Being able to cherish an adventure - Work-Life Balance has to be the new norm

When Velv’s CIO, Nuno Godinho, asked me to check out Matej Cebulec’s new short-film, The Way We Live, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I don’t surf and I don’t particularly enjoy cold water or the idea of putting on a wetsuit (which I imagine is as difficult to put on, as it is to take off) but I was pleasantly surprised by the contextualisation of The Way We Live and how it can basically be applied to life in general.

The concept of having a job that you actually love and also having time to do what you love is something that I find fascinating. Work life balance is the dream, and working at Velv allows me to live that dream. It wasn’t always like that. I’ve worked at places where working late hours into the night is normal and if you don’t, you’re not viewed as a valuable and dedicated employee. Even now, when that’s not the case, I still find myself living in past experiences, being stressed over projects from past jobs or being worried about things that I shouldn’t even be thinking about. It’s normal, I know. However, what I took from The Way We Live is that I need to remind myself to stay focused in the present, to enjoy my life, my friends, my family and cherish the fact that I’m fortunate enough to finally be working in a place which provides me ,not only with a job I actually enjoy doing but also, respects the fact that my life, isn’t this job. My job is just a part of my life which is mixed in with a million other different experiences.

Life isn’t always straightforward, I know I won’t be able to plan for the unexpected or have the answers for everything but a big part of the adventure is figuring things out along with way. It might not be surfing in my case, but the message is clear – we need to dive into new experiences and cherish the time that we have to live life, no matter how complicated or difficult it can get – work shouldn’t always get in the way.

 So if you’re reading this at 11pm because you just logged off of Teams, take a moment to watch the video and ask yourself, are you cherishing the time that’s given to you? Do you work at a place that allows to be yourself and enjoy what matters? Are you living the dream and experiencing life for what it really is, an adventure?

 I’m going to finish reviewing this, have (another) coffee and start researching on how to take off a wetsuit. Who knows, maybe I’ll enjoy the cold water.