One of the luxuries of being in-between careers is having the time to go through and clean up emails. If you’re like me, you’ve probably subscribed to a slew of blogs and newsletters for which you receive emails daily. I always think I’ll make the time to stay on top of all these mailings, but the truth is that never happens.
Unless, of course, you don’t have a job to go to.
So as I was persuing my increasingly-cluttered inbox, I came across an email from Carey Niewhof entitled, “So You Want to Quit…” The title of the message caught my eye, and I dove into the accompanying post for the email.
In it, Niewhof is speaking primarily to individuals in pastoral roles looking to make a change in their work lives. Although not exactly 100% applicable to my situation, there are several parallels to what Carey outlines and what I experienced. What really stuck out to me was this comment:
Running Toward Your Future Is Better Than Running Away From Your Past
Here’s an excerpt of what Carey says about that.
So maybe you are called to leave. Maybe your season is legitimately coming to an end.
If you can—and in a carefully discerned departure you usually have time to do this before you go— ask yourself what you’re called to next.
Find some wise counsel around you who can help you discern what’s next before you leave what’s now.
Running toward your future is a much better move than running away from your past.
Included in this verbiage was a link to a previous post entitled 7 Signs It’s Time to Leave. Talk about a serendipitous find! I won’t bore you with the details, but my reaction to items outlined by Niewhof definitely made me feel even more confident about my decision to make a change. There was one point in particular that resonated with me.
You Feel Like a Fish Out of Water
Maybe you’re largely the same but the organization shifts, not in terms of vision, but in terms of style, culture, and feel.
That’s the best way I can explain the genesis of my departure. There was a cultural shift in the brief year I was with my previous employer, and it was clear I was no longer a good fit within that organization. Working with my volunteers was still great. The horizontal relationships I shared with my peers were amazing (and I miss that so much). But the vertical relationship within the organization just didn’t feel the same, and I knew that leaving when I did was the prudent solution to that situation.
I firmly believe coincidence is God showing off, and it’s no coincidence the Holy Spirit directed me to these emails today.
Now … if I can only focus on the remaining five-hundred seventy-three unread messages.
Gil Gonzalez 