Why I Quit My Stable Job Without a Back-Up Plan.

Dont quit your job until you have a new one.

I’d heard that warning since the day i was old enough to earn my first pay check. It cam from the months of men an woman i oculd trust - my mother, my friends who worked in HR and Ashton Kutcher.

I’ve never had a job in my life that i was better than.. and i never quit my job, until i had my next job. A’s  2013 Teen Choice Awards speech haunted me as i sat in the office cafeteria hunched over a plate of overpriced fried eggs on sourdough. I wasn’t supposed to be away from my dest, it was past ten AM, but i had practically levitated to where i was sitting now. As i pulled out my laptop to draft my resignation letter, i couldn’t believe what i was doing. This is immature. This is a big mistake. And yet there was no turning back.

I accepted that not knowing what next month’s pay check looked like, also meant it could look like zero.

My future was completely mapped out for me. I knew what my pay check and job title would read in a month’s time, at Christmas, in March next year even after a scheduled promotion. I knew where i’d be sititing , which bus i’d be taking, that i’d be eating this same plate of unsubsidised eggs a year from now.

Going freelance had always seemed lake something for those people. Not for me. I’m way too anxious. I have higher bills to pay. I have too much on my plate. These are the things i told my self while i sat year after year, numbed-out in long-term employment. At one point i even spent a day googling should i quit my job? I watched, listened and read until i found the excuse i needed to stay stuck...see this guy on YouTube says you have to have at least four month’s salsry saved before you quit and this life coach said on her podcast that she spent six years building her side hustle before she left.

Finally, at the beginning of this month i was able to drown-out the excuses and voices of disapproval even A’s. i decided to take back control of my life and accept that i was opening my self up to life of unpredictability. I accepted that feeling surprised agagin meant i would also feel nervous. I accepted that not knwing what next month’s pay check looked like, also meant it could look like zero. I accepted that quitting my job would bring out the harsh opinions of some friends and family, but also love and support from others.

It’s been one week now since i finished serving my notice period. I spend my days building my website and brand and applying to short term gigs that excite and teeify me in equal measure. I’ve never looked worse, worked longer hours of been more uncertain about my future, but i’ve also never felt more alive.

Since going rogue, i’ve learned a fel important lessons

1 Quitting isnt a swear word and it isnt a synonym for failure.

2 there are way more freelancers around you than you realise, try finding a power outlet at your local offee shop on a Monday afternoon.

3people will be way less shocked abou your decision than you think

And finally:

4 don’t take advicee from

Celebrities who use fake names..

Julia Henderson