Change Morphs to Chance

I was part of a large layoff from Wells Fargo, the only place I had worked since emigrating from Great Britain many moons ago. It felt like a gut-punch at first. When my job disappeared so did part of my identity.

I wondered what I was meant to be. Similar questions came and went and came back again. After drinking my morning coffee, I had no one to see and nowhere to be. I vacillated. I procrastinated. And then I took some time off.

With time came a changed perspective, and I began to think about what was next. I knew I wanted to find more purposeful work.  Some years ago, I completed my degree (English/Communications) as an adult. I love to write—using words to inspire, persuade, inform and tell stories. I have always known in my heart that that is where my passion lies. Although communication has been a critical component of past jobs, I resolved to attempt to make this long-term passion into a much tighter focus. More a change of emphasis than a change of career—a full-time communications role.

It took a forced change to refocus my goals. I had drifted into a career working with mortgages and stayed because it was the easy thing to do, but there was always the nagging feeling I wasn’t doing what I was supposed to be doing. Sound familiar? Putting one foot forward and trusting my instincts seemed like a solid place to start: Be comfortable being uncomfortable.

Being without a job is scary for a myriad of reasons but I am learning that life has a way of challenging you to get closer to the person you want to be. That doesn’t have to be job-focused, but a job may help in reinventing yourself. 

Photo credit: Nataliya Vaitkevich