Great resigners
It’s the Great Resignation. Friends are quitting jobs. Coworkers are dropping like flies. FOMO is running deep. The employer-employee dichotomy and future of the workplace is in question, and IG financial “experts” are telling you you’re leaving money on the table. Against this backdrop, the slightest disturbance, annoyance, or toleration in our current roles could quickly throw us into a LinkedIn tailspin.
Quitting jobs is trendy, and I want to make sure I’m a great resigner and not a Great Resigner. I say this because I’ve been seeing just as many headlines about workers leaving their jobs as workers who are unhappy with their new ones.
Sometimes enormous overhaul changes are the things we need to feel lighter, stronger, more balanced, and more fulfilled. And sometimes we can feel this way with just a few tweaks.
Easy surface changes can yield tons of contentment. And fast. Sure, there’s less juicy drama in sleeping in for an extra hour three days/week than there is in quitting your corporate job to write a book, but if some extra sleep was all it took for you to feel content (or find the energy to write that book while retaining your income), then which one sounds more attractive? Could you have your cake and eat it too? I believe there’s a reality where you can keep your pleasurable outsides (job/income, apartment, relationship) and still enjoy all the imaginary qualities a new dream whatever promises.
A great resigner takes the time to self-reflect on what they really want. They make decisions in spite of, not based on, fear. They maximize their potential to get what they want in their current circumstances, instead of hopping to a new gig-as-panacea. If this resigner’s decision coincides with a period called the Great Resignation, well then that’s just cool timing.
It’s funny how we’re willing to gamble on a brand new thing rather than asking ourselves some questions. Before you quit that job, think about why you want to quit. Write down your reasons with no judgement. Be honest. What would need to happen for those things to be fixed, improved, no longer a thing? What gets in the way of that solution? Is it you or someone/something else? How can you put the solution into action?
I’m not an expert on you. You are, though. And if we can aim a flashlight at the essential part of you – the part that’s really lit up and excited to wake up each day – maybe we can determine if what you want requires a complete overhaul, or just some slight life adjustments.
When I left a long-term job, I made sure to feel good as hell about my reasons. The last thing I wanted was to find dying grass and varmint holes in what I thought was a greener pasture. I spent time in self-reflection to determine what was missing; I researched and interviewed folks in different fields; I planned a responsible exit that felt good and right to me. I also worked with a life coach throughout the process. I made some mindset adjustments, took more walks, and slept in an extra hour three days/week. By the end of my time there, I had become more effective in my role and was happier than I had ever been. And despite all those improvements, I still knew what I wanted was somewhere else.
Making small adjustments to our lives is difficult – not because the actual adjustment is difficult necessarily, but because we can’t see them. We’re often too caught up in our routines, our stories, and our beliefs to see an alternative. That’s what coaches are for. We’ll help you through the big, overhaul-y stuff, too, but would be pretty cool if you didn’t have to do that, right?
If you’re ready to talk about coaching, go ahead and schedule a free consultation with me, or keep learning about coaching on my site.
Go get ‘em this week.