Possibly the two most liberating (and scary) words that have ever come out of my mouth.
Today marks the 1 year anniversary of quitting my old job.
One year ago today, I was not in a good place. I was unhappy, depressed, anxious, and fearful of what the future would hold. Despite these feelings, I knew that I wanted to be happy with my career.
One year ago today was quite possibly one of the lowest moments in my life. After quitting, I walked down the office hallway in shock, literally shaking from what just happened. I sat at my desk in shock. I called Eric on the phone and whispered, ‘You’ll never believe what I finally did’, my hands still shaking.
What was I going to do?
Despite all of this, there was a small, glowing flame inside me that started to light up. It burned a bit brighter the day that I quit my job. Each day thereafter, it burned brighter and brighter. After 7 years in university and a few unfulfilling research jobs, I was finally able to sit down, take a deep breath, and really think about what makes me happy.
All of this time, this was the one crucial thing that I had not done. Yes I had written the exams, the GRE’s, gotten letters of recommendations, and straight A’s, but the one thing I did not do is stop to think about what I wanted.
I always did what I thought was expected of me or what career I thought would pay the most money. Both of which, would never make me a happy person, but kill that glowing flame inside my heart until it is no longer burning at all.
I have grown up a lot in the past year. I have struggled with self-doubt and worries that have almost paralyzed me from moving forward with my dreams. There were several times when I almost called it off because I was scared. There have been a lot of tears over the past year, but there have also been many more smiles and exciting moments than I have had in the past 7 years combined.
The past year has really shown me that I can choose a life that I will be happy with. I can make choices every single day to create happiness in myself. I can work my ass off at something I love and feel extremely rewarded.
And most of all, I never have to settle for something that isn’t a right fit for me.
Sometimes it takes us to experience a career field before we know that it just isn’t right for us. Or, we go to law school when we really secretly have always wanted to open up a cupcake shop. Most of the time, we figure out things as we go. There aren’t really any ‘mistakes’, but experiences and the key is to make them learning experiences.
We make the best choice that we can at the time.
When we lost a family friend, Chris, to cancer just prior to our wedding in 2008, I started to question a lot of things in my life. Chris was the same age as Eric and he grew up with Eric. Losing someone so young made me question my own life, choices, happiness, and goals. I decided that I would do something to change my situation. I realized that my time on the earth was not something to take for granted any longer.
While it took me another 6 months to finally get the courage to leave my job, once I said those two words, it was instantly a new beginning for me.
I don’t want to think about what my life would be like today, had I not had the courage to take a leap of faith.
Today I celebrate stepping outside my comfort zone, challenging myself as a person, and deciding that I deserve to be happy.
Have you ever decided to leave a bad situation or a job/college major because it wasn’t a good fit for you?
~~
For a full recap of how I changed careers, check out my ‘A Year Can Change A Lot’ Series:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, and Part 9
Reach for the stars, even if you have to stand on a cactus.
~Susan Longacre
congradulations!! look at all that you’ve accomplished in just one year. Truly an inspiration. Hope you enjoyed that delicious looking breakfast and have a great rest of the day! You deserve it.
P.S- your early morning challange has inspired me to do one of my own. This marks my first week of waking up early and knocking “kickbutt workout” off my list before I even show up to work at 8:30. Never thought I could be a morning person (especially a morning workout person) but it actually isn’t so bad! We can do it!!
Great story! Really inspirational to see what a difference a year makes, especially when you take charge of your life and really decide to think about what makes you happy. Congrats!
Congratulations on your anniversary, and thank you for this post- it really hits home. Right now I am in grad school because I didn’t want to get a job in engineering after college because I never switched my major in college because then I wouldn’t ever find a job…etc etc. Although I’ve learned a lot and it wasn’t all horrible, I’ve been really afraid of the “what-if” of doing something completely unrelated to what I’ve been educated in for 6 years. Stories like this give me some comfort and a positive outlook! I’m still trying to figure out what it is I want to do but I hope I eventually find as happy and fulfilling path as you have made for yourself! :)
I’ve done pretty much the same thing my whole life and am definitely not happy in my job. I want a change but I’m not sure what I could be doing that would make me happy! Love your story, it really is inspirational :-)
Congrats Love! It’s hard to believe that SO much could happen in just 1 short year :) It’s inspiring to know that dreams can come true! I hope oneday soon I will be following in your footsteps and living out my dream as well :) I’m so happy for you, you have worked so hard to get to where you are and I know there are SO many great things to come in your future!
xoxo
Congrats! I too was in a situation a few years ago where I didn’t like what I was doing career-wise. It affects everything. Now, I love what i do, and am the happiest I have ever been :)
Would you tell me what type of cat sketchie is? so adorable!
Congratulations! You’ve really taken control of your life and your happiness!
Honestly, everyday I think about quitting my current grad program. I like the subject but honestly I don’t like being where I am and the people aren’t very nice. I’m not necessarily unhappy but I’ve been happier. I’m just sticking through it because I’ve invested so much in it (money wise) already that 3 semesters isn’t that much to just stick out. I’m hoping that when I’m done here, I’ll have a master’s degree and be able to do something I love, even if it’s not directly related to my degree. I guess I’m just telling myself that a master’s degree can’t hurt so I might as well stick it out and enjoy it as much as possible. I hope I’m not pushing and fooling myself into a miserable existence…
Great post, really got me thinking.
Happy Birthday to Sketchie!
Well Happy New Life Anniversary . . .although you scared me for a moment when I first read the title of the post . . . I thought you were quitting the bakery, I had visions of running to find my wallet and buying all the bars you had left :)
I know that feeling well…I’m currently a senior at my university, and I have never felt “at home” here. There were a lot of people weighing on my decision to choose this school, but now I realize I should have chosen for myself! I have many regrets about where I decided to go to school, but since I am able to graduate a year early, I figured I would stick it out. I just hope I don’t make the same mistake with law school!
What an inspiring post! I have also started to think about what would make me happy and where I want to go with my life and my career. Seeing someone who made the jump and ended up on top makes me feel like I can do anything. Keep up the amazing work!
After almost 3 years of struggling as an engineering major, this past fall I switched to something completely different that is a much better fit for me. I was just sinking with the workload and since I didn’t enjoy what I was doing, none of it was rewarding and there was nothing to look forward to. It was a pretty major step, but my parents were supportive because they know how depressed and frustrated I had become. I have no problem with spending my life in the library, but now I can do it and actually be interested in what I am cramming into my brain.
Congratulations on your year – you are definitely someone to look up to! I know that you are still learning and growing, but you’ve taken risks and have dealt with what life has thrown at you. Thank you for sharing your wisdom!
Happy Anniversary…I’d emailed you a while back about my similar situation and I think it was the best thing I’ve ever done!
Congratulations! I celebrated my one-year anniversary of my entry into the world of freelance writing in November, and I understand the joy of being able to look back and take a deep breath. I also understand the self-doubt inherent in working for yourself, with loosely defined boundaries and no performance reviews besides the voice in your head. May your next year be just as successful as the first!
What a poignant and touching post. Thank you – it inspires me.
Thanks for this post, Angela. You never fail to inspire me. Like some of the others who have commented, I was someone who thought that teaching would be the career for me. I love working with children, I had the grades I needed, people told me they thought I’d be really good at it… but you know what? From day one, I hated it! I never expected that! I now do a reeeaallly dull admin job, but it doesn’t take over my whole life or stress me out, and I am free to work on finding something that will fulfill me. I will get there! :-)
thank you for being such an inspiration, angela. i mean it – you are an inspiration to me and all of these other wonderful people who read your blog daily. i recently made the decision to transfer colleges mid- sophomore year, and that coupled with my dad’s diagnosis of terminal cancer has left my emotions all over the place. i’ve been confused, but i honestly look to your story of quitting your job & finding your happiness for hope & inspiration that i don’t have to have it ALL figured out right now. i just need to be happy. :)
Adding my voice to the chorus here: thank you so much for this inspiring post, and for your whole inspiring story. I’m 3 weeks into my first “real” job in the field I majored in, and I’m already miserable. I’m already scheming up future plans, and really (REALLY) want to become an entrepreneur. I love reading about your business endeavours!
I’m in the process of searching for the job that is the right fit for me! I’m not scared and I’m fully confident that I will succeed.. I just need to pull the trigger. Great post! I’m glad that this year has worked out so beautifully for you. You deserve it!
Love all these stories! I am in week 3 of a new job that I love. I left a jerk of a boss, a company that didn’t support women and had serious employee engagement issues.
My life has changed so much in less than a month- it is amazing!
Hi Ange.
What a wonderful post. Happy Anniversary!
I went through the same shift! I use to work at a financial institution with a great paycheque but knew that I wasn’t HAPPY.
Then there was an opportunity to work at Booty Camp Fitness and I almost didn’t apply. It wasn’t as secure at the bank and frankly I didn’t know if I should leave a SAFE job. I talked to my boyfriend and he told me that he sees how HAPPY I am when I exercise and when I lead WeightWatchers. So he told me to GO FOR IT! With both feet, I jumped, got the job out of 200 plus applications and now I’m getting certified as a personal trainer (february 2010) And I lead 2 weightwatcher meetings. I love my life and I LOVE to lead people to success. Honestly, if I hadn’t done it, I don’t know where I’d be.