A year ago, I said goodbye to the role that defined me for almost two decades. I worked as a publisher at the largest magazine publishing company in the country. I started at 23 as an Associate Publisher, got promoted at 26 to Group Publisher and finally snagged the plum role of Publisher at 32. At 37, they added more responsibilities by assigning the magazine websites to me as well.
I left two weeks before I turned 40. After 16 years, it felt time for new adventures, to see what else the world had to offer. I wasn’t as motivated anymore by the same-old, same-old routine. The night before I gave in my resignation letter, after weeks of soul-wrenching thinking and journaling, I had a vision of someone opening a door for me and beyond that, thousands of doors opening before me. It made me excited to walk through that door and see what lay beyond. That vision has since come true.
Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you’re leaving behind an identity that you’ve had for so long. Here are some things I did that helped ease the pain:
1. I took some time off.
I didn’t jump into a new job right away but made sure that I did things I always wanted to do that I never had time for when I was busy busy busy. I took lots of naps. I knit for hours. I read a LOT—books I didn’t have time to read in the past, blogs, magazines. I took yoga classes. I became a full-time mom. I researched life coaching training programs.
2. I planned a trip.
I made sure that I had something to look forward to. I took my life-changing trip to Bali where I did yoga twice a day for a week, had a day of silence, went to a temple for a purification ritual and met amazing women who were also on their own soul-searching journey.
3. I asked for support.
I worked with a life coach about how lost I was without my identity. If I wasn’t a publisher, then who was I? She connected me to who I really was and reminded me that I was still Aurora, mama, great friend, daughter, sister, who wants to do what she loves and work with people who are kind, creative and insightful.
4. I reframed what I lost.
Instead of focusing on what I had left, I looked at what I currently had and what lay ahead. I had more time to do what I wanted instead of being tied to a time clock. I didn’t have to get up early, put on uncomfortable stilettos and drag myself to the office. I could live in shorts and tsinelas. I was responsible for only myself and my family and not a whole business. I didn’t need to wait until after hours or weekends to be able to make time for what I loved and for me.
5. I made sure that I was on top of my gratitude journal practice.
I made sure say thank you for all the positive things that happened in my life that day. Opening my heart to positivity made room for more amazing things to come into my life—such as launching our social enterprise, Knitting Expedition, meeting people I would never have met (like amazing and talented crafters), my life coaching training, reconnecting with old friends who believed in me and boosted my confidence again.
I can say today that saying goodbye was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made as it opened my life and my world to so much more.
A beautiful doorway in Bali, a symbol of how the doors have opened for me since I said goodbye
