Breaking up is hard to do
Your stomach feels uneasy. You rehearse what you’re going to say in your head. Your palms become sweaty. Finally, you blurt it out and hope for a decent reaction. It was about a week ago that I did all of the above and quit my job; honestly one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. Until last week, I never realized how similar breaking up and quitting are. In both I’ve agonized over the decision, consulted anyone who would listen and ultimately looked for a “sign” that would help me (I’m not very spiritual but I do believe that there are signs the universe sends us, yeah yeah laugh if you want). In this case, I had 2 signs:
1 – I met my new employer by signing up for their service – I sign up for a lot of bargain sites (gilt groupe, daily candy, etc) but I never thought that one of them would want to hire me! Was it luck? fate? All I know is that I’m very fortune to get an opportunity like this!
2 - I got into the screening of Lemonade - As a marketing/advertising junkie, I heard about Erik Proulx’s documentary about advertising professionals who were laid off and forced to create and follow a Plan B. Basically, when life hands you lemons you better start making lemonade (see trailer here). So when he held a screening in NYC you bet I got a ticket. It made me realize that I don’t need to be fired or laid off in order to kick start my life. Yes I am young and could wait for an opportunity to present itself, but if I want my life and work to be exciting and meaningful I need to make it happen. Long story short, it helped lessen the agony of whether to take the job.
I have to say that breaking up with my job might have been a smidge harder than ending a relationship considering I really like and respect everyone I work with and quitting seems like a big slap in their faces. Having been the one to break up with someone, the one to be broken up with and now the one to quit, I can honestly say that quitting definitely made me more nervous. But now that fear is conquered =)
A little something extra:
Whenever I think about non-serious breakups (don’t even get me started on serious breakups) I always think of the poem from 10 Things I Hate About You (BONUS: the introduction of Heath Ledger). Sometimes this clip makes me laugh and sometimes it makes me sad. Mostly, this clip makes me glad that I am no longer a silly teenager with silly crushes that cause me to write in my journal (fyi: this blog does NOT count as a journal =P )
