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    #1

    SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

    Ok in the first few months of sobriety, i wasn't much bothered about the areas of life in which i was standing still,which for me were mostly financially,after all i had an alibi,i said to myself i am far to much busy with much more important matters,That was for me a prescription for comfort & complacency,i have been unemployed for the last year & half,and so money is very tight.people say your health is your wealth but it doesn't actually work that way,I have done a complete 360 degree turn around in my life since 09,I am sober,in a good relationship with everyone i should be,my partner friends, family etc.But know i have a dilemma,I have applied to go back to college to study addiction/counselling studies and will know very soon if i have been excepted,if i go that route it will be a 4/5 years of back to education which eventually would get me a job in that field of study,i am no spring chicken and that would bring me into my early fifties,I have know been offered a job driving trucks(long distance) which i used to do,money is good,and i love driving,but it means i could/would not do my studies and also i would not be hear as much as i like to be.also i would have to change my whole healthy way of living,ie going to the gym,cycles,etc...I have as of now no cravings or urge to ever go back to drinking,never just not interested in it anymore.period.so that for now is not the issue.but i am at a fork in the roads now and wondering what route to take..thanks.joe.


    :congratulatory: Clean & Sober since 13/01/2009 :congratulatory:

    Until one is committed there is always hesitant thoughts.
    I know enough to know that I don't know enough.

    This signature has been typed in front of a live studio audience.
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    #2
    SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

    Hi Mario! What wonderful dilemmas we start to have once we get sober and get to work on ourselves! OPTIONS!!

    I don't think it is ever too late in life to follow our hearts. Your post got me thinking about my own career, and whether I would go back to the type of work I used to do, that also paid very well but involves travel and some other negatives, but lots of money - way more than I make now in my business with Mr. D. and my fledgling Mary Kay business.

    I would not go back to the old career unless I had NO other choice financially. I am much happier doing what I'm doing now, and since (so far anyway!) we can make enough to meet our basic needs (even though its more "no frills" than it used to be) I'm stickin' with a simpler life that makes me happier.

    Don't know if that's right for you, but that's my thinking about it. I think you would make an excellent addiction counselor FWIW!!!

    DG
    Sobriety Date = 5/22/08
    Nicotine Free Date = 2/27/07

    One day at a time.

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      #3
      SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

      I vote for follow your heart. I agree with DG that you would certainly excel in that field from what I have seen here. In addition to the sobriety timing, you are at a time in your life when the re-evaluation thing is normal and you naturally lean towards the "helping others" aspects of choices. I think that in many cases when you head down a path that may not be right for you that doors close and others open so that you are gently nudged along by the universe. And my dear, you ARE a spring chicken.
      sigpic
      Thoughts become things..... choose the good ones. ~TUT

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        #4
        SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

        Can you do both, Mario - work part-time and study part-time?
        sigpic
        AF since December 22nd 2008
        Real change is difficult, and slow, and messy - Oliver Burkeman

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          #5
          SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

          Marshy;829443 wrote: Can you do both, Mario - work part-time and study part-time?
          no marshy,it wont work, the job if i took it would me away from Dublin a lot of the time, and i am also the sort of person that has to give something i do 100 per cent and i know the studies would lose out.Thanks:


          :congratulatory: Clean & Sober since 13/01/2009 :congratulatory:

          Until one is committed there is always hesitant thoughts.
          I know enough to know that I don't know enough.

          This signature has been typed in front of a live studio audience.

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            #6
            SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

            I say follow you dreams my friend, if you can afford to live on what you are getting now. After all we only have one life and regrets are worthless burdens.
            If you get the course take it and search for some part time work. If you dont get it, take the job. You could always try doing a long distance learning course part time, say open university or similar.
            Ethanol is a toxic chemical, why would I drink it?

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              #7
              SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

              I agree, follow your dreams Mario.
              I know it's easy to say money ain't everything when you have it, but just look how rich your life is now.
              "The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it"

              Comment

                #8
                SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

                I was in a similar situation myself about 2 years ago when I quit a good job to go back to school for 1 year to get certified to do something I love. My argument to myself was twofold. On the one hand, we pass through this world just once, so we might as well pursue the vocation that satisfies us the most, if we can. Secondly, I noted that my old job would always be there if I decided to return to it. I would guess that driving a truck is similar in the sense that there are always going to be driving positions available if, down the road, you decide you don't want to continue with addiction studies. Given all the time you seem to spend on this website, it is obvious that you are passionate about remaining sober and advising others, so I would recommend pursuing the college program.

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                  #9
                  SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

                  G'day Mario,
                  I say leave the long distance trucking job if you can hang on financially without it. It might be too 'lonely' in that you'd be away from good support/vibes, like family and friends. Great you have that option though. But, what about local driving around Dublin? Regular hours, so you could keep touch a bit with gym etc....
                  Also, i'm 50, and last year i started out on a new career as a community mental health outreach worker. My qualification's are life experience, and a positive 'can do' attitude at job interview. I've done a bit of volunteering in youth work teaching music, and also worked in a sort of halfway house for young blokes out of gaol and getting themselves back on track. I got this last job through my volunteering with this organisation, and was asked if i wanted a job. In my current job, i could be studying pt. time if i wanted to, (in fact i am) and they'd allow me time for that, as they love it when staff want to train/study and improve themselves. It's good for the org. too.
                  My point i suppose is you don't necessarily have to wait till you're qualified with a piece of paper, to be working in a field you want to. These organisation's will value your life experience. It's a bit of a juggle, but could you begin study pt. time firstly, then volunteer at a place you'd like to work at, then if you like it, ask them for a job?
                  i know feck all about mental health, but i know people, and enthusiasm, drive, and respect for people i work with, get me over the line big time.
                  Anyway, best wishes mate.

                  'I am part of all that I have met, yet all experience is an arch wherethro', gleams that untravelled world whose margins fade, forever and forever when I move'

                  Zen soul Warrior. Freedom today-

                  Comment

                    #10
                    SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

                    Mario,

                    From one Spring chicken to another.......I say follow your dreams
                    I agree with G above - the trucking job could lead to a lot of lonliness which in turn could lead you into feeling sorry for yourself & other troubles! You don't want to go there, you are doing so well. You have made some many positive changes - keep making them!

                    I really hope everything works out for you!

                    Lav
                    AF since 03/26/09
                    NF since 05/19/09
                    Success comes one day at a time :thumbs:

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                      #11
                      SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

                      You used to be a truck driver. After a long haul did you drink?

                      Comment

                        #12
                        SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

                        Mario,

                        I tend to be fairly pragmatic about these kinds of things.

                        If you really want to pursue a career in counseling AND you can afford to take the 4-5 years to do it, then that is what you should do.

                        I am very glad to hear that you are now in the phase of sobriety where you are taking life on life's terms and starting to take steps to make your life better. :-)

                        Good luck with whatever path you choose.

                        Love,
                        Cindi
                        AF April 9, 2016

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                          #13
                          SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

                          Hi Mario
                          Read your post earlier and didn't reply cos I honestly wouldn't know what to do either - suppose its heart or head? Sounds very mundane but it also depends on how much you like having a few bob in your life, some people can live happily with very little and others can't.
                          Whatever you decide, at least you know you've put heaps of nice sober thought into the decision!
                          Molly
                          Contentedly sober since 27/12/2011
                          contentedly NF since 8/04/14

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                            #14
                            SOME OPINIONS NEEDED

                            wow mario ditto to mollyka post, i know how hard it is here in Ireland at the moment,go with your gut feeling and talk to some other experienced people who maybe work in the field

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