“Giving up isn’t the same as moving on.”

When I read this sentence in Marie Forleo’s Everything is Figureoutable the other day, it was like someone knocked the wind out of me.

I was a daily newspaper editor and journalist before moving to Canada in 2012. To anyone that asked, I was taking a “career break” in Vancouver, and had every intention of returning to the world of journalism… after my short foray into flowers, obviously!

But deep down I knew something had shifted. After 12 months out of the newsroom I still wasn’t missing it like I expected. I started to wonder if I ever would? Sure, I longed for the adrenalin rush of an election night or major news event, #nerdalert, but the day-to-day reality… not at all.

It was clear I needed to move on, seek and embrace new opportunities. But I fought this HARD. I had a university degree, career accolades and awards for my writing. I was “successful”. So why wasn’t that enough?

There’s so many answers to this question, but the one that sticks with me is this: Journalism was no longer serving me. It was time to move on—but that felt like “giving up” in my eyes.

It took me more than 5 years to truly embrace my career change as being permanent. But the more I embraced it, the more fulfillment I found.

That’s why reading the line “Giving up isn’t the same as moving on” shook me. I needed to read that line YEARS ago!

It was followed by this:

“Don’t punish yourself and keep pursuing a dream that no longer serves you. If, after a certain amount of time, you sense that it’s time to pivot, do it.”

And ask yourself these two questions: 

1. Is this what I really want? 

2. If I end this right now, will I regret it in 10 years?

This can be such a scary conversation to have, particularly with friends and family who can’t really understand where you’re coming from. But just know that once you realise other people’s judgements will not impact your life, it frees you up to start making the decisions you WANT, and not the ones you think you’re expected to. 

If you’re feeling a little lost with the direction of your career or business, considering quitting your day job to take your passion project full time, or simply seeking a change you can’t yet put your finger on… my ear (and inbox) is always here. I’ve been there. And I get it. And it DOES get better. SO much better.