Fitting in the mould

Last night was a BLAST. Ok you can add lamb curry and naan to yesterday's list now. And two glasses of wine. Seriously, does shisha help you lose weight?

Last night also got me thinking about the kind of life I wanted, and the type of career I am going for. I felt slightly inadequate - J's now working in the finance department of a big international bank in the City and R's working for one of the big four, training to be a Chartered Accountant. J is paid loads but after calculating the number of hours she put in, she is working for less than what a McDonalds employee will get per hour. It's not so much that I feel underpaid (I am getting paid more than R and am not even in a trainee position yet) but the fact that they are in a position that has some promise. They are going somewhere in life wherelse I am, well, I am a legal assistant.

It also made me wonder whether I am cut out for the long hours and lifestyle. Granted, I've lived in various big cities but my roots are in a small town in Malaysia. I love taking time off for myself, I want a family, I love cooking and playing the piano, and I want to have time to climb mountains/ go swimming/ have breakfast with my husband and kids. I guess it's like what H said - bite the bullet now, while you're young with no family of your own. London's turnover rate (for the multinational law firms and banks) is insanely high. Give it all you got for the next 5 years or so and then see what you feel like then. You may completely embrace the lifestyle and continue to work your way up to partner. Alternatively, you may think, ok this is enough for me, I'll move on to a more balanced way of life.

Sure, we weren't put on this earth to be in the office / see a client / travel to the office or to see a client 99% of your waking life (which is a lot considering you'll get an average of 3 hours of sleep per day) but the reality is that if you're not going to do it, someone else will take your place.

But people who succeed at junior positions are willing to put in the hours because of the promise of what is to come. And I want that too! I want to achieve my full potential.

The question is, as a Christian, do I take the same attitude towards God and His promises yet unseen?