1349: What Happened When I Traded My Career for Slow and Simple by Emma Scheib of Simple Slow Lovely

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Work Daily, episode 1349.

[00:01:04] What happened when I traded my career for slow and simple?

[00:01:07] By Emma Scheib of SimpleSlowLovely.com.

[00:01:11] And I'm Dan, I'm your host of the show, and I'm here with you every single day, including

[00:01:15] weekends and holidays, to read from great articles that touch on work, entrepreneurship,

[00:01:20] productivity, and a whole lot of other work-related topics as well.

[00:01:23] So let's get right to it now as we hear from Emma and optimize your life.

[00:01:32] What happened when I traded my career for slow and simple?

[00:01:36] By Emma Scheib of SimpleSlowLovely.com.

[00:01:41] Two years ago, I was a different woman than I am today.

[00:01:44] I was stressed, anxious, exhausted, and felt as though I was merely watching my life pass

[00:01:50] me by.

[00:01:51] I had only been in my dream career job for 18 months, but it felt like a lifetime had

[00:01:55] passed since I'd accepted the offer.

[00:01:58] But I thought this was what I was meant to do.

[00:02:00] I didn't know there were other options.

[00:02:02] I was juggling a full-time job that involved shift work and a commute.

[00:02:06] I had two young children, one only two years old, and a husband who also worked shift work

[00:02:10] in law enforcement.

[00:02:12] We used daycare, a nanny, a cleaner, and a meal service.

[00:02:16] Life was more than full, it was overflowing, and I was dropping balls left, center, and

[00:02:20] right, which might have been okay if they were all rubber.

[00:02:24] But I was doing what I was meant to do, right?

[00:02:27] As an educated woman wanting a family and a career, this was how it was done, wasn't

[00:02:31] it?

[00:02:32] Chasing all the dreams all at once so none of them got away.

[00:02:35] And then, I had an epiphany.

[00:02:37] I realized that I didn't have to have it all.

[00:02:40] I didn't have to keep my dream job.

[00:02:42] I was fortunate enough that I could choose to let it go.

[00:02:45] This realization came at the exact time I realized I was on a fast road to a serious

[00:02:50] physical and emotional breakdown.

[00:02:52] So I quit.

[00:02:53] I quit my life as it was and began rebuilding from the ground up.

[00:02:58] It wasn't easy, and I had a lot of interesting feedback.

[00:03:01] But it's your dream job!

[00:03:03] You'll never find another job like this.

[00:03:05] How can you afford it?

[00:03:06] I didn't have all the answers, but I didn't need them.

[00:03:10] What I needed to do was connect with myself and my family again.

[00:03:14] What quitting your career really looks like.

[00:03:17] One of my values as a writer is honesty.

[00:03:19] I do my best to be honest with you.

[00:03:21] It's a value I admire in other writers and something that keeps me going back to their

[00:03:25] writing.

[00:03:26] When I quit, I knew I wouldn't find another job like that.

[00:03:29] But I had already decided that although it was my dream job, it didn't mean it was the

[00:03:32] right job or the right timing for me.

[00:03:36] And the truth, a little scary and icky, is that we couldn't really afford it.

[00:03:40] We couldn't afford the luxuries we used to have – the cleaner, the meal service, and

[00:03:44] the spontaneous coffee dates.

[00:03:46] But at the exact same time, we couldn't afford not to do it.

[00:03:50] We couldn't afford for me, a wife, a mother, and a friend to be broken any more than I

[00:03:54] already was.

[00:03:56] A career vs. a cobbled path to freedom.

[00:04:00] In the last 16 months since quitting, I've slowed down, I've healed, I've rebuilt,

[00:04:06] and I've found myself again under the layers of anxiety and excess.

[00:04:10] And I've cobbled together an income that contributes to paying our mortgage and putting

[00:04:13] food on the table.

[00:04:14] In the interest of being transparent, here are the ways I've made money since I quit

[00:04:18] my full-time job.

[00:04:19] Worked in a kiwifruit lab, testing kiwifruit.

[00:04:22] Done some freelance creative editing.

[00:04:25] Written articles for other online publications.

[00:04:27] Helped my uncle with some cancer research.

[00:04:30] And earned some money being an affiliate for an online course.

[00:04:33] And most recently, I've taken on a part-time role in a local real estate office.

[00:04:38] And while it's nothing as glamorous sounding as my previous role – nothing will probably

[00:04:42] ever sound as glamorous as an intelligence analyst – it absolutely fits the season

[00:04:47] I'm currently in.

[00:04:48] I am loving my cobbled path.

[00:04:50] The stones are cracked and wildflowers are poking through, and I'm finding small moments

[00:04:55] of deep joy that I haven't experienced in a long time.

[00:04:59] Why am I telling you this?

[00:05:01] I want you to know that our paths as parents, and traditionally as moms, are not always

[00:05:05] easy.

[00:05:06] The expectancy to have families and careers can be very daunting.

[00:05:10] But the conventional wisdom of having it all, in case something falls down the cracks, doesn't

[00:05:14] always work.

[00:05:15] I want you to know that you don't have to have it all, all at once.

[00:05:19] You don't have to do it all, all at once.

[00:05:22] You can forge a new path, even if it's unconventional.

[00:05:25] One that is cobbled together by bits and pieces that give you both an income and joy.

[00:05:29] You can create your own life.

[00:05:31] You don't have to keep the status quo or compete with the Joneses.

[00:05:35] If you're juggling too many balls, and maybe even dropping a few too many, perhaps it's

[00:05:39] time to take stock and decide what can stay and what can go.

[00:05:47] You just listened to the post titled, What Happened When I Traded My Career For Slow

[00:05:51] And Simple, by Emma Scheib of SimpleSlowLovely.com.

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[00:07:30] And thank you so much to Emma for this post today.

[00:07:32] And let me tell you a little bit about her.

[00:07:34] Emma Scheib gained her master's in psychology back in 2013, and has since worked full time

[00:07:39] in corporate research positions for government agencies.

[00:07:42] As she mentioned in this post, she recently gave up her dream job to pursue being a happier

[00:07:47] mom, living a slower pace of life.

[00:07:49] She's also dipping her toes back into her long lost love of creative writing.

[00:07:54] And she writes regularly over at Simple Slow Lovely, and you can also connect with her

[00:07:57] on Facebook and Instagram.

[00:08:00] So that's going to do it for another installment of Optimal Work Daily.

[00:08:02] I of course appreciate you being here with me each and every day.

[00:08:05] That is how we keep the show going.

[00:08:07] It's listeners like you.

[00:08:09] And hope you have a great rest of your day, and I'll see you tomorrow where your optimal

[00:08:12] life awaits.