A farewell to the corporate world
A few years ago, this is something I never thought I would be writing. The first couple years I was working in my corporate job, I really enjoyed the challenges and the environment. The morale was up and there was a great energy in the place. Not perfect, but it was pretty good considering what we were doing. I really enjoyed my manager in the way that he was very family oriented, and also very fair when it came to giving out projects, and allowing the employees to take pride in their work. Up until this point, the only problem I had encountered was that the company underpaid me as a temp my first year, where as now the temps make around 8 dollars more per hour than I was at that time. The other issue I had was some of the people training me were very weird about correctly training and giving information. They were very secretive and it did not make for a great team environment. Luckily, overall our manager tried to keep things equal and give everyone a chance to excel and build in their career.
After approximately my first 2.5 years of work, my boss was pushed out to another location, and we had a new manager. This is where things really took a turn for the worse. If you go back in my blogs and read how becoming a mom effected my mindset, that is about 50% of the story. The other half lies in my experience at my work place.
So back to our new manager. When he started, he was much more of a micro manager and began to really stir the pot. There was a huge imbalance within the team that got worse and worse. The environment created was one of much competition within, including doing things that were against policy just to prove a point. There was much favoritism and lack of appreciation. There was also much treating people unequally, and not giving everyone equal respect and equal projects.
By the end of my career there, I had trained around 7 employees (both in my department and in others), and had completed multiple projects and had really done a great job, but it wasn’t enough. I slowly began to see that the fight I had been participating in was not worth my while anymore. I became defeated. I learned that if you’re not appreciated in one place, it’s not because of your worth, it’s because you’re not around the right people. The people you spend your time around really are who you become, and I really did not want to risk bringing back anymore of that negativity to my family.
Looking back on the last 5.5 years I had been in the corporate world, I can remember all of the struggles I went through. I went through being thankful to have a good paying job, to really excelling and enjoying my job, to being walked all over and treated poorly, to being very upset over this and letting it upset me daily, to finally in the end realizing I have power over my life and I do not need to waste my precious time and energy playing the game anymore. It made me sad to find things out this way, however there is a bigger picture that I came to realize.
For a long time, I felt like a victim to the situation. I felt like I was stuck at this facility because it was such a “good job,” and that I would not be able to afford the bills if I stayed at home (which I know many other moms feel this pressure). Prior to getting this job I had been having a challenging time in our small area finding a good paying job with my Bachelor’s degree from MSU that I thought would really have endless possibilities. Things just really didn’t go as planned, and I was really upset by that. Why wasn't there more opportunities? Why did my work environment have to be like this whenever I really enjoyed the work itself? Also, why is the economy so bad right now that many moms cannot afford to stay home?
None of this sat right with me, so I just went into full on victim mode. Life happens to me, not for me. I had really gotten into a funk. At this point though, I knew for the sake of my children I could not allow my anxiety and upset to take over and that I would need to be the one who takes control. I had the ability to not only change my own life, but change the lives of my children. I could either stay stuck, or make a change! So I decided to take matters into my own hands, and see my experiences for what they were - lessons. I was being called to stand out and take the lead.
God would not put me through all these hard lessons for no reason. He wasn’t doing it to keep putting me down and giving me a “hard life.” There is always a reason. Now, I can see many reasons why I went through the things I did. For one, I wasn’t meant to be in the agriculture field like I thought, I was meant to help others and practice natural medicine and healing. If I hadn’t seen what I thought I wanted first hand, and realized how toxic it was, I wouldn’t have been driven to make a change. In almost all circumstances, I get along very well with all people. I have had many friends in my life that I’ve kept for well over a decade and most people click with me right away. This was not the case at work, and so in the end all I can think is it was meant to help drive me away from that position so that I could fulfill my true purpose.
Secondly, I had to go through the struggles of being a working mom and leaving my babies postpartum to see what flaws we really have in America when it comes to helping raise our young ones and support moms along the way. The system really is flawed. It’s not normal to leave your babies so early, and it truly does affect their well-being. However most of us are stuck without a choice (or so we think).
When I decided to do something about my circumstances, it required me to jump out on many limbs. I thought I would never have time to go to school while pregnant or nursing (I was wrong!). I thought I couldn’t ever be a business owner because I wasn’t worthy enough (Also not true!). I just kept making small aligned actions every single day. Whether it was bettering my self care routine, placing myself in better environments, or full on making the leap to join school full time and quit my corporate job!
The mindset work this took to really get somewhere was tremendous. This is why I want to now do anything I can to help others take charge of their own lives. Whether it be their mental state, their thoughts, their actions, their health, their addictions, their job, and so many other things. I can’t wait to keep educating others as I go, and also continue to share this journey I am on. It is important to me that my story does not go to waste. I did not go through all of this for nothing. If I can help others feel heard and take their life into their own hands, then I will keep sharing.
Thanks for following along; I can’t wait to share my next steps with you all!
I also want to do a quick shoutout to the positive co-workers who I did very much enjoy seeing and talking with each day. I will miss you all & thank you for your wonderful energy. To the others who were not so enjoyable to be around, as our perspectives on life did not match up - I still wish you the best and much healing to you.
If any of my posts resonate with you, don’t be afraid to reach out to me to chat or for support.
Have a wonderful day, and God bless!
Xo Amber
