21 Comments

I feel this 100%. Holding everyone else’s worries is exhausting - tough to let go of, and not anyone's job, but as an introverted empath, that is a very hard lesson to learn.

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Isn't it? It feels like it should be easy to override once you're aware of it but... nope. Still picking up worries right and left. At least now I am aware I'm doing it and can make myself (usually) set them back down.

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Clearly Liz, you are a writer! I love the way this piece swirls around and circles back to the sticky note in the trash. Such poetic justice!

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Thank you :) It’s funny, a year ago I would never have called myself a writer. A ghostwriter, maybe. An editor and manager of writers, definitely. But not a single person in my life had ever seen my writing outside of work. It’s amazing the difference a year can make.

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Yes indeed! Having readers really validates the fact that we are writers. :)

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Oh this landed in a spot that I so needed to fill. Thanks for this!

"I was hollowing my heart out for work, but my job was never going to love me back."

Yup (*gulp*)

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Ah, I’m glad, thanks for reading!

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To be fair, you were the best Mom and Dad! Miss you, friend and so happy you've found balance!

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Ha, thank you! ❤️ I have fond memories of that team and of that time. It was such a great group.

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There never was a burning building. Yes. On my last day, I took calls until 4:30pm to soothe colleagues nervous about client handoffs. The machine has crunched on just fine without me, and I got to start writing and be fully present with my kids.

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Exactly. And I LOVE your LinkedIn description as chief people officer. I hope one day you write about that.

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''You're work is not your worth''. This is a phrase that I have repeated to myself over and over again. Sometimes I believe it most times I don't. Yet I know so well what attaching my worth to my work has done to me. It's a very hard lesson to learn and I hope one day to say it and believe it.

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I know, it’s so easy to say and so hard to believe. I fought with this one a good few years—and still do anytime I get too near an over-functioning work culture. But you’re a good decade ahead of me in even asking the right questions! :)

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Oh wow this piece hits close to home for me. I left my job three months ago and you perfectly describe what I was feeling. I’m very fortunate to be able to take some time off before I identify what’s next but I’m hopeful to some day say: “it’s just work!”.

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Congratulations on the transition. The interim time can feel like a funky place, but it’s great that you have the space to consider what’s next.

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Love this. I'm thinking to myself - what skills do I have that can transfer to freelance? I too, am done with the emotional labor. I want to do a "job" and provide a service and then clock out. But how? I have those same sticky notes on my desk!

As we say in Italia, Brava :)

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I feel like you have a lot of skills already transitioned to freelance! I don’t even have a website up yet and it’s been 7 months already, whoops. :)

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This has led me into deep introspection about my relationship with work. Thank you for the reminder that work is important but it is not everything. Really excellent and perspective-setting piece❤️!

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Oh no, what have I done?? I meant to say that freelance is terrible! You would hate it! :)

Just kidding. Glad you have some time away (and more soon!) for rest and reflection.

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Being the “fixer” is exhausting, both professionally and personally. I’m finding ways to balance it and then simply knowing when to walk away.

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Isn’t it? It took me a long time to realize that I was doing it in both areas of my life. (This, of course, was patently obvious to everyone else). +1 on learning when to walk away.

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