The myth of the sudden exit.
Not all exits are dramatic. Some are strategic
People only see the end result. The announcement. The resignation. The thank you for your service and a gift if you are lucky.
Sometimes this is prompted by a dramatic moment where someone realises, they’re done. They’ve had enough. They quit and move on.
Mine wasn’t quite like that. It might look like it was. But it was years of careful, step by step planning and implementation to pivot careers.
I did love teaching. I loved helping people of all ages reach their potential. The light bulb moments. The enjoyment of learning for learning’s sake. I still do love all of that.
But the system is toxic and broken. There is a quiet grief when you outgrow a profession you thought was meant to last forever. That’s what you’re meant to do right? Study, work, and stay in the field until ‘expert’ level and that’s that. Move into management or leadership. Take on more responsibility. But I very quickly knew that wasn’t for me. I stopped imaging a lifelong teaching career and started imagining what escape would look like.
I have always been fascinated with healthcare. I hate to admit, but I love Grey’s Anatomy and always wished I could walk in those shoes to help people in such a meaningful way. But I did not think I was smart enough. And my grades definitely proved it. Solid C-B student here. Not a straight A student like medicine needed. I thought that was it for me.
But one conversation with a teaching colleague years later changed my path.
One long past dream expressed on a random school day.
Many excuses of why it wasn’t possible now.
One comment of ‘if you want it bad enough, you’ll find a way’.
And the rest is history.
There was no dramatic resignation then and there. Just quiet determination to forge a path into the healthcare industry, one way or another. No all or nothing. After much research, I made a plan.
Not everything happens overnight. Everyone loves to see the success story. But they miss the work behind the scenes.
A strategic exit is often invisible to everyone except the person making it.