Career change is a 13 letter word
Growing up in medical household (my father - a GP, acupuncturist and homeopath and my mother a dentist), I was surrounded by books and information about everything and anything to do with health. All these strange words like ‘qi’ this, and ‘radiology’ that, my small young brain was saturated. At the time, they made no real sense to me, but I was still deeply fascinated all the same. I suppose there was a slight expectation, that one of my siblings or I may end up following in my parents footsteps, but even though I had shown a deep interest in what both my parents did for a living, I always had a big creative streak and was desperate to develop this in the big bad world. So I officially became the black sheep of the family and went on to study media and communications at university and after graduating, forged a successful career in the ‘glamourous’ world of film and entertainment. The look on my parents face when I told them I wasn’t following in their footsteps, was priceless.
14 years later, I was still loving my job, but the insane deadlines, palpable stress and long hours were taking its toll on all aspects of my life - especially my health. Anxiety, bad digestion, panic attacks, you name it, I was plagued by it. I knew that something had to give, so I found myself on a bit of soul searching journey if you call it that, to figure out - what the hell I do next! Little did i know that I would find myself going full circle and returning back to my roots.
Fast forward to 2016 and I had finally qualified as an Acupuncturist and Naturopath. I should have been over the moon, and a part of me was, but the other part was broken. Having spent the last 4 years studying part-time, whilst still trying to hold down the stressful film career, I felt bewildered and exhausted, so much so that the last thing I wanted to do was pick up an acupuncture needle. Ironic really.
However 8 months later whilst on a yoga retreat in Mexico, (where this little picture was taken) I finally made the decision to leave the comfort and security of producing film trailers, and make a go of things. All this time, I had been trying to find the right time to take that step, when in reality, there was never going to be a right time, so i jumped... and took one giant leap of faith.
3 years on, it’s been a real rollercoaster with many highs and a few lows, but more than anything it has provided me with the space to think, the ability to feel freer than I have felt in years and the opportunity to finally pursue a passion that I’ve held for as long as I can remember.
For anyone contemplating a career change or making the leap to start their own business, you will know when the time is right, but when that time comes, trust your inner bird and fly.