Why I Quit My Job Without Having a Plan

…And How Trusting My Frequency Led Me Back to Myself

My mornings are the same. My first alarm goes off at 6 a.m. to alert me to the fact that I only have an hour left of my blissful sleep state and to try to trigger some cool lucid dreams. That one gets turned off, and then at 6:30 a.m., Alexa starts beeping to let the kids know that they need to be prepped to be pulled out of bed and start my 8-minute snoozing intervals. By 6:55 a.m., after a blissful amount of snoozes, I’m getting my kids out of bed and heading downstairs for our morning routine, which consists of me making their lunch—with three stove burners and two rounds in the air fryer. My kids like their lunch made fresh, lol. Alongside the kids eating breakfast, getting dressed, and then into the car to get to school, this routine has remained consistent. 

Now, after the kids get dropped off, that has seen a complete 180 in the last few months. Up until the end of 2024, that consisted of rushing home, getting dressed and ready in 15 minutes, coffee made, and out the door to get to the office as close to 9 a.m. as I could. Not very successful most days. To be fair, I did work from home two days a week, so on those days it was get home, coffee made, and in front of the computer ASAP to check on whatever non-emergency “emergency” was awaiting me in my inbox. And you’d be surprised by how many “emergencies” university faculty can invent that require immediate attention before 9 a.m. 

Why did I do this? Well, I had a very “successful” career and didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize it. I had flexibility, a really good salary (even though no matter how high it got, it was ALWAYS just enough), and job security. This was a position I spent 20 years climbing towards. I worked my way up through sheer grit and commitment, consistently working 50+ hour weeks—not because I had to, but because I never felt like I belonged and had to prove myself. I never felt enough and realized no amount of effort I put in would change that. So after 20 years, I figured out a way to retire at the age of 42 and maintain a few of those benefits that keep us “trapped.” 

I needed to make space to have time to find what would feel “right” for me, and that is what I did. I began again—but this time from truth, not obligation. It was okay that I did not know exactly what I wanted to actually do. But I knew how I wanted to feel. And what I have been doing is following the feeling, because I realized it’s the map back to myself. 

So now, well, now I get home and the day is mine. What does that mean, you may ask? Well, it is mine in the sense that I sit there and get to determine what is indeed an emergency (rarely anything gets elevated to that level) and spend a couple of hours to myself. This has so far consisted of meditating, yoga, walking outside, cleaning, or my favorite—morning naps! The rest of the day? Well, I now get to define what a productive day consists of. What pace I move at, and most importantly, what state of mind I have vibrating in the background of my day. Now that—that was THE hack of a lifetime. 

One little shift from using external definitions for—well, anything—to making sure I get to define my life. I get to define the meanings of success, inadequacy, productivity, selfishness, abundance, lack, happiness, misery, really—any and everything. And you know what I found? My definitions made so much more sense to me. My definitions were a compass. My definitions were the guide. My definitions raised my vibrations. My definitions were exactly where I needed to be. Well, really, my definitions were just ME. 

Now, the question I am sure most of you have at this point is: Did I win the lottery or come into some other crazy windfall that allowed me to do this? I would love to answer yes to that question, but it's more like “it’s on its way.” See, I have worked non-stop since I was sixteen. Never taking breaks between jobs, and most often having jobs overlap, as I felt obligated to never leave with unfinished business. 

For the 20 years I spent in my career in higher education administration, I hopped my way up the professional ladder from job to job, never taking a break. Walking into every position having to prove my qualifications from first sight, because of course, I didn’t look the part. So I went in hard. Put in way more effort than my colleagues. Worked longer. Worked smarter. I did well. I made sure that whatever was put in front of me was done beyond what was asked or expected. But it was still never enough. I never felt like I was enough. 

So I left—not because I had it all figured out, but because I knew if I didn’t make the leap then, I might never do it. I would still be in a space that taught me to feel lucky for having just enough. I would still be working tirelessly, convincing myself that just a little more money, a little more recognition, or one more promotion would make me feel safe and satisfied. But that never came. 

What did come was a deeper awareness that I was living in a frequency of scarcity, and no matter how hard I worked or how much I achieved, I couldn't seem to shift out of it. So I chose to leave. Not because I had a solid backup plan, but because I knew the only way to change my life was to change my frequency. 

I left to create space—space to hear myself, space to feel into my desires, and space to uncover what truly lights me up. I left to figure out what passion even means to me, and to finally give myself the time to explore it without pressure. Because the truth is, I had been moving so fast for so long that I never stopped to ask myself what I wanted to do. I only asked what I should do. 

This time, I want it to be different. This time, I want it to be mine. And I believe that by making this choice—by choosing rest, stillness, alignment, and trust over hustle, certainty, and status—I have opened the door to a life of real, sustainable abundance. Not just financial abundance (although that is absolutely coming), but abundance of time, creativity, peace, and joy. Because it’s not about a job title or paycheck. It’s about the frequency. And I knew I couldn’t wait to feel abundant until after the life change. I had to put myself in the frequency first. That’s the secret: become the vibration, and the rest will follow. 

So here I am, working with my friends and family in our own firm to not only support myself and my children, but to help others make this same leap. To be a guide for people who feel what I felt: that deep, soul-level nudge that there must be more. More meaning. More connection. More truth. 

I want to help others remember that it is possible to choose yourself. It is possible to start over. It is possible to build a life that feels like you. My story is not the exception. It's simply the example of what life can actually be like. 

So if you're standing on the edge of your own transformation—scared, uncertain, but deeply ready—let this be your sign. You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just have to be willing to listen to the quiet truth inside you that says, "There is more for me than this." And you have to believe, even just a little, that the leap will lead you to exactly where you're meant to be. 

I did it. I'm doing it. And you can too.