The Aftereffects

I’ve been settling in to my new career now for a little over a month, and I’d like to share the results so far with you.

Result #1

I’ve been working hard. Is that a problem? Absolutely not, because I love the feeling! I actually have a sense of personal accomplishment. All the pieces are starting to fall in place for me now and I’m seeing where things can go long-term. Despite working a ton of hours, I don’t feel like I’m doing more than working a little on my summer break. The key is being able to flex my schedule around anything, like being able to pop by for lunch with my family. Some days I work really late. Some days I don’t. Some days I get up at 6:30, and some days I don’t have to get up until 8:45, just in time to turn on my laptop and work from home for a bit. I do work pretty much every day of the week, but it’s balanced and when things come up (such as family members getting sick), it’s no big deal to change my schedule. Working hard is seriously rewarding.

Result #2

Other people are noticing my calm and happiness. I was floored when a former colleague and close friend told me last night that she could tell how much happier I am and really thinks this is a positive change. I like to think that I spread the good vibes around to the rest of the world, and I know that especially towards the end of the school year, despite how hard I tried, it wasn’t happening. Treating people well and modeling happiness is infectious. Call me contagious.

Result #3

I have an excuse to blog? To practice photography? To buy cute and comfortable stylish clothes? To take care of myself? Wow. Do I really need to say anything more? It may not seem like much, but just having this blog, even though this is not my “real estate” blog (which is coming, by the way – the domain is parked, but I’m working on actually have substantial content instead of fluff), I’m sharing my successes and failures and life and you get to see what it is really like, which means you know what you are getting as an agent already. Wouldn’t life be so much easier if we all knew exactly what to expect? And photography – I miss taking pictures. I don’t get to do it very often. It’s something I’m actually going to build into my schedule once some of my more intense training is over. I need practice photographing homes. I’m seriously going to walk neighborhoods and practice. Anyone want some pictures of their home taken?

Result #4

The biggest surprise of all? I got on the scale last night after a night out with copious calories and I had apparently lost 10 pounds! I knew that I was feeling better, but this was a nice surprise. Check two more off my DZP list!

This career change has been one of the hardest things I’ve done, but it’s all paying off. I love my job, every day. How many people can honestly say that? It was scary to  make the change, but I’m glad I found the courage.