April 27, 2022
More than two years ago, I was stuck in the middle of two paths and was undecided as to which one to pursue, either to go back to my homeland, or extend working abroad for my family and goals. My decision doesn't only rely on the present situation but on the future and possible circumstances that may arise. For some reason, I opted to stay and renewed my working contract abroad for the sake of other people.
The same situation happened seven months ago when I was supposed to go for good but unfavorable circumstances halted the plan that left me no choice but to extend again. Beforehand, I was ready enough to go and even had plans in my mind about what to do once I face the world of working-at-home individuals. And that blogging and crypto trading would be my main sources of income as well as the business I planned to put up.
Sometime in the previous year, I was happy when the cryptocurrencies in the market skyrocketed and made my portfolio so green. Upon calculation of all my assets, I only needed more than 20% to hit a seven-digit portfolio in our fiat currency. And in my mind, I thought I could finally execute the plans I had in my mind and establish a small business. And so I have nothing to worry about being jobless as I have something to pull out to make ends meet each day.
But it seems like things didn't fall into place and I was creating a new fate incognizantly far from what I wanted to happen. The Crypto market crashed and many tokens didn't recover their prices yet until now which greatly affected my portfolio. I stayed due to some unexpected reasons but later on, I realized that it was a good decision I made due to some good benefits I got from extending my contract. It's not money, yet the experiences and beautiful memories I made throughout this extension.
I was talking about going back home very soon in my previous article with some realizations and regrets. And just the other day, an unwelcome message was received from my agent about another hard decision to make that kept my mind awake even at night.
For some family problems, my replacement can not come anymore, and I can not extend either. It seems like she heard that I want to stay a bit longer so I could travel and enjoy HK more. But she gave me two options and it was so hard to choose one.
My visa can not be extended anymore since they already extended it twice. That left the renewal of the contract as another option aside from discontinuing working.
But it seems like these two options would only fall into one as I can't even leave this place without a replacement. And even if they find a new one before September ends, the remaining time isn't enough to process everything, unless I terminate this contract, don't care about them, and go anywhere else I want to. But that would be a negative one in my record.
I do want to extend here but not renew as it would take another two years of working here. That would make seven years in this workplace in total and I deserve to be given a long service fee if I would renew again for the third time. That's the main matter I laid out to them before they decide to whether renew my contract or not. As for me, I could either do both, renew or terminate this contract. But my boss' decisions and future possibilities that may arise along my journey always matter.
These recent happenings and traveling brought me to the realization that working alone won't make me happy and there are ways to unwind while grinding so health aspects won't be compromised. It's just a matter of balancing everything and removing stressors and little burdens.
Still, I am torn between two questions, should I terminate this work or renew it?
I have no fixed decision yet about this matter, nor my boss' final decision after informing her about the long service fee. I guess I just need to prepare myself for whatever will happen in the next few months.
Thanks for reading this random ramblings.
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I think your decision should be more largely influenced by what makes you happy, and not what makes others (your boss, your family,…) happy. Career is one of the most important aspect of life no doubt, but your personal life is important too. Try to picture yourself in the next 18 months working for your boss. Will you be happy during that period of time? Will you be able to achieve other goals whilst working? What is your long term goal in life? Is there more to working in HK? these are some of the questions you need to ask yourself. It’s nice that you are being considerate by wanting to wait for a replacement before leaving, but this should be one of the least influencers of your decision.
Yes, some may say obligations over happiness, but most time, it should be the opposite.
I hope you make the right decision. Hehe. Been long. Enjoy the rest of the day.