Understated Ideas

I made the decision recently to quit a stable job for one in a completely different industry. I expected to be uncomfortable starting from scratch in a new environment. I wanted to be uncomfortable because I knew this meant challenging myself and growing in the process. I would be increasing my skill set and expanding my marketability. I had been feeling listless in my previous role; I felt that I’d learnt all I could have in my time there. So I quit.

It sounds deceptively simple on paper. But the lead up to that decision did not come easily at all. Change is incredibly difficult even when you know it will serve you well. I was fearful of the unknown. What if the new workplace was discouraging of professional growth, the opposite of what I had wanted? What if I couldn’t relate to my team? What if I remained stagnant or my efforts to excel weren’t recognised?

I thought long and hard about the possibility things would go south. Part of this was accepting that there will always be variables I can’t anticipate or control. Ultimately the decision to accept the job boiled down to the fact I had asked all the questions I could think to ask about my new workplace and its environment and nothing raised a red flag.

Throughout my first day I was in a state of controlled fluster. It had been a few years since I last found myself in a position to start from scratch. I had forgotten much of how it felt to be the new person. Outside of my unfamiliarity with the industry jargon and software tools, one surprise was a few coworkers mentioning how impressed and excited they were with my background experience, having been in both the software and non-profit industries. I was confounded. I thought of my work experience as a bit of a resume of failure. I saw it as a meandering path that weakened my application. They however saw it as a testament to my competency and fit in the organisation. The unexpected perspective was a timely reminder that we are our own worst critics.

The subsequent days were significantly better than that very first one. I truly appreciated the coworker who took the initiative to sit across me at lunch. In such a large organisation and with a remote team, I had felt a bit like the new kid at school figuring out which table to sit at. Another coworker checked in before a large meeting we had to make sure I knew what to expect. My internal team members all work remotely but sent me welcoming emails and messages. Their support was assuring.

Change is necessary and inevitable in life. We get so comfortable in our known ways of doing things that we become complacent. Eventually, we will always find something unsatisfactory that we decide we no longer identify with, prefer, or accept. In a workplace, this doesn’t always come about as a result of an organisational flaw, but may happen due to the layered expectations we develop over time. Whatever the reason, when we feel it’s time to go, it’s usually a good sign to move on. So take a calculated risk and leap into the unknown!