career transition
Age Written: 33. Age Writing to: 30. Location: London, U.K.
To Her,
Oh my dear. I know you are so afraid and unsure right now. You feel like you’ve done everything “right” — the career with the promotions, the financial stability, the independence. But when you look ahead, this is not your path. You don’t want your manager’s job. You don’t want this to be your forever story. You know something must shift, but it feels so scary, so shaky, so uncertain right now. And you keep getting sick and now it’s almost like you can’t seem to get better…the fainting, the headaches, the sinus infections. Your body, your nervous system, is trying to tell you something. You haven’t been listening but now you must confront it.
Here’s what I want you to know, what I wish I could have told you then. You are going to flip your whole world upside down. It is going to suck for a while but not forever. And then things are going to get dramatically, drastically better and you won’t be able to fathom what life would have looked like had you not done what you will do. Not that you won’t still experience challenges, of course you will, but they will be with the backbone of purpose. Life will feel more fulfilling, lighter, and more aligned than it ever has before. You will feel the healthiest and strongest you’ve ever been. And I’m going to walk you through how you are going to do it.
First, you are going to make a commitment to being open to things changing. You are going to recognize that things cannot continue on in the same way they have been or else you will look back on your life with an immense amount of regret. And that would be worst than any fear. You don’t have to know right now exactly how they are going to change–just be open to the fact that they are. Oh, and become fiercely protective of who you let into your space right now. Only your cheerleaders and believers. Notice quickly when others are projecting their fears onto you and boundary accordingly.
Then, you are going to commit to a journey of exploration. You are going to let yourself be immersed in new experiences. You will pursue a new business idea (a few, actually!) and see if any feel right to you. You will take a 6-month course. You will go to the networking events and the conference. You will reach out to people who inspire you and buy them coffee. You will listen almost constantly to podcasts and books of people who inspire you–Martha Beck and Oprah will be your favorites. Hold these experiences lightly. You don’t have to make any choices right now, just see what your soul lights up around. You will feel lost at many times during this, wondering what you are doing and if it matters. It’s part of the process—trust it.
Some days are going to suck. You are going to go to the park and cry in the rain. You are going to feel so anxious that you want to literally crawl out of your skin. You are going to feel shaky, scared, and like you want to jump ahead in time. You won’t…you can’t. So instead, you are going to take it one day at a time. Sometimes one hour, one step at a time. You are going to prioritize sleep. You are going to remember that this too shall pass. And slowly, very slowly, you are going to start to turn in the direction of your dreams. By taking one step at a time. You are going to let yourself explore a new career… the type of work that you would do for free. And as you take each step towards that direction, things are going to start falling into place for you. And if you get quiet enough to notice, your whole body is going to respond with a sense of inner calm, a sense of inner peace that is telling you you are on the right path. And that is going to keep happening and keep happening, until your whole life looks different and your soul is more lit up than it ever has been before. And then you will be different in the best way. You will know that you made the brave choice. The right choice. And you will be so glad that you did.
With love,
Your Future Self
