That was it!  I had had it.  I was ready and egotistically excited to give my two weeks notice.   Other people were getting opportunities I wanted,  I didn’t feel valued or appreciated and I didn’t want to look back in 10 years and wonder why the heck I didn’t make a change when I felt the urge.  We have this one life to make a positive impact on the world and I love the work I do.  How was I going to get it together and make the 10 hours/day of my life worthwhile?

Have you ever felt like this?  Like you are in a routine, but it is jut not fulfilling?  It could be a need for a change at work, it could the need for a change in your personal life or how you spend your time, but ultimately, it is an internally ticking time-bomb calling for a change.

So there I was, wanting a change at work to enable myself to be more fulfilled, but what did I want to do and did I have to leave to get that fulfillment?  Where else would I like to work and what in the world did I need to do to feel successful?  Being at my wit’s end, ready to jump ship is what it took for me to take charge of my career.  The challenge to this urge was feeling a sense of responsibility to my family.  Knowing that my kids and spouse depend on me pushed me to truly evaluate my current work situation to see if I could somehow adjust it to get it to where I felt fulfilled, challenged and overall successful and enthusiastic.

While I honestly would have enjoyed handing in my resignation, I knew it was more of an emotional decision than a rational one… plus I carry our family and have the health insurance/benefits, so I really needed to be mature about this and make sure I would have no regrets.  My children are more important to me than my ego (that is a tough lesson to learn, but nonetheless true).

So I made a list of what I wanted to accomplish in my career.  What sort of position I wanted, what role/title and responsibilities.  Honestly, I didn’t know what sorts of opportunities I wanted, just that I wanted ones where I could be accountable, develop leadership skills and have a more concrete/expected career track.  I also did some serious soul-searching to determine where my thinking was self-defeating and where I could help myself get back up (e.g. positive affirmations, reminding myself that I am worthy of success).

In the next few blogs I will lay out the list of questions I asked myself and the meetings I had with others which ultimately have placed me on the most rewarding, challenging, exciting path I could have ever hoped for (beyond what I even knew existed).  I head into work everyday enthusiastic and determined to increase my knowledge and impact through success and experience.  Spoiler alert – I did not have to leave my current company.  As a result of my figuring out what I want (roadmap in upcoming blog) and effectively communicating with senior leaders, my leadership stepped up their game to fulfill me in my career in the most surprising and supportive ways they could.