Should I Let My Inner Child Run Riot?

Almost a year-and-a-half ago I took a decision that was to have far-reaching consequences on every area of my life. It’s the main reason you won’t have been reading much of my writing lately.

Quite Out of Character For Me…

After twenty years of freelance consulting I arbitrarily, and quite uncharacteristically decided to accept an offer from a major publisher–a very flattering offer I might add–to go and manage their local publishing operation in the Middle East, which is, as I’m quite sure you know, a major emerging market for many fields these days.

Talk About Diving In Head First!

Although it wasn’t exactly far for me to go–no relocation was necessary–it was a drastic change from my usual pace: not quite working in my pajamas every day, but certainly enjoying the extreme latitude that working from my cozy leather recliner afforded me. Now I must snap out of bed at a respectable hour every morning, slug down a cup of something hot and get myself showered, dressed to face the world, and out of the door in time to negotiate the short drive to the office. I’d almost forgotten what rush-hour traffic was all about, since consultants rarely venture out at those certain hours of the day. They’re at perfect liberty not to!

The Good–And the Not-So-Good!

In some ways working in a brand-new, high-tech, corporate office has been a ball. I often wondered, as an SEO consultant working from home, how I’d get on in a real-live-office after all these years. And no, I’m not going to tell you how long it’s been since my last full-time job. There are some things one should simply to keep to oneself.

Anyway, I found out that I’d do just fine. I admit that I have a huge advantage over many who must battle it out in the corporate jungle every day: my surroundings are pleasant and my co-workers are, for the most part, a delightful bunch.

But I miss my SEO work. I sorely miss writing every day. Writing is an art that, if you have it in you, you just gotta do it. It’s as simple as that. Believe me, non-fiction writing is no less creative than great works of fiction. It takes all the creativity a writer’s got to write well and to entertain an audience.

My marriage is suffering since now our respective schedules keep us totally apart for much of the week. I am no longer at liberty to rush to the aid of any of my adult children should they run into difficulty; something that truly saddens me. Let’s not even begin to mention my dearest friends, who have been so patient while I’m away exploring a world I’d thought I was done with forever.

The real trouble though, is that I miss the unfettered creativity of working as a consultant. Not just that. My inner child is pining. In fact she’s fairly wasting away. I can no longer switch as the mood takes me from serious and focused, to silly and game-for-a-laugh. Some days it’s as much as I can do to prevent Miss Inner Child from romping forth in the corporate setting, linking the laser printer up to the coffee machine, and parachuting gleefully to a damp landing in the fountain on the ground floor…all the while screaming ‘free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last.

So this is what I want to know. What do you think I should do? Do you think I should keep going and anticipate the promotion that’s almost certain after I pull off the next few successful projects? Or should I do what I dream about most nights, and let my inner child escape the bonds of the corporate world? Should I return to my old self-employed stomping ground, despite the fact that it might be difficult to get the SEO gigs coming in at the required pace again? If you leave a comment it’d be great to discuss this wouldn’t it?