“Life unfolds naturally, things can change quickly when they are meant to be”. New mothers, single mothers, mothers looking to change careers, mothers who can’t take it anymore; listen up! Kim has been through a lot and recently made some huge life altering choices to change her path. I was lucky enough to get to hear her story and now I get to share it with you.
Kim is a mother of two boys, Adam and Jack who are nine and thirteen years old. She recently made a massive career shift from being General Manager of a 200-seat fine dining restaurant to working from home as a Recruitment Consultant for Profile Hospitality Group. She went from working twelve-hour days at the restaurant; having little time for anything else to having a flexible work schedule; giving her a lot more time for her children and herself. She is getting to know herself again and it has been a little overwhelming. Sometimes it can be easier to just work and not take the time to get to know ourselves.
One amazing revelation Kim made after a retreat in Costa Rica; she is an introvert. Seems unlikely for someone who spent her career managing and owning restaurants. A very social industry. Always having to be “on” and entertaining others. Needing to be a strong role model for your team. My background is also hospitality and I have experienced the trenches of this lifestyle. It can be very unrelenting. Kim came to see she needed time to recharge on her own and enjoyed being alone. At the time of attending the retreat, she had been running on empty for a long time and taking a breath to reflect brought up a lot of new realizations.
The years of juggling being a single mother and working as a GM finally caught up to her and in a conversation with her boss the words “I can’t do this anymore” came rolling out. “I had myself so tightly scheduled, the idea of changing that was so monumental that I didn’t consider it”. That day her subconscious came forward and told her she could not continue this way. From there a new path started to be paved as she ventured into the unknown. This can be very scary when you have no clue what your next career move is going to be. She knew leaving her job was the right decision, but the lack of control for what was to come was very unsettling. I have experienced this anxious feeling when making a career change it can be terrifying but also exciting. Luckily for Kim one door closing meant another more life affirming one was opening.
You never know who you will cross paths with in life that will come around again when you really need them. I have seen this time and time again in my own career and this was very true for Kim. Especially when the opportunity came up to work with some of her old colleagues at Profile Hospitality Group. Starting from the bottom again has been challenging. She is learning and growing more confident each day.
Another adjustment was not working weekends and having a lot of free time; especially the weeks she doesn’t have her children. She is using this time to rediscover reading, cooking, getting outdoors and getting to know herself again. The weeks she does have the boys they are making memories; doing things they never had time for in the past. Kim is now able to home school her son Adam (sharing this responsibility with his father). The ability to do this has been a huge sense of relief for her family. She keeps reaching for the stress, but it isn’t there. What an incredible feeling that must be.
Kim wanted to sare some insights with new mothers. Her advice is not to go back to work too soon after having children and to ask for flexibility from your employer. You never know the potential that is there if you don’t ask. If possible, work for women who are also mothers who understand your situation. The cliché that they grow up to fast is all to real and you don’t want to miss these moments. Spend more time with your kids by letting little things go. Don’t get too caught up in making your home and meals etc. perfect. The chores can wait and the bonding time with your children cannot.
Kim mentioned the universe on a few occasions. She believes the universe has her back and life will unfold as it should if we let it. This reminded me that the universe has all our backs! I truly feel that if you put out to the world what you really want; visualize it and believe it, it will come back to you. Taking time to reflect on what you want, and need is step one. YOU have the power to manifest your visions into reality. If we hide behind fear of change and ignore our gut feeling, we will burn ourselves out and miss the important moments in our lives.
Thank you for your wisdom and advice Kim. We can learn a lot from your experiences.
Story written by Jenn DiRaddo Jefferson of Career Pump
Stay tuned for our next Career Pump interview with a teacher turned talented photographer and mother of two.
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