Crying in my boss’s office
My boss was amazing (well, is amazing but no longer my boss).
He's kind, funny and just so human - a rarity in employers it seems.
And telling him I was leaving the practice was probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.
So hard, in fact, that I broke down crying while telling him.
I hated the idea of disappointing someone that I respected and had only ever been good to me.
I knew that he had plans to start slowing down in practice and was hoping I'd take over the practice one day.
And I was also sure that this would come as a shock to him, because on paper it made no sense that I'd be leaving.
My boss was amazing (well, is amazing but no longer my boss).
He's kind, funny and just so human - a rarity in employers it seems.
And telling him I was leaving the practice was probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.
So hard, in fact, that I broke down crying while telling him.
I hated the idea of disappointing someone that I respected and had only ever been good to me.
I knew that he had plans to start slowing down in practice and was hoping I'd take over the practice one day.
And I was also sure that this would come as a shock to him, because on paper it made no sense that I'd be leaving.
I had an awesome, supportive boss.
I had a great work environment and wonderful colleagues.
I was living overseas and travelling to cool places.
I had a fully booked patient schedule without having to do a thing.
I was making good, steady income with a summer bonus to boot.
It was everything you could wish for, if that’s what you were wishing for.
But for me, it turns out that what I was wishing for looked more like...
Quality time with loved ones.
Doing work that deeply mattered to me.
Big open spaces in my schedule.
Contributing to my country.
The freedom to create and explore my curiosities.
Lots of time outdoors.
Growing in new directions.
I wanted to be deeply healthy and to do the things that mattered to me, even if that made no sense to other people & meant giving up something that was already pretty damn good.
And in order to do that, I had to stand in my boss’s office and tell him that I was leaving, sobbing between words.
As is so often the case, the fact that this decision was not easy also made it one of the most important ones to make.
So I hope that - if given the choice - you will disappoint someone else over disappointing yourself.
Even when it's not what someone else would do in that same situation.
Even when other people might think you're crazy, irresponsible or ungrateful.
Even when it feels like someone is relying on you, has done so much for you or wants something different from you.
So I'd love to know: what decision would you be making if you were only focused on creating what matters to YOU?
