My Great Resignation

Resigning your job is incredibly painful and scary, because in reality you aren't just leaving a job, you are also leaving some of yourself behind. I should know, since this is the second time I do it in less than 3 years.

The Great Pain

When you leave a job, without having another lined up, you find yourself in pain.

There’s the pain of leaving behind all that work you did. All that effort, all those hours spent. All that work you did that is no longer yours. Sure, the experience can’t be taken away from you, but the work itself is out of your hands. It’s now owned by a company you no longer belong to. If any of your work continues to be used by the company, your name is erased. It’s no longer something you did.

In my case, I am no longer associated with all that thorough strategy work that I poured my heart and soul into. Or the 7 pillars of flexibility, which I invented, firmly believe in and will continue to evangelize.

Then there’s the pain of losing those relationships you invested yourself in. People who inspired you, people who you celebrated with, laughed with, cried with, fought with. People you shared life with.

In my case, I leave behind an entirely magical team of people. A team in which we had created the environment that allowed everyone to trust each other and to be themselves. A team where we helped each other, believed in each other and grew each other.

Suddenly you are alone, no longer surrounded by the incredible people you shared everything with. From one day to the other, relationships disappear and for those that remain you start to realize that they also fade - even when you express a desire for the opposite: “Don’t worry, we’ll still keep in touch”.

It’s painful.

The Great Uncertainty

When you leave a job, without having another lined up, you enter uncertainty.

There’s obviously the economic uncertainty. How long can I survive without a job? Do I need to make sacrifices in my way of living? Will I be able to earn sufficiently in the future?

Then there’s the the pounding self-doubt, that makes you question your entire being: Am I even good at what I do? Did I really make an impact? Will I simply be a distant memory to the many people I worked with?

And you realize you can’t predict the future, so you start to question it: Did I make the right decision? Will I ever get a relevant job again? Will a future job actually be better?

It’s scary.

The Great Breakthrough

So why leave if it’s that painful and scary? Because every time you close a door, a better one always opens.

While in a job, your energy is spent on exactly that; your job. Releasing yourself from your job allows you to refocus your energy, forcing you to reevaluate what is really important to you.

In my case, I realize how I value transparency, trust and inclusion over absolutely anything else. I realize how I believe there are new progressive ways to work. I realize that it’s my responsibility to continue talking about them. I’m learning this through the breakdown of leaving my job.

Because breakdowns lead to breakthroughs.

The Great Clarity

Suddenly you find yourself on a journey of clarity, where the pain is slowly eased and the scariness slowly removed.

In my case, my journey of clarity starts with sharing this story.

Because we learn from calculations, not conclusions.

Clarity coming.