This made me think about my own career pivots. I started in civilian aviation, moved into military aviation partly because someone told me I couldn't do something and apparently spite is a perfectly adequate source of career motivation, and then eventually walked away from aviation entirely.
That last pivot was probably the strangest. I'd spent years building experience in something I was objectively good at. There wasn't necessarily a clean villain or a single event that made leaving make sense to everyone else. I didn't want my aviation history to obligate my future.
Sometimes I think we confuse being capable of continuing down a path with evidence that we should.
Thank you so much for sharing this! Your point about spite being an adequate motivator is so so real.
I absolutely love how you framed not wanting your aviation history to obligate your future. It perfectly captures that messy, unclear line between walking a path intentionally, and walking it just out of obligation or daily survival.
It’s so easy to confuse being capable of something with actually wanting it 💭🧐
Right?! I was already the first woman to do one job there, and then they had the audacity to tell me my gender prevented me from pursuing another avenue. Apparently “watch me” can sustain a career for quite a while. 😂
But eventually I had to ask whether being good at the work meant I was willing to keep paying what the work required from me. The money was good, sure. The grind wasn't worth it anymore. My soul deserved more.
Yesss!! I completely get that! 'Watch me' is such a powerful fuel, I was the same. 🤣
The money is tempting, but I found the constant hustle so paralyzing that I lost myself in all the noise 🥹 Your soul definitely deserves so much more! Rooting for you!
"I had a feeling, and a feeling holds up badly against a well-constructed case about your own future." so relatable! I, too, felt that way when leaving my first job. These days I feel pretty proud of myself for being able to listen to my intuition and act upon it. Somehow it always proves right!
"There are still days I walk in with the defence prepared."
There are still so many days when the autistic part of my brain insists on practicing phrases (come backs / retorts) for a conversation that's never going to happen.
And even if it were, the energy spent would still be wasted. I'd never get what I'm actually looking for: agreement or, at the very least acknowledgement of my perspective.
Situation is a bit different though. The conversation is not with people who care, but a neighbor who can't deal with me having grown a strong back to my soft front - and not bending to him/his wishes.
If anyone ever finds a quick and effective way to sooth and reassure my autist into silence, I'm all ears.
Oh, I totally hear you. I’ve had such similar experiences!
It’s bizarre how some people hold onto just one rigid version of us in their heads, though I guess it makes sense since we show up differently for everyone we meet. Wild!
If anyone ever shares a secret for settling those mental rehearsals into something more self-assured, I am all ears too. You are definitely not alone in this, I’m so glad we can talk about it openly here 🌱💭
I decided to shift away as much as possible from conversations that don't help even if they come from people who care, most of the time they project fears into people. I prefer to surround myself who will resonate with what I wish and with people who are a few steps ahead of me, it's much more inspiring than getting dragged by those comments of questions.
Yessss! I love that! Protecting our energy by turning down the outside noise and being deeply intentional about who we engage with makes all the difference.
Haha! I totally get those reactions tbh. The ‘are you sure?’ Hesitancy was something I got very much when I didn’t choose a 9-5 out of schooling. Nowadays people see me as the breakout person who didn’t ’conform’ 🥴 so the question is always “hey wait so what are you doing now?” LOL
Haha same same!!! I really relate to how you feel. I guess we all need a juicy plot twist here and there, keep them guessing!! Stay unpredictable 💁♀️🤣
This made me think about my own career pivots. I started in civilian aviation, moved into military aviation partly because someone told me I couldn't do something and apparently spite is a perfectly adequate source of career motivation, and then eventually walked away from aviation entirely.
That last pivot was probably the strangest. I'd spent years building experience in something I was objectively good at. There wasn't necessarily a clean villain or a single event that made leaving make sense to everyone else. I didn't want my aviation history to obligate my future.
Sometimes I think we confuse being capable of continuing down a path with evidence that we should.
Thank you so much for sharing this! Your point about spite being an adequate motivator is so so real.
I absolutely love how you framed not wanting your aviation history to obligate your future. It perfectly captures that messy, unclear line between walking a path intentionally, and walking it just out of obligation or daily survival.
It’s so easy to confuse being capable of something with actually wanting it 💭🧐
Right?! I was already the first woman to do one job there, and then they had the audacity to tell me my gender prevented me from pursuing another avenue. Apparently “watch me” can sustain a career for quite a while. 😂
But eventually I had to ask whether being good at the work meant I was willing to keep paying what the work required from me. The money was good, sure. The grind wasn't worth it anymore. My soul deserved more.
Yesss!! I completely get that! 'Watch me' is such a powerful fuel, I was the same. 🤣
The money is tempting, but I found the constant hustle so paralyzing that I lost myself in all the noise 🥹 Your soul definitely deserves so much more! Rooting for you!
What a great piece. Love this.
Thank you for reading!!
"I had a feeling, and a feeling holds up badly against a well-constructed case about your own future." so relatable! I, too, felt that way when leaving my first job. These days I feel pretty proud of myself for being able to listen to my intuition and act upon it. Somehow it always proves right!
"There are still days I walk in with the defence prepared."
There are still so many days when the autistic part of my brain insists on practicing phrases (come backs / retorts) for a conversation that's never going to happen.
And even if it were, the energy spent would still be wasted. I'd never get what I'm actually looking for: agreement or, at the very least acknowledgement of my perspective.
Situation is a bit different though. The conversation is not with people who care, but a neighbor who can't deal with me having grown a strong back to my soft front - and not bending to him/his wishes.
If anyone ever finds a quick and effective way to sooth and reassure my autist into silence, I'm all ears.
Oh, I totally hear you. I’ve had such similar experiences!
It’s bizarre how some people hold onto just one rigid version of us in their heads, though I guess it makes sense since we show up differently for everyone we meet. Wild!
If anyone ever shares a secret for settling those mental rehearsals into something more self-assured, I am all ears too. You are definitely not alone in this, I’m so glad we can talk about it openly here 🌱💭
I decided to shift away as much as possible from conversations that don't help even if they come from people who care, most of the time they project fears into people. I prefer to surround myself who will resonate with what I wish and with people who are a few steps ahead of me, it's much more inspiring than getting dragged by those comments of questions.
Yessss! I love that! Protecting our energy by turning down the outside noise and being deeply intentional about who we engage with makes all the difference.
Haha! I totally get those reactions tbh. The ‘are you sure?’ Hesitancy was something I got very much when I didn’t choose a 9-5 out of schooling. Nowadays people see me as the breakout person who didn’t ’conform’ 🥴 so the question is always “hey wait so what are you doing now?” LOL
Haha same same!!! I really relate to how you feel. I guess we all need a juicy plot twist here and there, keep them guessing!! Stay unpredictable 💁♀️🤣
Thank you for sharing!! I resonate with every word - especially about bring driven by FOMO for years. It had me running on autopilot!
Yesss!! Im glad it resonated! Took my years to notice what was this feeling and why I was doing what I was doing! 🤯