Time to Heal: CAREER

Have you ever felt so compelled to just throw it all in and book a one way ticket ANYWHERE? Then you remember that you would have to pack everything but the kitchen sink because you have a child in tow. Oh, and that job you have might expect you to work a long notice period, and then, yeah, the mortgage and phone bill still needs to be paid. So, OK, maybe we can’t just jack everything in and go live in a beach side shack in Goa for a few months, but how can we shake things up when we start thinking “is this it?!”

Most of us have that certain something in our life that can be classed as a ‘sore point’: relationship, career, family, money, body image, or a combination of everything and nothing. You’ll know what yours is. For me, it was not doing something I truly loved in my career. As a teenager I had visions of either being a hot shot corporate something-or-other and having the means to live a luxurious life (teenage Jen didn’t realise that this would involve working 90 hour weeks and being too exhausted to enjoy the success), or working at Vogue and having access to the most beautiful fashion, parties, and allowing the creative side of me to reign supreme (how naive, huh?) Either way, I saw success as HAVING IT ALL. Of course, I also wanted a loving husband, beautiful children and to be utterly, blissfully happy as well.

Now the family part I am lucky enough to have (this is a whole other post), and the body image is a never ending battle, but the career? It just wasn’t quite what I had dreamed of. My job was great for the most part but I was wholly unsatisfied and needed to do something drastic. So did I just go to my boss one morning and quit? Well, not quite. I had many lengthy chats with my husband and close friends, I scouted out potential opportunities, and I thought more and more about the business that I know I have in me. Then I went to my boss one morning and quit.

And now? I feel giddy about this aspect of my life again. I feel motivated to achieve. I feel terrified about the bills still having to be paid but you know what, if we have to give up a few luxuries for a while then that’s fine with me and my husband as his opinion counts too! Sometimes.

I’m not saying quit your job and I’m not saying make a drastic change. What I am saying is that if you can identify that one little sore point, then maybe it’s time to try to heal it?