12 Things to Consider If You're Thinking About Leaving Your Corporate Gig

I can remember it so clearly. It was about a month before I was planning to tell the Board of my decision to retire. Getting ready for work one morning, I froze with fear. It was gripping and it stopped me in my tracks.

The mental cacophony was relentless: “This is a life impacting decision. You’re throwing away more than three decades of work. Are you crazy?!”

Then a funny thing happened. A complete sense of calm permeated my body. The shift from anxiety to serenity was jolting. The mental chatter gave way to a series of matter-of-fact statements: “It’s time to embark on a new journey. You’ve been preparing your whole life for this. You’re fully capable of whatever lies ahead.”

In the wake of this brief moment, my energy felt peaceful, quiet and still. As I replayed the reassuring words in my head, they felt supportive and encouraging, and the tone resonated as truth. That moment happened in 2018. The fear never returned and the calmness has remained.

Do you feel overwhelmed with fear whenever you allow yourself to daydream about leaving corporate life behind? The good news is that we now live in a time when it’s completely acceptable to reassess our careers and what work means for us. But what’s the right decision for you?

Retirement is a Verb

Have you ever had one of those days when seemingly disparate thought streams keep swirling around in your head?

Like you, I’ve been trying to make sense of national and world affairs, feeling the unending waves of change and tragedy. Also occupying my mind these days is the unfolding of a new horizon of my work, which is focused on helping professionals who are contemplating leaving corporate life and those who have recently retired find meaning and purpose in this current stage of life.

To distract myself from all of this mental busyness, I listened to a favorite podcast while running errands early one morning. A guest was recounting a story of a decision a man made more than five decades prior to volunteer one hour of his time each week for a cause that deeply affected him. Through that one hour of pro bono legal work, the guest’s father was able to provide an upbringing for his children that he would not have been able to if it weren’t for that lawyer’s donated time. And one of those children, the man who was telling the story, dedicated his life to public service and currently serves as a U.S. senator.

That’s when all of my mental chatter converged and I realized that retirement is a verb.

The One Question to Ask When Considering Post-Corporate Life

Do you ever catch yourself daydreaming about what it will be like when your corporate career ends? Do you have a clear vision or is it a blank slate? Perhaps you’re stuck because you think you need to have a clearly defined plan before you embark on a new adventure.

While pursuing a solo passion is the path for some, most people, myself included, don’t have a singular focus. In fact, when I left my long-time career to become an entrepreneur, I decided on the general direction of wellness and was in the process of writing a book, but I wasn’t certain where the business would lead.

Turns out, a passion of mine is podcasting, which I didn’t know in 2019 when I left my job. Another passion has become online education, creating courses to help midlife professionals as they transition out of their corporate careers. I found my way to these new activities through experimentation.

You can, too. And there’s a really simple way to get started – with one question. It was the question I asked myself five years before I left my corporate gig. And that question is…

Some Thoughts on the Great Resignation and Wellness

We’ve all seen the headlines and read the stories. A massive transformation of the workforce is underway due to people making decisions regarding their mental and physical health, childcare, salary, retirement, purpose, entrepreneurial opportunities, or, to a lesser degree, leaving the workforce altogether.

The Great Resignation is an economic trend that started in 2021 when a mass exodus from the workforce began with millions voluntarily leaving their jobs – 47.8 million (and counting) according to the U.S. Labor Department. There are many theories as to why people are quitting at a time when companies are desperate to hire. Some point to pandemic safety concerns, burnout, and economic factors, like wage levels.

But over the last two years, many have reflected on their lives, including the importance of work/life balance and purpose. Those who have been fortunate enough to experience the freedom that comes with working from home or work schedule flexibility aren’t excited to be going back to the traditional 9-5 lifestyle.

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