Let go!
Division of labour is a good thing — this is, what also Lucy has to learn. Do what you can do best. And do it with joy!
Lucy’s world #2
Work-life balance in pigeonish
Since some months, Lucy has now been running her business successfully. It has grown, and Lucy is selling her chocolates both in her shop and online. Lucy is enjoying doing something she really loves. But at the same time also a lot of administrative burdens have forced her to work long hours. She had to develop new skills, and to do things she never did before: Find new personnel, learn how to be a good boss, think about marketing and branding, and cooperate with a sports shop run by a mole. Lucy is sure that she is doing the right thing. But sometimes she feels so tired. Her husband is disappointed as sometimes she doesn’t manage to be at home during the weekend. And the plan of breeding some baby pigeons has been postponed till next year.
Lucy wonders: Is that it? Is that the price for living her dream? Does she have to sacrifice her wish to have a family in order to be able to run the business she wants? She hasn’t had lunch over the past weeks, living only from the chocolate always at disposal in her shop. Sometimes she even felt the desire for eating a worm…
Stop the wheel…
Some days later it is enough. Lucy had a fight with her husband, the chocolate Easter bunny in the window has completely melted in the first sun of the year, and the online shop was hacked. Lucy decides to take a rest, and to spend a weekend alone at the seaside. She has always loved the sea, and the view of the forceful water has given her a humble sense of freedom. Lucy is grateful for her wings: Like this at least she doesn’t have to worry about booking an online ticket for the train.
Already as she starts her journey she notices how her mind becomes clearer. The wind blowing in her face, some raindrops, then finally: The sea and sun. Lucy is relieved. There it is! This feeling when she first turned the key off her new shop! This feeling of being the master of her own fate. And suddenly Lucy realizes: Whatever she does, it is her decision. She needs to set priorities and decide what really matters to her. And it means sharing responsibilities: She is not alone. There are many people wanting to help.
…and breathe!
Lucy spends a peaceful weekend at the seaside. She sleeps a lot, and eats well. She feels how her energy comes back, and that she really wants to have a nice dinner next week with her husband. She is not a fan of administrative work, and it is a pain to her to fill in forms. So what about outsourcing this to the old owl? She will speak to her when she is back. Lucy feels that she is starting to make plans. She needs to do some sports, and her employees also work too hard. So she will open a little later, as her customers anyways only start coming in the afternoon. Full of energy, Lucy flies back. Other pigeons are not smarter, just better organized. She will manage to live how she wants, with the right priorities –any by sharing responsibilities.
Some weeks later, Lucy has found her rhythm. She does sports every morning, and then she goes to work. The owl does all the administration, and she loves it. Being a granny, now she is also feeling needed again in her old job as a bookkeeper. In exchange, she gets a chocolate flatrate. Like this, Lucy can go home every evening at six, and has enough time to spend with her husband. The online shop is run by a new employee who loves webdesign, and it is attracting more and more customers. And once every months Lucy gets on her wings and flies to the sea. She then just gazes at the sea and enjoys life. The life she has decided to live.
By the way, here the article to a really inspiring article Lucy has read during her time at the sea: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/02/opinion/sunday/ruth-bader-ginsburgs-advice-for-living.html (21.04.2017).