Quitting My Job Made Me Powerful And Strong

Quitting My Job Made Me Powerful And Strong

Kristyn Meyer is on a journey to make herself the best human that she can be. These posts are a reflection of that. She welcomes your support via reading and through commissioned affiliate links within her posts! To stay up to date on all of her shenanigans, please subscribe to her email list! (psst…there’s a free gift involved)

A couple years ago I read a book by Allison Pearson that I came across. It’s called “I Don’t Know How She Does It”. In summary, it’s about a working mom who does everything in her power to keep her life together in all aspects – work, motherhood, home, wife duty. At the end she makes a decision to *spoiler alert* chuck it all and focus on the important things in life. The author paints this image in the last few pages of the mom enjoying her days at home with her young son, not rushing through the day like she had for so long. She strolls to the local school to pick up her daughter at the end of the school day, something she was never able to do before.

For years that exact scene has stuck in my head. To be so calm and serene in life…is it even possible in the real world?

And then I realized that it could be possible. But it would take a giant leap of faith. That of quitting my job.

And I did it.

By quitting my job, I have become a completely different person.

1. I Know How To Be Strong. For so long I would bite my tongue when it came to conversations that I had a strong opinion about. If I were to voice those thoughts, I would often be seen as a person who couldn’t take feedback or who wasn’t professional, as many of my colleagues had found out the hard way. When I put in my notice, I regained that ability to be strong for myself. Conversations that were in my wheelhouse of knowledge got my input, even if it was unwanted.
2. I Know How To Be Vocal. With that ability to be strong came the joy of being vocal. Knowing that I was getting ready to leave gave me a newfound freedom to tell people my real thoughts. I finally found my voice in a place where it was hiding for far too long.
3. I Know How To Advocate. I’m an advocate of many causes, but after giving my notice I was starting to fight for those I was leaving behind. Using my newfound strength and voice to rally for change to those in higher positions. I know that my previous colleagues are unable to use their voice as they would like, so I used mine for them.
4. I Know That I Am Enough. For so long I felt like a peon on the bottom of the totem pole. Respect was not something that I came by often. Acknowledging my skill set was unheard of. Outside of the environment that I was in, I have found that I am enough. I am strong, I am brave, I am smart and I am beautiful.
5. I Know What Self-Esteem Is. For many years, self-esteem was something that I heard about but never saw. Wherever it was, it wasn’t present and prevalent in my life. After giving my notice, it started to make more of an appearance. I feel better about myself and who I am as a person, mother, wife and employee.
6. I Know Control. When stress has a hold on your life, your ability to control other things goes out the window. I was a horrible binge eater, I possessed a short fuse and I couldn’t follow through on outside obligations. With my two week notice came a return of something I didn’t know I ever had. Control. I am able to eat correctly, sleep better and communicate more calmly.
7. I Know Compassion. Before giving my notice I had very little mental and emotional bandwidth to extend to others. Following that, I have acquired a heart, for lack of a better term. I have the ability to feel sadness and sympathy in situations where I previously couldn’t.
8. I Know Happiness. For longer than I care to admit, I was miserable in my 40 hour a week obligation. Upon handing over my resignation letter, a cloud lifted and sun started to shine through. I finally started to see true happiness.

In Conclusion:

I am a true believer that mindset makes a world of difference in the quality of your life. And at times we are not in a place where our mindset is as healthy as it needs to be. It is up to us, the powerful and strong humans that we are, to discover when that is and take the steps to rectify it. At times it takes great sacrifice, and also some huge inconvenience. But in the end the benefits outweigh the pain.