A little light under a pile of work

"Among life's greatest joys is that of exploration and immersion; to leave comfort and familiarity behind and to fully embrace as many environments, climates, seasons and cultures as your lifetime will allow, for each is filled with wonders and treasures that will open your eyes, mind and heart and leave you a greater person than before."

Just a few sips of tea before midnight on a Thursday night, I stumbled on this quote at the bottom of my client's signature while digging through my emails. Astonished by the impact it had on me, in an instant, I began clicking through all my previous emails from that client. How did I not see that quote before? I had to know if it had been there the whole time. Well it had been... and since the Spring of 2017 when we first started corresponding over email.

I have a heavy workload on my current engagement. So does the junior consultant and senior manager on my team, however. That fact alone explains why I can be found squirreled away in front of a dim lit screen at this time of night. Earlier today I had to look my Partner in the eye and tell him that all the hours we are working will not send me to "the bottom of a bottle" by the end of the project (his words, not mine). It seems that each time I roll onto a new project, it is somehow what I believe to be the most difficult and exhausting one yet. I suppose there is a reason why some would say "If you are able to stick it out in consulting for three or more years, you are exceeding your lifespan in that industry."

So why don't we just quit? Well, many do quit. I believe they quit more often because they are burnt out and consequently no longer inspired by their work. Their former energy and enthusiasm has been left behind.

It has been left in the long taxi rides, plane flights and hotel nights.
It has been left in boardroom battle rooms where the team ordered in dinner.
It has been left in the bars where they drank and laughed about firm politics until two in the morning the day before a presentation.

Sometimes experiences sneak up on you. They change you without you noticing through all the daily noise and turmoil. Maybe you asked to be rolled off a long term project that your best friend and coworker quit the firm over. Despite forgetting what "lessons learned" I conjured up for the project closure report, in the end I somehow choose to stay. Because sometimes - and at the most unexpected times - we are reminded of the incredible, positive, lasting impact our work, clients and teammates can have on our life and what we hope to have on them in return.