not want to go back on.  Even though it was so satisfying to be able to complete projects in that area, the ups and down of those projects made me miserable.  The process was bearable, but the problem solving felt like I wanted to tear my hair out.

The path that I am on now, I would love to get on that ride over and over again.  Though at times I may get frustrated at the ups and downs, and the learning process may throw me some unexpected curves, I still welcome it with open arms.  Whenever I have a chance to ride it, it makes me smile.

Roller coasters and focus
When I finally started making decisions of what I wanted to focus on this year, the thought of roller coasters stayed with me.  As I looked at each activity, I started to take a look at what really gave me a thrill and which ones were just pretty good.  If I got really excited about it, looked forward to both the ups and downs, then it was a keeper.  If there were parts of the ride I didn't want to part of, then out it went. 

I'm sure there will be times when I want to rethink an activity or maybe add on something I've never done before.  But the roller coaster analogy has helped me really look at how I feel about each activity, and I hope that sharing this may help someone else as well.

2 comments:

pauline said...

I'm sure so many people can relate to this... choosing a path that doesn't honour who we really are. The important thing is: you're doing what you want NOW, right? At least i hope you are... :-) THanks for sharing. And i LOVE LOVE your jellyfish illustration! So good... xoxo

Vee said...

Yes I am, Pauline! At least I think I am. :)

Thank you so much!