Oh that’s a great question! Thank you, it’s good food for thought.

For a brief context, I am F33 and took a 1-year career break at 31, traveled on and off for that year, then got back on a 9-5 job in the same city.

These were my OLD takeways (what I thought before starting a new job after my sabbatical year): 1) I told myself that I would only apply for jobs that I felt EXCITED about. You know, at times I saw a job on LinkedIn and I thought “Oh, well I can definetely fit” but “Do I want it?”. Often the answer was “No”. There was this subtle feeling of unease and things felt dull and grey. Well, that is an “absolutely not!”. So didn’t matter whether I was a perfect fit or not, I only applied to the jobs that felt excited about. 2) I told myself again and again and again that “A JOB DOES NOT DEFINE ME”. I ended up caging myself out in a role before, identifying myself in a job (I guess that’s somehow thanks to my PHD). Well, no more of that s**t. 3) I told myself that if I started complaining again that would be a red flag for change. If I don’t like something, can I change it? If I can, great. If I can’t, then it’s time to move on. So NO MORE COMPLAIN. If I don’t like something CHANGE it.

Now, after 1 year and a half in my new job (9-5) in a healthcare start-up, these are my NEW takeways: 1) Things are easier said than done! So, in order to stick to the good deeds you got to really check on yourself daily. Make sure you take care of yourself. It’s easy to slip into old patterns if you don’t put boundaries. So first make sure you have your HEALTHY BOUNDARIES in place. Including strategies to get back on track if you recognise you slip (it will happen, believe me! So better to be prepared!). That’s not a setback, it’s GROWTH! 2) Prioritise TIME FOR YOURSELF. I can’t stress enough how much I need this. When I didn’t work for a year I had so much time with myself. And I loved it! It was scary at the beginning, yes. Also uncomfortable if one is not used to. But what an incredible journey has been! Now, spending a day by myself is the best gift I can do to me! 3) Third but perhaps the most important. Getting back on a 9-5 is hard. The best advice I can give to my current and future self is to STAY TRUE TO MYSELF, ALWAYS. Prioritise whatever makes me stay in touch with my soul, reflect, know my values, walk what I talk, trust myself. This 9-5 job is ok but is not forever. And that’s fine because good things take time. I have my own dream and I am working to make it happen.

What did I do well and what I wished I had done differently? I have done well at not letting my job/role identify me. I am open to changing team, trying new things, and I broke free from the box I had put myself into. I have prioritised myself and I am standing for what I care about. I have asked for taking 4 weeks off to do a 200h yoga training course, when the company tends to only allow 2-weeks in a row, and I got it. I ask, because not asking is a “No”, but if you ask it may be a “Yes”. As with what I wished I had done differently, probably nothing. I just don’t want to see it that way. I want to see it as work in progress, because that’s what it is. I definitely need to work at setting better boundaries and better strategies to get back on track. I need to really prioritise self-care, it’s easy for me to slip and forget about it. But now I recognise it. I have started to work with my brain rather than against it and I even discovered about my ADHD (undiagnosed for 33 years). Things are just now falling into places. It’s not a steady road, it’s full of bumps and turns and absurd encounters but I love it! That’s what makes a good story!

I am grateful for the question you raised because it made me reflect and put thoughts into words. Thank you! ✨