Back in 2010 I was struggling a lot with my corporate job in Amsterdam and felt like I needed a change.
I was afraid to get stuck in the same daily routine that I saw my colleagues in the office had built up for themselves, which made me realize this wasn't for me.
But what was for me then?
Where did I start?
I couldn't see myself in another job yet, so I felt I should just let go of focusing on that. Instead, I decided to focus on something I had been dreaming of for many years before that: visiting South Africa.
The sudden realization of not fitting into this corporate culture anymore was not an easy pill to swallow, but one that was necessary for me to get through.
Thinking about what job or which company would attract me after that, was something that gave me anxiety, because I simply didn't know what was next for me. At the time this was off course what my colleagues, friends and family were asking me when I told them I was going to quit. That surely raised a lot of questions and doubts within myself, but I decided to let those go for the moment. The excitement of starting my next chapter with a big solo trip to South Africa was more powerful for me and helped me push through the fear of not knowing what kind of job I would see myself doing after that.
The contract ended and my focus shifted from being stuck inside an office to experiencing a world full of opportunities and the freedom to discover what really felt right for me.
The next time I'll share some more about my first solo trip to South Africa that was initially going to be only 6 weeks, but got extended over and over again...