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Have you ever been camping?

Yes, camping at campgrounds and backpacking where I’d pitch a tent in the backwoods, on a sand dune, and sometimes on a slope. I like to travel with my mandolin and play some music with folks I meet on the trails. I wrote a song about the Manistee River Trail (big love) and North Manitou Island in Lake Michigan. My last trip was Pictured Rocks on Lake Superior a couple years ago.

Write about a time when you didn’t take action but wish you had. What would you do differently

I think I would have bought a home back when I was renting for years and they were cheaper, but that always is the case. I would have quit my job sooner, even knowing the challenge of a career change through personal experience. I wish I had set stronger boundaries on what I would put up with in a job before it affected my physical and mental well-being so badly. Life lessons that adjust former self governing rules like”tough it out”. Alas, sometimes we need a strong push to move.

What makes you nervous?

I was reading through everyone’s answer to this prompt and y’all are an anxious bunch! I can include myself a bit as I’ve had many waves of nerves and anxiety from a big career change three weeks ago. I know from everything I’ve read that this is normal, so I try to give myself grace when I have times I just feel overwhelmed and mentally or physically done.

Day by day and week by week I will get a little more stable, and I look forward to a time some months from now when I’m in a more peaceful place and anxiety is replaced by confidence in the new routine. Poor body has had a lot going on lately.

I hope you folks out there show yourself some love and take your own steps towards a peaceful place.

How do you unwind after a demanding day?

Apparently today after gardening for 3 hours with a new client and a full day’s work before that in real estate, I thought it would be a great idea to bake banana bread walnut muffins, make Japanese pickles, and cook rice so I can have ochazuke tomorrow for lunch. Now it’s 11:00 at night and I’m like, hmm, wind down time? I have no idea where that energy came from after a long and physical Tuesday.

How do you use social media?

I never used to use it much, but now I’m starting to use it in real estate and I’m finding that I can share videos on my passions. I’m generally a teacher at heart and I’m planning to start making a series of videos on financial advice I wish I had learned sooner. Hopefully it can help other people be more prepared than I was at their age.

Jot down the first thing that comes to your mind.

That emptying my mind is best.

Anticipation can be more stressful than reality itself, plus it takes away peace and gives you nothing in return. Kind of a waste of time.

Meditating helped to slow me down.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

It’s funny that this question came up as I had to do this question for career development today. I picture myself in two self employed industries (likely real estate and gardening but I’ve got various ambitions), with two kids and the sweetest husband in a home where we host gatherings and a garden we can enjoy in the mornings and afternoons. I’m still very active in the gym and outdoors, and we travel abroad on occasion.

Describe something you learned in high school.

I reasoned that I did not need to go the pace of the class since most classes were not very challenging, and that I could read ahead the material we never would cover in class. I wondered why so much was left out until I realized most studied just as ordered and not with much motivation or curiosity, limiting teachers who by and large wanted most of the class to pass even at the cost of diminished overall progress. I realized I would never be conversational in a foreign language at that pace. Perhaps it is not only natural ability but the drive to learn and be challenged that determines who will feel successful in their endeavors.

Describe one positive change you have made in your life.

Investing in a 3-month gym class with a private trainer was very impactful on my physical health and my confidence.

Most changes push us to grow in some way, so they can have a beneficial impact even if they are painful and stressful at the time. Two weeks into my career change I am starting to feel it. This is perfectly normal and expected, though I would love to have a little less emotion about it. Ah, to be a Vulcan.

I don’t need to push myself to burn out, and I’m going to have to learn so much through experience which means beginner mistakes. I need to give myself grace which could mean taking things slowly at times. I don’t need to burn out to try and impress someone else.

Anyone else out there have some past experience of a major career change and how it went?