I know I didn\u2019t do anything earth-shaking or radical. But in my small inner circle of family, friends, and colleagues, it brought some confusion and skepticism\u2014but also quite a bit of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s about time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n You see, I\u2019ve always had one foot out the door\u2014and I\u2019m not exactly proud to admit this. Ever since I got my first full-time office job, I knew I didn\u2019t want to be there long-term.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One year was my original goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mind you, it wasn\u2019t because I wasn\u2019t thrilled. I absolutely was. My goal was to work in publishing, and getting an editorial role at a big publisher was a dream come true.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But still:<\/p>\n\n\n\n And if I\u2019m being completely honest, I\u2019m someone who constantly seeks change. (When it comes to work. Not so much in life.) So I knew I\u2019d reach my limit at this place eventually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things were good, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I got a better job than I expected after college and my string of internships. I was learning new things at work, finally going out of the house after the pandemic, working (terribly slowly) on my social skills, and experiencing the corporate life and the publishing life\u2014both of which, I have to say, treated me well so far.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One year turned into two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After my original goal of finishing a year at that workplace, I tried figuring out where and how to pursue a master\u2019s degree\u2014something I\u2019d wanted since I finished my undergrad. I tried, I researched, I talked, I thought\u2014but it just didn\u2019t work out. For personal, financial, and clarity-related reasons (and a lack of risk-taking abilities), higher studies didn\u2019t quite work out\u2014at least not at this stage of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, I got a promotion at work. I was thrilled. So I naturally stayed a few more months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the thought of leaving and pursuing other interests kept on nagging at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also realised that I wasn\u2019t good at multitasking. I was trying to juggle:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt like I was failing at all of them\u2014or at best, making very slow progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Divided attention just wasn\u2019t serving me anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, as I got closer to completing three years at the company, I started seriously considering leaving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before this, I had asked for advice. I had told nearly everyone around me more than once that I wanted to quit. Yet, months would pass by, and I would neither have a plan nor a resignation letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt like a coward. Like someone who keeps saying they\u2019ll do something\u2026 but never does. I was sick of hearing myself say again and again that I wanted to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had been waiting for the perfect moment\u2014when I\u2019d have something solid like a job offer or an admissions letter\u2014to justify quitting. But life wasn\u2019t giving me that. I couldn\u2019t seem to make a solid commitment to something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I finally sat down, pulled that nagging feeling out from the back of my mind, looked at it straight, and asked myself: What is stopping me?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And of course, as with most people-pleasers and Indian kids\u2014it was people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wanted to look like I had my shit together. I wanted to break the news of some exciting new opportunity before<\/em> I told people I was leaving my comfortable, stable job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I realised how stupid that reason was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That desire\u2014to be seen as ambitious and sorted\u2014was just ego.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And I had to choose my heart\u2019s desire (and the right decision for my career) over ego and superficiality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was also just\u2026 done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I journaled. I sat down and wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Note that this decision wasn\u2019t just rooted in “I want to follow my dreams.” <\/em>I did look at the practicality of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If any of these factors hadn\u2019t aligned, I might not have made the decision to quit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I started freelancing as a teenager and did it until my first full-time job. I\u2019d tasted the thrill of being my own boss and working with international clients early on\u2014and I never forgot the sweetness of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While I dabbled in projects alongside my full-time job, I barely had the energy or time. So, I always wanted to give full-time freelancing a fair shot and see where I could take it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I also wanted to give more time to studying Korean. And write more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And so, I decided I\u2019ll do all that: I would freelance; study Korean; perhaps work on my writing; and give myself space to breathe and figure out my next steps in life\u2014without the Delhi\u2013Noida commute exhausting me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, there were still voices around me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n These voices came both from within me and from the people around me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But still, while I objectively knew all these concerns were valid\u2014I wasn\u2019t worried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had a quiet, calm confidence I couldn\u2019t explain to anyone. A confidence that said I would be fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The people around me, even the ones close to me, didn\u2019t know my thoughts, experiences, capabilities, mindset, or the kind of work I do as well as I obviously do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So I didn\u2019t need to listen to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not because I didn\u2019t value their opinions. But because I knew things they didn\u2019t. And I was making my decision based on my knowledge and experience, and everything I knew to be true and had faith in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That made me feel at ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And at the end of the day, I realised: This wasn\u2019t that big a deal.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If I want to quit my job without another lined up\u2014I can. (Of course, this doesn\u2019t apply to someone with major responsibilities to take care of or bills to pay.) If I want to sit idly and just read books for months\u2014I can. If I want to work as a freelancer\u2014I can. If I fail miserably with all my plans and want to go back to corporate life\u2014I can do that too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So if you\u2019re ever considering doing what I did:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n And then: Listen to only yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n More than anything, make sure that your gut says you’re doing the right thing.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I know I didn\u2019t do anything earth-shaking or radical. But in my small inner circle of family, friends, and colleagues, it brought some confusion and skepticism\u2014but also quite a bit of: It\u2019s about time. You see, I\u2019ve always had one…<\/p>\n