The Recession is Bullhonkey Kathryns story - When I Grow Up

The Recession is Bullhonkey Kathryn’s story - When I Grow Up Airplane Art Print by The Dreaming Giraffe From Michelle: This is part of  The Recession is Bullhonkey series, where I share stories of those who have gotten hired and/or started their own businesses (or sometimes both!) since 2008. This is  Kathryn Halls story of leaving the 9-to-5 behind in 2011 to run 2 businesses. Inspiration + usefulness below! ***************************************************************************** It’s 3rd April 2011 and I’m sitting in the departure lounge at  Singapore airport. Surrounded by bored, tired and frustrated travellers there is a  strange sense of quiet agitation as people pass the time any way  they can… shopping, sitting, reading, sleeping. Waiting for a plane  that by now should be 10,000 feet above the ground and heading  west to take us home. As for me? Well, I just sit uncomfortably and anxiously on a plastic  chair that’s rooted to the ground. Blood pumps quickly through my veins as if I’m running a  marathon. Thoughts of what might be race through my mind The flight may well be delayed but it has only served to postpone  the inevitable. At some point, I WILL have to get on that plane. And like every last day of every other holiday, I feel completely and  utterly sick to my stomach at the thought of it. Can I get through this? Is this really what I’ve chosen? What will  await me when I step on that plane? Hours of waiting pass me by until finally a voice through the tannoy  system wakes me from my thoughts. “Flight BA3854 to London  Heathrow is now ready to board, we apologise for the delay”. Right. That’s me. Deep breath. Here we go. It’s time to go home. *** That was over 3 years ago now. And you know the strange thing about that story? Despite appearances, I’ve never in my life had a problem with flying. In fact I’ve always rather enjoyed getting on a plane. After all, it’s basically a chance to be lazy for a few hours without feeling guilty about it. A time to watch films, sleep, read and get waited on hand and foot. Erm, nothing much to dislike there, right?! No. I wasn’t scared of the flight itself. I was however scared of what was waiting for me when I got home. Because the fact of the matter was that I was miserable. Despite my loving partner and supportive friends and family, the sadness, frustration, boredom and stress I felt within my career had a tendency to soak into every aspect of my life. Affecting my energy, lust for life and most importantly my happiness, I dreaded going back to work after those 3 glorious weeks away from the office. The thought of it literally made me feel sick. And so, by the time I started back at work after my holiday in South East Asia, I’d already decided something. 2011 was the year I would take hold of the reigns and create dramatic and positive change in my life. I was fed up of my situation. It was affecting who I was and how I felt day to day. And I knew it was time. Fast forward a few years and these days I run two businesses (a sentence I still cannot believe I’m able to write). And although I love going on holiday for a change of scene and pace, I also really love coming home too. Monday mornings are different now. Rather than bringing with them a sense of doom and gloom, they bring energy, excitement and freedom. No longer do I have to deal with the grey open plan office and busy schedules that I found so suffocating. Instead I have created a career for myself that I love. One where I am able to nurture my quiet introverted nature, work to my natural born strengths, and spend time on the things that get me jumping out of bed in the morning. It has been one hell of a rollercoaster with ups, downs, twists and turns. I’ve worked hard to get where I am and it’s certainly been quite a ride. But do you know what? I have loved every single minute of my journey to freedom. I have learnt more than I ever imagined conceivable, I have faced my fears and found the courage to put myself out there, and I have turned my world upside down and inside out in the best possible way. If you want to do the same there will certainly be challenges on your way. Moments when you may doubt your decisions, abilities and dreams. However I truly believe that everyone has the ability to create positive change in their lives, you just have to do the following: 1) Listen to your heart You only have life do you really want to get to the end of it and wonder ‘what if’? I certainly don’t and if you’re reading this article I doubt you do either. Listen to your heart â€"what do you wish for? What are your dreams and desires? That day sitting in the airport I just seemed to know whatI needed to do. From then on it was just a case of taking action. Look after yourself, listen to your gut instincts, remove yourself from the noise and chaos that gets in your way of your thoughts and then start to tune into your intuition. You’ll know what you need to do if you listen hard enough. Trust yourself. 2) Find your supporters It can be hard to break free. Until you’ve proved yourself to be successful even those close to you will likely challenge your decisions and question your so-called ‘risky’ ideas (often resulting in a blow to your confidence). But the fact of the matter is that you are living YOUR life not theirs and sometimes following a different pathway is exactly what you need to do. If you want to make big change in your career or do something different from the norm, I highly recommend that you find your supporters. These are the people who ‘get’ what you’re trying to achieve. You can share with them your concerns, ideas and successes and use them to help boost your confidence rather than bring it down. 3) Learn from your mistakes Yes, you will make mistakes. No, that’s not a bad thing. Without trying things out, without experimenting a bit, without taking a few risks, you will never learn and move forwards. Inevitably along the way some things won’t turn out as expected â€" that’s just how it goes. But rather than feeling miserable about the experience, you need to learn from it. Reflect on what went wrong, think about how you could do things differently and then give yourself permission to feel gratitude that you’ve learnt a valuable lesson. This process will allow you to grow stronger and find the courage to just keep going. So pick yourself up, dust yourself down, remind yourself what your dreams look like, and then go after them with all the gusto you can muster. Kathryn Hall is founder of The Business of Introverts, an avid writer and mentor to individuals across the globe who want more freedom, solitude and creativity in their careers. She’s big on helping people to embrace their introversion in all its glory, while creating a life they love. Sign up here to connect with Kathryn and receive her free audio series ‘How to create a life of freedom’.