Resigned to Happiness

 I loved my work. My supervisors were thoughtful and supportive. My colleagues were smart, fun, and caring. That's how I knew it was the right decision for me to resign. 

It's easy to quit a job that sucks. When you're over-worked, have to contend with jerks, and feel you have no future or purpose, resigning is a no-brainer. The true litmus test of knowing if it's the right move to step away from a job is when you're happy, and you still know deep down in your heart that you need to move on. In other words, you resign when quitting isn't a knee-jerk reaction. 

My decision was influenced by a number of factors, namely: my son's departure for college, a traumatic break-up that led to the start of a wonderful, new relationship, my desire to spend more time writing and traveling with my new beau, and —last but not least — the COVID-19 global pandemic, which altered my work dynamic when travel came to a screeching halt. 

Do we need to resign from ego in order to
 re-sign to what is truest to ourselves

Any one of those motivators would not have pushed me to resign a good job in an uncertain economy. But taken as a whole, my choice was clear: I needed to step away from full-time employment in order to regain balance and live in alignment with my priorities, goals, and dreams. But I didn't just up and quit. 

Because I loved my work and my colleagues, I gave more than a month's notice to provide time to hire my replacement. And that's when something really interesting occurred: As soon as I set my end date, I felt more empowered. 

After I tendered my resignation, I no longer had an agenda. I felt secure voicing my opinion if I felt it served the greater good. I've never been one to burn bridges. I wasn't an asshole, but I felt safe being candid. 

I also found it easier to set healthy boundaries. I didn't get caught up in company politics or gossip. (Of course, many of the convos were around returning to the office, which no longer applied to me.) And I declined extraneous meetings that I would have only attended pre-resignation for fear of being left out of a conversation or opportunity. 

Post-resignation, I stopped working nights and weekends. I still met all my deadlines, but I wasn't obsessed with them. I actually took time away from my computer to eat lunch. I ended my day on time so I could workout at the gym. 

Why hadn't I detached from my work in this way before? In sum: Along with my job, I resigned my ego. Maybe the secret to a happy work-life is to work as if tomorrow was your last day on the job.

Right now, as  our country takes a look at the future of the workplace, I wonder how much more productive, satisfied, and contented we would be if we detached from our ego's compulsions —to be right or perfect, to please everyone, to be better than, to be unique, to have all the answers, to fit in, to gloss over difficulties, to be in charge, or to avoid conflict at all costs. 

I wonder what would happen if we worked as though we had just tendered our resignations?