What to Focus On When You Know You Need To Make A Career Change
You know it’s bad when the Sunday Scaries show up on Saturday afternoon.
You’re supposed to be relaxing, maybe still in your comfies from brunch, and instead your brain is already bracing for the Monday-est Monday after your holiday break.
Most high-achieving women respond to that feeling in one of two ways:
Open LinkedIn and start browsing jobs
Promise themselves they’ll make a five-year plan “when things calm down”
Spoiler: they don’t calm down.
And neither of those options actually get to the root of the problem.
So instead of obsessing over your next big move, I want you to focus on two small but powerful things:
Your “never again” moments
Your glimmers of joy
These are the bread crumbs out of a life that looks “fine” but feels anything but.
The Loop You’re Stuck In (and Why You’re So Tired)
If you’re anything like my clients, your weeks probably look like this:
You power through the days, telling yourself, “Just get through this week.
You crash on the couch at night, scrolling your phone and calling it “rest.”
You insist, “It’s fine, it’s not that bad,” while your body is quietly screaming, “I can’t keep doing this.”
You’re not lazy. You’re not confused.
You’re swirling in an identity gap — stuck between who you were and who you’re becoming.
And because you don’t have crystal-clear clarity on “what’s next,” you tolerate more than you should and ignore what actually lights you up.
This isn’t a motivation problem.
It’s an awareness problem.
Step One: Your “Never Again” Moments
Instead of asking, “What should I do with my life?” ask:
What am I no longer willing to tolerate?
These are the moments that make your whole nervous system say: “Oh absolutely not.”
Maybe that looks like:
Using personal time to attend a “mandatory” volunteer event for work
Working until 4:30 on New Year’s Eve… then being expected to “hop on” a Zoom happy hour and look thrilled about it
Getting handed 25 last-minute tasks before signing off for the year because “you’re so good at handling chaos”
Most women swallow these moments, crack a joke about “corporate life,” and move on.
I don’t want you to move on.
I want you to write them down.
They are not inconveniences — they’re data.
They’re your body telling you: this is what I don’t want anymore.
Try This: Start a “Never Again” List
Open your Notes app and title it: Never Again.
Every time something happens that feels off, draining, or disrespectful, add it to the list.
No fixing. No over-analyzing. Just honest data collection.
Step Two: Your Glimmers of Joy
Awareness isn’t just about what you’re done with.
It’s also about what you’re still drawn to.
Ask yourself:
What do I genuinely enjoy?
What feels easy — the kind of thing other people find hard but I could do all day?
What makes me forget to check the time?
Maybe it’s:
Coaching or mentoring coworkers
Mapping out a project plan
Writing, teaching, brainstorming, or problem-solving
And if your honest answer is, “I don’t even know what I enjoy anymore”… that’s not evidence that you’re broken. That’s just your current data point.
Try This: Start a “Glimmers” Note
New note: Glimmers.
Capture anything that brings you a micro-spark:
A conversation where you felt like yourself again
A task that felt satisfying instead of soul-sucking
A moment in your day where you actually breathed
Why This Matters More Than a Five-Year Plan
When you pay attention to both:
what you’re done with (Never Again)
and what you’re drawn to (Glimmers)
…the path forward becomes less hypothetical and more… unavoidable.
Clarity doesn’t usually show up like a lightning bolt.
It shows up like this:
a list of “I’m not doing this anymore” moments
a list of “I could do this all day” glimmers
and the realization that staying where you are makes less sense than trying something new
That’s when women go from, “I can’t do this anymore, but I don’t know what else to do,” to:
“I might not know the whole answer yet, but I know my next right move.”
What Could Be Different by Next Year?
By this time next year, things could look wildly different:
You might not dread going back to work after time off
You might take real, unplugged vacations and feel grounded — not guilty
You might be building a business or a role that feels aligned, not obligatory
That shift doesn’t start with quitting your job in a blaze of glory.
It starts with listening — honestly — to what your life is already telling you.
Your calendar, your body, your “never again” moments, and your glimmers of joy are speaking.
Your only job right now?
Believe them.
A Gentle Next Step (Offer – if it feels aligned)
If reading this has you thinking, “Okay, I’ve got the data… now what?”, that’s exactly what we work on in The Reinvention Room.
It’s my 90-day group coaching experience for the woman who’s “fine” on paper but knows that’s not enough anymore.
We take your Never Again list and your Glimmers list and turn them into:
new boundaries
new calendar rhythms
and the beginning of your next, more aligned chapter
We don’t rush you into a reckless leap — we help you cross the bridge from the life you’re tolerating to the one you actually want to be living.
If your whole body is whispering “something has to change,” consider this your sign to explore it.
