4 Signs That It's Time To Quit Your Job
I will never forget the day I went to clear out my desk and officially submit my letter of resignation from the teaching job I’d held for several years at one of the most prestigious schools in the county. I had prayed for this job. Other teachers would kill for this job. It was the dream job….someone else’s dream that is.
Deciding to quit my job was not some dramatic declaration of independence where I stormed into my boss’s office, ceremoniously dropped my resignation letter at her feet, and rode off into the sunset. Oh no, it was a lot less entertaining. More of a slow burn. A compilation of days spent crying on the way to work, feeling anxious constantly for seemingly no reason at all, questioning myself and my life and what exactly would make me happy.
At this point I’d committed to the field of teaching. I had 2 degrees, thousands of dollars in student loan debt, and a resume full of accomplishments that said starting over was not an option. I felt trapped, unsure and terrified. I didn’t want to start over, but I knew I couldn’t continue on in this field. Below are the 4 signs that helped me realize it was time to say “Never mind” to my chosen career.
Constant Anxiety
A therapist once told me that “anxiety is your body’s way of trying to keep you safe.” Your body knows at a cellular level when a situation is not good for you before your mind has the chance to recognize it. The first signs that this job was no longer right for me were felt in my body. My chest was tight. I was quick to cry at things that seemed so tiny and insignificant. I had a constant knot in the pit of my stomach. My body was on high alert because it knew that this job was draining the life out of me. Listening to our bodies is hard sometimes because this current manifestation of society doesn’t always value a spiritual knowing. Saying that you made a decision simply based on your “gut” is a good way to get side eyes and judgement from anyone within ear shot, but I wish I’d listened to my body sooner. It would have saved me a lot of time.
Lack of engagement and productivity
Trying to get my work done and accomplish goals was like pulling teeth towards the end of my career as a teacher. The things I once loved about my job were harder and harder for me to complete. I spent more time daydreaming, wishing I was somewhere else, and counting down the seconds until I could clock out. A certain level of boredom can be expected in our day to day lives, but a lack of motivation is a sign we should pay close attention to. If it is hard for you to find the ability to care about your work load, it may be time to find new work.
Spending time at my current job looking for another job
This is one that fills me with a bit of shame. It challenges my values to admit that I spent time that I should’ve been giving to my students looking for a new job, but this blog is always about honesty so I will admit that many of my hours were spent on job boards applying for new positions. If you find yourself at work looking for other jobs, working on your resume, or journaling about a possible entrepreneurial endeavor, it is definitely a sign that your heart is longing for a change.
Reading Blogs like this one
I must have spent hours upon hours reading blogs about people who chose to quit their jobs. Reading how they did it, why they did it, and if they regretted doing it. Looking back on it I can see that I was looking for permission. I wanted to read that it was ok to want to quit my job. I needed validation that I was not a failure for choosing a career that ultimately left me unfulfilled. I needed to find community with other people whose journeys had taken them down a similar path.
So there they are, the 4 signs that helped me see that it was time to quit my job. If you are considering quitting your job and are looking for validation or permission to make that leap, please take this blog post as a sign. Life is too short to spend it unhappy. It is never too late to change your mind. It is ok to say “I thought this would work for me, but turns out I was wrong.” You have not wasted time in your current position. You have used it to gain knowledge , not only about things that you can apply to your next position, but most importantly about yourself. You are the master of your fate. YOU get to decide how you spend your time. So take the plunge love. Walk into your job first thing tomorrow morning and say “Oops! Never mind”