What happens when you step off the career treadmill?
In October 2023, after 12 years, I closed the best chapter of a career, packed full of adventure, challenge, fun and steep learning curves at LinkedIn. (For anyone interested, you can follow my career path here)
One year on, I took time to reflect on this decision and capture the full experience of a career pause. Some unexpected learnings jump out that I want to share, for anyone who is considering taking a leap and needing that final push.
There is a transition period… or in my case, a recovery period. I took my hyper scheduled approach from work, and tried to build my new life with this approach. The result was more intensity - I found myself baking muffins, while listening to a wellness podcast and booking into a yoga class, all at the same time. Wellness of max speed is not recommended! It took about 3 months to decompress and learn to enjoy the moment and kick the need to feel productive.
Sometimes you just need to rest - After my frantic wellness phase, January came as a gift. With cold days, dark evenings and fewer social demands, I finally surrendered to the bed, with the heated blanket and Netflix on….and immediately wondered why I hadn't done it months ago.
The gift of space allowed me to reconnect with what mattered the most. I started to embrace the opportunity to walk the dog without having to rush back, to take over some of the logistics of 3 kids from my husband, I started to enjoy yoga when I acknowledged I will forever be a beginner, I was able to be there for friends and family in those moments that matter, without rushing off for a meeting, and I learned to read again and I have loved exploring the local library.
My energy came back when I got back into alignment with my authentic self. Connection is a key value for me and I am energized now that I can honour it and be present. My friends and family are still shocked now when I actually reply to their messages (although I am still working on my response rate) I have deepened my relationships and created a whole new network through true connection (while still dodging the School Parents Association)
Headspace allowed me to embrace learning and risk taking. My career pushed me outside my comfort zone in every way and that is something I never wanted to lose. It turns out life is full of opportunities to “feel the fear and do it anyway”. I have found myself swimming in a 50m pool to channel my inner Olympian, singing in Dublin's Convention Centre with my 200 person choir (Follow us at here), completing a 6 month certification in Coaching and now, setting up my own business - The Big Life Project.
No decision is every 100% clear cut. Over the year, there have been many moments wondering whether I was doing the right thing, should I be doing more with my "free time", what if I never got a job again... All the negative chatter surfaces every so often. Having a strong network of friends in similar set up (and an very patient entrepreneur husband) has been key to being able to talk it through, see the positive perspectives and embrace the opportunity for everything it is.
To anyone who is considering taking some time out from your career. I would challenge you to just do it. You never know what will happen but I guarantee you, you won't regret it.
This opportunity to pause my career has been a complete privilege, a wild ride and just the break I needed to prepare for the next phase of my career. We are working for longer than ever and the old way of working, just won't hold up going forward. I now think about my career as stretches or sprints, rather than a marathon… because I know I am definitely not a marathon type :)
I asked my kids how they would describe my career break…and they said… “I like it when you collect from school and give me a hug… (but I miss the presents from your work trips)”. Sometimes, the simple things are the most important. This is just the beginning of my mid-life uplevel and I could not be more excited and open to where the path leads next.
There is a season for everything.
