I often get asked how I got from working in the City to this freelance life. I was a classic case of ‘if you don’t pick a day to make a change your body will do it for you.’ I had spent too long living in fight, flight, freeze in an unhealthy environment that didn’t suit me at all. Overexercising, not nourishing my body, overworked, overstressed, rarely sleeping and drinking too much. And so my nervous system took me down.
Which meant Step 1 of the transition to freelance was unintentional and chaotic. And that lasted for a while. Which is fine. Because sometimes that’s how life works. But what followed has been a much more intentional creation of freelance life. Here’s how I did it.
Career change – leaving the City
I followed a passion
I am a communicator, I love words and I am endlessly curious about people. This led me first to writing (books, copywriting, anything with words tbh) and then to becoming a coach.
I learned to listen to my gut
Not at first. At first I just kept behaving like a lawyer. All I could hear was my inner critic, my perfectionist and the fearful part of me that was terrified I had made the wrong choice. And then I learned how to quieten that noise. And in its place was a clear, calm authority I’d never felt before.
I got firm with boundaries
I worked with some incredible people when I first started out as a freelance writer (including a magazine that sent me to interview the inventor of the internet). But there have been some awful toxic ones too. Including one agency that was fully subscribed to the corporate mindset of human beings as disposable. They treated me in a way that triggered all my old patterns of anxiety. When you’re freelance it’s even more important to put your energy in the right place.
I started to use this question to help me with learning when to say NO: if you hate it, why do you keep doing it? If you love it why don’t you do it more?
I started to surf
There have been some pretty scary money moments as a freelancer – when there was just no income on the horizon. When I first started out I would just sit in shame and fear until they passed. But now my worth isn’t tied to what’s in my bank account, which means it remains consistent across good or bad financial months. That’s real resilience for me.
I asked for more
This is a more recent development. I had no idea how much I was limiting myself with what I thought wasn’t possible for me. Or assuming things would never change just because I couldn’t see HOW in this moment. In many ways this has been a process of learning to trust (me, the world) and giving myself permission to dream bigger and bigger and bigger. I am excited to see where this takes me next.
Career change can be a challenge
Especially when you’re going from one environment to a very different one. It takes time, it can be messy and there are so many moments when you’re just not sure if you’ve done the right thing. But it’s worth it. Oh it’s so worth it.
Is 2024 the year of career change for you?
If you know deep down that your current role just isn’t satisfying you – that you have more to give and you’re ready for change – I can help. Resilience coaching is ideally suited to helping you centre what you value in your life and work. So that what you do with the 90,000 hours we all spend working in a lifetime feels good and honest and exciting. It will enable you to get clear on where you’re going – and motivated to get there.
Book an intro call if you’d like to find out how this could work for you.
