Couldn't say I am in the same boat yet but I am trying to get there as well. Freedom to be yourself fully is so liberating and I hope you will get there soon enough with your wellness coaching aspiration
Aw thank you so much, Minh!! I’m so glad this resonated with you. It took me a few years to get here and even then, every week is a reminder of how much more work I can do to feel even freer. I’m finding patience and self compassion are the big keys to progress. You’ll get there! I’m rooting for you :)
You're an excellent writer Syd! I found myself typing your words as I was reading so I can see your prose at a better level. A few of my reactions:
1. "What was limiting my time? A self-created timetable of how long I had before I needed to get a new job. A well-paying, highly-competitive, desk-bound corporate job. A job deemed socially acceptable by my culture, one that loves to ask “what do you do?” at a party, second only to asking your name."
I resonate so much with this! A lot of the "pressure" we feel is actually fake (I know, crazy right?), meaning it's not real. I'm glad you realized this ("self-created"). And now at parties — when I get asked what I do — I tell them "I'm a world traveler." And leave it at that. It's usually quite fun. But that's who I am!
2. "Decisions are coming easily. I used to be terrible at making decisions. It turns out decisions are a lot easier when I stop searching for the answers outside myself."
I feel the same way!!! I used to be very indecisive but ever since I started to trust myself — decisions became easy. Crazy how that works. Maybe this deserves a second piece.
I'm glad I met you through Foster. Best luck with writing and health coaching! Cheers, Leo
Thank you so much, Leo!! So glad we got to meet. It's so nice to hear you've shared in some of these experiences too. And I love that job description :) Haven't yet felt comfortable enough to have some fun with my responses, but maybe I'll challenge myself to try it once to test the waters.
Best of luck to you too!! Excited to read your work.
Thank you for sharing this - very valid and sometimes scary realizations of de-corporatizing (is that a word?) I am in a similar position - but with the distractions of family, school, parenting and then of course, survival. I loved your observation about looking over the horizon of our past experience into new fields of interest - I am struggling with this and still find this anchor of what I know best holding me back. Good luck - and again - thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for sharing where you connected and where you're struggling, Matthew! I don't yet have the weight of a family and parenting on my shoulders, but can only imagine how the love and responsibility you feel for your family makes it harder to venture into the unknown. For what it's worth, it took me two years of debating before changing paths, and being where I am now, I can see those two years gifted me so much insight and learning that've been essential to making the past few months so beautiful. So in that way, perhaps the anchor you feel is your inner knowing telling you there's still more for you to experience on your current path, but that the time for change is not far away. Good luck to you as well!
"I challenged myself to survive outside the walls of the political productivity mill I experienced in corporate America, a challenge to pursue passion rather than praise, and was failing. Leaving corporate America physically doesn’t mean much if you can’t leave it mentally. I needed to stop being and doing what made me great at my job: “highly-motivated,” “detail-oriented,” and a “self-starter.”"
Beautifully worded! I was recently laid off and am still grappling with this myself. Some days are easier than others when it comes to the feeling of running on that self-imposed time table you spoke of—one that is pretty much engrained after years in the corporate world (tech for me). The freedom that comes from learning to just *be*, though? So, so worthwhile.
Could not agree more! So glad to hear this resonated with you. I'm so sorry to hear you were laid off, but wherever your journey takes you next, I have a feeling it'll benefit greatly from the work you're doing in practicing just being.
So far, I find the ability to be truly present makes subsequent work/activities easier and far more fulfilling. Wishing you all the best on your journey!!
Love this so much Syd :)
Couldn't say I am in the same boat yet but I am trying to get there as well. Freedom to be yourself fully is so liberating and I hope you will get there soon enough with your wellness coaching aspiration
Aw thank you so much, Minh!! I’m so glad this resonated with you. It took me a few years to get here and even then, every week is a reminder of how much more work I can do to feel even freer. I’m finding patience and self compassion are the big keys to progress. You’ll get there! I’m rooting for you :)
You're an excellent writer Syd! I found myself typing your words as I was reading so I can see your prose at a better level. A few of my reactions:
1. "What was limiting my time? A self-created timetable of how long I had before I needed to get a new job. A well-paying, highly-competitive, desk-bound corporate job. A job deemed socially acceptable by my culture, one that loves to ask “what do you do?” at a party, second only to asking your name."
I resonate so much with this! A lot of the "pressure" we feel is actually fake (I know, crazy right?), meaning it's not real. I'm glad you realized this ("self-created"). And now at parties — when I get asked what I do — I tell them "I'm a world traveler." And leave it at that. It's usually quite fun. But that's who I am!
2. "Decisions are coming easily. I used to be terrible at making decisions. It turns out decisions are a lot easier when I stop searching for the answers outside myself."
I feel the same way!!! I used to be very indecisive but ever since I started to trust myself — decisions became easy. Crazy how that works. Maybe this deserves a second piece.
I'm glad I met you through Foster. Best luck with writing and health coaching! Cheers, Leo
Thank you so much, Leo!! So glad we got to meet. It's so nice to hear you've shared in some of these experiences too. And I love that job description :) Haven't yet felt comfortable enough to have some fun with my responses, but maybe I'll challenge myself to try it once to test the waters.
Best of luck to you too!! Excited to read your work.
Thank you for sharing this - very valid and sometimes scary realizations of de-corporatizing (is that a word?) I am in a similar position - but with the distractions of family, school, parenting and then of course, survival. I loved your observation about looking over the horizon of our past experience into new fields of interest - I am struggling with this and still find this anchor of what I know best holding me back. Good luck - and again - thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for sharing where you connected and where you're struggling, Matthew! I don't yet have the weight of a family and parenting on my shoulders, but can only imagine how the love and responsibility you feel for your family makes it harder to venture into the unknown. For what it's worth, it took me two years of debating before changing paths, and being where I am now, I can see those two years gifted me so much insight and learning that've been essential to making the past few months so beautiful. So in that way, perhaps the anchor you feel is your inner knowing telling you there's still more for you to experience on your current path, but that the time for change is not far away. Good luck to you as well!
I can't express how unbelievably happy i am to read this, and how beautiful and amazing of a writer you are!
And I can't express how unbelievably grateful I am for your guidance and encouragement!! Best coach in the world. (and an amazing friend :))
"I challenged myself to survive outside the walls of the political productivity mill I experienced in corporate America, a challenge to pursue passion rather than praise, and was failing. Leaving corporate America physically doesn’t mean much if you can’t leave it mentally. I needed to stop being and doing what made me great at my job: “highly-motivated,” “detail-oriented,” and a “self-starter.”"
Beautifully worded! I was recently laid off and am still grappling with this myself. Some days are easier than others when it comes to the feeling of running on that self-imposed time table you spoke of—one that is pretty much engrained after years in the corporate world (tech for me). The freedom that comes from learning to just *be*, though? So, so worthwhile.
Could not agree more! So glad to hear this resonated with you. I'm so sorry to hear you were laid off, but wherever your journey takes you next, I have a feeling it'll benefit greatly from the work you're doing in practicing just being.
So far, I find the ability to be truly present makes subsequent work/activities easier and far more fulfilling. Wishing you all the best on your journey!!
❤️