I quit my job; now what?

Hello Coaches,

I’m struggling to decide what to do next after quitting my job. I left a role in a design agency late 2020 and felt very certain in that decision. The sector and the circumstances hadn’t felt right for a while and after over-thinking and feeling resentful about the situation (for years – wtf!), I decided that only way I would ever take charge of my life was to make a ‘power move’ on myself by quitting, thus forcing myself into deciding what to do next. Also, I felt excited to find out what else was ‘out there’ – a bit of magical pandemic thinking. It was a huge relief to do and I’ve tried some new things / learned new skills since then but my freelance work dried up late this summer. Now I’m spiralling / buffering / not deciding / getting poorer £ / feeling sorry – all the things.

I started gardening as a volunteer early this year and I’ve taken on more hours and a small bit of ownership of a big project with an exciting vision. Working outside is an unimaginable joy. I’m having some thoughts about pursuing gardening as a career – when I think about ‘starting over at 43’ my guts hurt. For the next 15 years, I ‘should be’ in the prime earning spot of my old career. I’ve started applying for design director jobs again in response to those thoughts and feelings but they (the jobs) are so not right and no one’s calling me back anyway! To be fair I’m probably getting out what I put in. When I look back at my portfolio of recent work I’m proud of what I’ve done but everything seems so old, like it belongs to the past.

I know you can’t decide whether to stick with design or try a new career for me but I could use your help in sorting out the issues at play. Money is clearly one so I think I should do a thought download to figure out what about money is the issue, but I think there’s more to it than that. I’m so close to it that I can’t see it – is there anything in what I’ve written that stands out to you? I don’t want to write ‘I’m stuck!’ because I know that’s just a thought. I want to work this out with TFC tools but not sure how to get started. Thanks!

 

Answer:

Your thought “I’m struggling to decide what to do next after quitting my job” is a lie your brain is telling you. You quit years ago and have been making decisions ever since. Each decision has brought you to where you are today. You are telling your story in a very disempowered way. I would offer that you are believing that your Power Move has not turned out how you thought it would, and that going back into design means something about you. What is that?

How could you look at it differently?

What if this is exactly where you are supposed to be and you have everything you need to make this decision?

What if it’s ok to take a job that pays better, for now?