The Happy and Prosperous Blog

In the first part of this series, I introduced this excerpt from my personal history - the time when I escaped the corporate world. Do read that one before you read this post otherwise it might not make much sense !

The Start of A Change

Studying Homeopathy: Bas Relief Detail Of Charles Henry Niehaus’ 1900 Doctor Samuel Hahnemann Memorial At Scott Circle (Washington, DC)
Photo by takomabibelot

Given the enthusiasm and passion that I had developed for homeopathy, I wondered if I could make a career out of it - other people had done, so why not me ? With that idea in mind, I enrolled on a 4 year part-time course in homeopathy starting in September 1998. I went to college one full weekend every month so I could continue working at the bank without any problem.

Full Pockets, Empty Soul

As I continued with the course in homeopathy, I became convinced that I wanted to pursue this as a career. I knew that I would not earn as much money as I did at the bank but that was not the most important thing to me. The bank was looking after me financially but it was draining me emotionally and it was doing nothing for my soul. I wanted to give something back to the world - give something back to people - help people.

Homeopath vs. IT Project Manager

It’s hard to imagine two such distinct professions. As an IT project Manager I was concerned with plans, budgets, deadlines, reports, staff issues etc. As a budding homeopath I was interested in people’s health, their emotional life, what made them tick, their hopes, fears, aspirations. I was starting to live a double life !

Working Part-Time

As I started my third year at college in September 2001 I asked if I could reduce my hours at the bank to give me more time to study. The bank agreed to this and I am grateful to them for their flexibility in allowing me to work a 4 day week. As I progressed into my final year, the bank agreed to my request to work a 3 day week and, in doing so, I relinquished my role as a Project Manager and took on the job of supporting other Project Managers and Leaders in their roles.

This was great and I was able to do plenty of studying. Financially I was worse off, of course, but that was OK as I felt like I was involved in something much more worthwhile. So I finished college and got my diploma and set myself up in practice working one day a week. This was fine and I got some clients but not that many and not nearly as many as I had hoped.

At this time, following a reorganisation at work, I came under some pressure to increase my hours at the bank and return to a 4 day week.

More soon.

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In this 4 (maybe 5) part series I want to share with you a small excerpt from my personal history. I want to tell you about the time, a few years ago, when I decided to leave my long-term employment in the corporate world and head off on my own. I want to tell you this to illustrate some points about what I learned in the process which may, perhaps, help you in some way.

Before we start I want to appreciate a fellow blogger, SelfMadeChick, for her recent post which talks about telling a story in a blog post. Thanks Christine for the inspiration.

Photo by webg33k

Setting The Scene

Back in 1998 I was a hard-working Project Manager in the IT department of a large bank in the UK. I was doing OK and I was being paid pretty well. I’d been working for the bank for over 10 years and I had progressed up through the organisation doing various computer related jobs including doing 18 months consultancy in Madrid with a subsidiary there. I was not in love with my job and I didn’t hate it either. I was dissatisfied in some small way and, I suppose, I was wondering if this was all there was to a working life. It was like having an itch somewhere inside me that I couldn’t scratch.

Homeopathic Treatment for My Son

A year or so before this, my son (aged around 6 then) went for some homeopathic treatment for the asthma that he had been diagnosed with. He’d had the steroid inhalers and they were working but I was concerned about long term steroid use and the possible side-effects. I didn’t know what a homeopath was in any detail, but a friend had suggested this form of complementary medicine as another way of treating his asthma.

To cut a long story short, 2 doses of a homeopathic remedy, seemed to shift his asthma and we reduced his steroids to the point that he didn’t need them any more and he was absolutely fine.

Denial and Curiosity

Given my scientific training (degree in Chemistry), I couldn’t understand how homeopathy could work. My reaction was partly denial and partly curiosity. The curiosity won out and I started to find out more about homeopathy. I got books out of the library and educated myself a little. The more I read the more fascinated I became.

In the next post in the series, I will tell you about the start of a change.

Zutydorp Cliffs Western Australia
Photo by Fastskybus

Last month I wrote a couple of articles about making changes in our lives

• Ch.. Ch.. Ch.. Ch.. Changes
• More changes

I’ve been thinking some more about this subject and have been reminded of a CD set by Richard Wilkins which mentions change.

Broadly speaking, change in our lives can be categorised in 2 ways - changes that are imposed upon us where we have little or no choice e.g.

• Illness
• Redundancy
• One of our children leaves home to go to college etc.
• Our computer breaks down

And changes we choose to make e.g.

• Our New Year Resolutions
• Moving home
• Learning new skills
• Improving physical fitness

In the first category we are resistant to the changes happening because they are not of our choosing. In the second category we may be resistant through fear of change itself, fear of making a mistake or other fears I detailed in Ch.. Ch.. Ch.. Ch.. Changes. In either case, resistance can be a strong factor.

Now, there is another way of looking at this…

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