I'm KellyJane.
 

I HAD A GOOD JOB, A NICE CAR, AMAZING HOLIDAYS, A GOOD TEAM AROUND ME AND TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD; I HAD A LOT GOING FOR ME. BUT WHAT OTHERS DIDN'T SEE WAS THAT I WAS MISERABLE! 

 

I did the ‘normal’ thing of going to school, getting good grades, going to college and then to university before getting a job and working hard to progress.  However, like many others, I got to the point a few years ago of just not being happy. By all accounts I ‘should’ have been, but I was tired of chasing the next promotion, tired of not having true control over my life, and tired of living for the weekends! 

 

To the outside world it looked like I had a great life.  I had the good job, nice car, disposal income and a large friendship group. But I wasn’t truly happy.  And I didn’t know why.  I should have been based on what society dictates.  So, after hitting a really low point, being signed off work, medicated on antidepressants, I decided enough was enough and I needed to do something about it.  And this journey lasted 3 years.  I had therapy to deal with the stuff from my past and to really dig deep on why I was so unhappy, and once I had my head a bit straighter and felt a bit better, I was able to get back into work, get off the medication and start working towards what I wanted my future to look like.  

 

This process took a while and was hard! But once I had dealt with the heavy load I was carrying with me everyday in the form of my negative thoughts and daily comparison, I was able to switch and work towards finding out who I was, what I wanted to achieve, and how I wanted to live my life going forward. 

 

I cut people out, I was no longer interest in having a large friendship group.  Popularity was no longer a priority, I gave up being a people pleaser and kept hold of those that wanted to see me win. 

I went on holiday on my own, I suppose you could say it was an eat, pray, love moment, but it resulted in me being forced to look at myself in the mirror and truly seeing who I was.

 

Then, I did something that at the time was probably not my best idea. 

 

I quit my job! After having my moment of reflection, I realised that it was my job that was impacting me the most. 

 

But I couldn’t afford to quit my job, I didn’t know what I wanted to do instead, I didn’t know how I was going to pay my bills, and then, Covid hit! First thought a few months after quitting? SHIT! 

 

But, I had made a decision for my future self and I had to live by that.  As hard as it was at the time, it was the best thing I have ever done. 

 

I thought that my happiness was rooted in my career.  And I was right! 

 

Your job/career has such a fundamental impact on your happiness levels.  We spend a third of our life at work, A THIRD! Your surroundings at work, your peers, your manager, your executive team, the culture, the environment, the ways of working, the behaviours, the work you are doing, your salary, the values of the organisation, all of this not only has a direct impact on you, but also your loved ones. If your career is impacting you in a negative way, it will 100% be impacting your happiness levels but also that of those closest to you. 

 

Working on my career and aligning it to what I want, where my strengths lie, to my values, and to what I truly want, has been life changing to me.  I’m a different person, I now have people around me that want to see me win, a relationship that is better than I could have ever imagined and an amazing job that I love and aligns to my values. 

 

And, I’ve found my purpose in helping others to have the same. Having 15+ years experience in the HR space and having gone through my own journey, I care deeply about people enjoying their working life. It’s so intrinsically connected to happiness levels that I really believe we have a responsibility to prioritise it and make sure we get it right!