What I Gained by Letting Go

Leaving my previous corporate environment came with trade-offs, but it also gave me back space I did not realise I had lost. I am learning new things, meeting different people, and opening myself to opportunities that would not have existed before. Sometimes career progress looks less like climbing and more like making room for what comes next.

Leaving my previous corporate environment came with trade-offs, but it also gave me back space I did not realise I had lost. I am learning new things, meeting different people, and opening myself to opportunities that would not have existed before. Sometimes career progress looks less like climbing and more like making room for what comes next.

Happy Sunday folks.

Seeing my former managers and colleagues climb the ladder is genuinely great news. I hope they’re doing well and not burning themselves out, because I know how messy things can get behind the scenes.

Maybe it’s just another org change, I don’t know, but the local team I was part of don’t seem to be rising with it as much. I hope they’re well too.

I may have jumped ship because of my mental health, but I don’t regret it one bit. I was fortunate enough to recognise some familiar patterns from dealing with a family member’s much more serious condition, and I knew it was time to act before things got worse.

I was in town recently and booked a session with my old therapist, whom I hadn’t seen in about a year and a half. After the session, she said I was much less tense than before.

Coming from someone who used to spend hours trying to undo the damage, I’ll take that.

Numbers-wise, I’m down for now. Life-story-wise, I’m up many times over.

I’m getting my hands dirty again, learning things I’d probably never have touched before, meeting a completely different universe of professionals, including some genuinely wonderful people, and making room for more opportunities later.

Big corporate gave me a lot. It also took up a lot of space in my head and eventually took a toll on my family too.

I’ve got that space back now, and I feel ready for something new.

*Photo by In The Making Studio on Unsplash