When I quit my job in 2016, I had A PLAN. Launch the SheHive, consult part-time on really interesting projects for two - three years while building the SheHive, go to yoga a lot, write a lot, coach here and there, live blissfully. I’ve followed the plan pretty close. The SheHive is thriving, I’ve consulted on some really interesting work, I *think* about yoga a lot (okay, that’s been a big fail), I write a fair amount, and I get to coach a lot more than I had dreamed possible when I started this venture. But living blissfully? That piece has evaded me - particularly these last six months. I’ve been antsy and unsatisfied at best, and a hot fucking mess at worst. Which is frustrating as hell because there is A PLAN and I’ve been sticking to THE PLAN. So why the hell am I not achieving the outcome I had predicted? Because plans need to change as we learn new things about ourselves and the world around us. Which is the single most consistent piece of advice I give to anyone I work with - but something I somehow to apply to my own journey. When it finally hit me hat I’m trying to force fit myself into a plan that hasn’t been updated to incorporate new discoveries, I decided to scrap the plan. Not all of it - but the parts that no longer fit. In particular, I had to examine the work I do outside of the SheHive. See, I’ve learned over these past two years that I really value being part of an inner circle, that being part of a team I can form strong bonds within matters to me, that I like the work I do much more when I can build on it over long periods of time and that competing for contracts brings out the petty, jealous, absolute worst in me. In short, consulting doesn’t exactly suit me - at least not the way I’ve been doing it, jumping from project to project and client to client. I reached out to my network over the weekend to let them know I was changing trajectories, that I was searching for part-time work or long-term consulting contracts and needed referrals. Which was a little scary - to publicly admit that I hadn’t figured it all out the first time around (or second or third or four-hundredth). You know what I heard back from my people? “This sounds like a healthy move for you.” “You always did say you liked working in teams.” “I get it. Let me see who I know that I can introduce you to.” Because I have good people. And because, generally, people are good. (And for the record, as soon as I told the world I was looking for a job, the most interesting consulting work ev-ah popped up the very next day because the universe really wants me to learn this PLANS CHANGE! lesson.) Are you holding yourself accountable to old plans that haven’t been updated to make room for who you’ve become? If so, share your story! Leave a comment below, shoot me an email at hello@theshehive.com or, better yet, come out to the SheHive and share your story. I swear you’ll find you’re not alone. With much love and gratitude, P.S. If you are holding back because you’re afraid to admit your plan didn’t work out - consider this your OFFICIAL PERMISSION to scrap the plan.
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