I write a lot about medical professionals who are fed up with their job and can’t justify any reason to stay either than the time they invested into becoming a professional and the healthy paycheck that comes with it. 

But that’s not always the case. What happens when you also have nice benefits, work with good people, but are still feeling this tug of unfulfillment? What if you can’t immediately figure what else you want to do? Sure, if you had a plan that would be one thing, but is there any guarantee that the next thing won’t leave you as equally unfulfilled?

The security-driven side of you says not to listen to the voice inside you, but as I point out to all of my clients, as you’ve known all along, you’re the kind of person who listens to that voice inside of themselves. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be working with me.

I’ve known people who have left cushy jobs to open their own little shops, go back to school in hope of following a different career path or simply to travel the world. It’s not up to me to decide what’s best for you, but many of us need a guide – a coach – to help us through the process.

Discovering Who You Are Once You’ve Left

While knowing I had to do what I had to do when it dawned on me my job as an Environmental Health Officer with the US Navy was not making me happy, the idea of leaving was still the scariest thing I’d done in a long, long, long time. Leaving a world where you’ve established yourself as a professional and take pride in your work is tough. 

Saying goodbye is tough. Gianpiero Petrigleri, an associate professor of organizational behavior at INSEAD wrote in the Harvard Business Review: “While you say your heartfelt goodbyes, remember that when you leave a beloved job there is no need to pack light. Take all you can with you, lest you leave yourself behind.”

A big part of my identity was my career. I probably defined myself with my job as much as I did as a husband, father or son. Taking that chunk away from me was like taking a chunk of who I was. There was a long adjustment period where I felt lost and questioned my place in the world. I knew I was more than my business card, but I didn’t know who that was right away. I wanted to help others the way that many had helped me make the transition, but there was growth period and being a coach can be lonely. There isn’t the team camaraderie you find at many jobs.

Still I knew I made the right decision. Sometimes, I think it’s just a matter of taking two steps back and trying to view the situation as an outsider.

Things to Contemplate

While you’re trying to figure out if you should leave your career, for whatever reason, consider the following:

Your History of Following Your Gut – Are you one of those people with good instincts or does everything you touch turn to mush? My guess is the former. What is the universe telling you to do? What feels right?

Expecting the Unexpected – Whether you’re considering leaving to open a cupcake shop or travel the world while you figure things out, your new life will be full of the unknown. Can you rise to the challenge without the security blanket of your corporate life? The answer is “Of course,” but you need to reach that answer for yourself.

Doing What’s Best for You – You get one overall chance at life and those with regrets seem the least happy in old age. Think about how you’ll feel about your decision to leave your job in 30 or 40 years. Will you look back and think it was a mistake or regardless of the outcome, will you be glad you took a different route?

My job as a coach is not to tell you what to do. Maybe your next step isn’t a job like mine, with many hours alone or with only one other person. Maybe you need a group around you. That’s fine. Rarely is anyone 100% happy to leave their job, but the voice inside them just won’t let up. You’ll be letting some good things go, but there’s no reason you can’t try to replicate some of those conditions in your next chapter of life.