Post Resignation

THE WEEKS FOLLOWING THE RESIGNATION, AND THE SWIRLING THOUGHTS.

Day 1 recap - as per my previous post I experienced the following feelings;

1. Apprehension
2. Numbness
3. Unsure, have I made the right decision?
4. Loss of good stable income
5. The unknown, what if I fail?
6. What happens if my studies don’t succeed and I go into a job that I don’t want to do? (Income less, not happy).

Day 2 

I began to feel more at ease with my decision.  A lot of the apprehension that was felt on day 1 had mellowed although not disappeared completely.  Nonetheless it was only a minimal thought and there was a near inner peace with the decision.

Day 3-4

At this stage I was feeling excited about the opportunities that would present itself from skewing off the path which only a week earlier had been clearly defined.  However, there is still cautious optimism because of the need that money is required to support this quest.

Other thoughts and feelings were;

• Plan to succeed, no matter what the income is-as long as I enjoy it!

• End of an era for me, and I will miss the people who I have worked with over the years.

• I will miss the company as well because that is all I know, although in some respects it has also pigeonholed me and now I have broken free from the hold.

• What will people think when I say that I'm not working and instead am studying?  Loss of 'status' that came from a good position, important work.

• I am very appreciative of the supportive comments that my colleagues made of my decision.  They are not surprised that I have decided to head into a different direction and believe that it suits me.

• I will miss the 'influence' of my position, and the respect that I have built up with my colleagues.

THE LAST DAY

A little emotional during the farewell speech, but sucked it up.  I know that I will see a majority of these people again whether in person or on line.  There in a way was a feeling of relief that the last day had now arrived and was closed so that I could now focus my attention on the future.  Lots of drinks with my ex-colleagues after work celebrating the good times, the interesting times, the laughs.  Although to be fair after a alcoholic lunch which led to late night - my memory is a little hazy.

NOW WHAT?

Well I have been accepted into a full time University course to follow my new direction in life.  This is exactly what I want to do and is due to start in two weeks time.  It has been one week since I finished up with the company and I did feel guilty during the first week that I was not working.  I felt that I should be working.  Probably for that matter I kept busy with preparing for study.  I was reading a lot of material to get a start on what I will be learning.  I have also been attending global conferences which support this career direction - so there hasn't really been much rest.  

Of course, it is nice to have the ability to go to the local cafe when the weather is nice to enjoy a latte and not have to be locked into a 9-5 role :).