The Starting Point: The Story of Why I Quit My Job

Happy New Year!

Okay, January's almost over. I guess it's a little late to wish you a Happy New Year, better late than never! Is everyone sticking to their resolutions? I'm starting out my year right- I'm on day 17 of a 21 day completely vegan re-set. (We'll talk about that later.)  We're also right in the thick of the MOVE Into the New Year special here at CLEAR- classes are filling up quickly and the energy is amazing!

Part of what I love about CLEAR is the people I've met and had the chance to begin forming relationships with. I love being able to sit and talk with people after class. There aren't too many gyms out there where you can feel completely comfortable sharing the story of how you cried over smelling bacon in the hallway.

I've shared with many of you the story of where I'm going, and the events that brought me to CLEAR. Most of the people I've talked to seem genuinely interested in my journey, so I'm going to try to do better at sharing that journey here in the CLEAR-ly Different blog.

I'm just going to start the story at the point where I realized I needed to make a change. In August 2012, I walked the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure. We walked alongside breast cancer survivors and people who'd lost loved ones to the disease- it was life affirming, in the way that only something that causes you to face your own mortality can be. Walking 60 miles in 3 days (not to mention all the training you do before the event) gives you plenty of time to think about your life and where you're headed- and I had to ask myself a very serious question:

If this was the end- would you be able to look back on your life and be satisfied with how you lived it?

My answer was NO. Flat out, unquestionably NO. I was doing a job that I hated. I was away from my friends and family more often than I was with them. I made plenty of money, which was nice, but at what cost? The stress from my job was changing my personality. I was lazy and gluttonous, which were symptoms of the true problem. I was depressed.

I was working in the clinical research industry, a tiny cog in the giant machine of Big Pharma. Don't get me wrong, the pharmaceutical industry has done and will continue to do good work. Personally, I felt I was working mostly on drugs for conditions that could be solved with lifestyle changes. I felt like I was enabling people to be in poor health with no personal responsibility for it.

I knew for a long time that I was not passionate about the work I was doing and that the position was not a great fit for me. I loved the company I worked for, my boss and my co-workers. None of that was enough. I had saved a substantial amount of money before I finally pulled the trigger and quit my full-time job.

So there I was, a rebel without a cause, feeling pretty low and directionless, when the wonder that is social media worked its charm. A friend of mine who had been managing the social media here at CLEAR found herself with a new position that didn't leave time for her to manage CLEAR's accounts anymore.  She set me up with Annie- and the rest is history. Actually, it's not history- it's a work in progress. I can't wait to share more of my progress with you in the future!