5 Things I Needed To Believe Before I Quit My Corporate Job

A couple of years ago I was burned out, unfulfilled and wanted out of the corporate world. The mountain of stress was affecting my life and health in negative ways. But what would I do? How would I make money? What would make me happy?

It took me a fair amount of self-reflection to figure out I wanted a career in health and wellness. But the real challenge was changing the set of beliefs I was operating from on a daily basis.

I was excited when I enrolled in the Health Coaching Program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition; I had begun my journey! But two years later I was still working in finance full time and health coaching on the side. The big F word (fear) was holding me back from quitting my job and fulfilling my life vision.

I understood the concept of taking a leap of faith and had already built the foundation for my new career and life, but I needed to retrain my brain to really believe the following five things before I could pull the trigger:

1. What other people think of me is none of my business.

I had to let go of feeling judged by my friends, my co-workers, and my family. They would think I'm crazy for leave a job some people would kill for. They would think I was a new-age woo-woo hippie. And so on. All of this was made up in my head, of course. I had to let it go in order to jump.

2. I am not my mind.

The idea that I don't have to identify with all the thoughts that cross my mind was a huge one for me. I won’t make enough money. My business won’t grow. I don’t know enough. All normal thoughts but it took some practice to start making life decisions based on my dreams, not my fears.

3. Everything is gonna be all right.

There are no guarantees in life, especially in business, but chances are my decision to follow my dreams is not going to leave me homeless in the streets. I'm a capable individual, and whatever happens, I will figure it out. It sounds straightforward, but I had to truly get this.

4. There's enough success, love, money and happiness for everyone.

I shifted my view of the world to one of abundance. It was a view quite different from what I learned in the corporate world, where the security of a regular paycheck, working harder to moving up the ranks, and competition are the secrets to success.

5. I am not alone.

I thought I had to design my business from scratch to be successful, but I realized I didn't have to reinvent the wheel to feel accomplished. I learned from those leading the way. I found a mentor and a community of like-minded people that gave me the confidence to go out on my own.

It took time to rewire my brain with these new beliefs, but I kept taking the next step toward my vision. Eventually these principles sunk in and I was able to take that leap of faith and fulfill my dream of moving to the mountains to be a full-time health coach.