Dear Friends,

“It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are” ~ E. E. Cummings

We’ve all been there.

Buried under piles of work, a couple hundred emails waiting to be answered, a stack of messages to return. All the while, wondering, “What am I doing?” and “Does any of this matter?”.

Have you ever wished you could just start over? Chosen a different path?

“What if I had gone to that other college?”

“What if I took that internship?”

“What if I had moved when I had the opportunity to?”

The “coulda, shoulda, wouldas” will eat at you if you let them. There’s no going back, there’s not do-overs and there’s no way to change things, right? Wrong. There are the “leapers”.

Those who follow their heart, make the tough decisions, and choose to write a new ending for themselves. Change the book, change the theme, and literally leap into the unknown, often without a net to catch them.

These are the warriors. The brave souls who choose passion over logic. Uncertainty over stability. These are my people.

I have done this this twice in my life.

The first time was when I shocked my family and friends and signed up for the Army. No one really understood it and to their credit, it wasn’t something I ever talked about. To them it appeared like I woke up one day and decided to run off and join the army, Private Benjamin style. They stood wide eyed and open mouthed as I waved goodbye on my way to boot camp.

The second time I took the leap was when I pursued my current job as President & CEO of Commerce Chenango.

At the time I was on the fast track, working in the administrative side at a private college, having worked my way from a temporary employee to the highest office on campus in just under a year. I was good at what I did, and my future seemed to be mapped out; I was there for nearly five years, thinking that higher education was where I was going to be forever.

But when an accident left me laid up for two months, I took a hard look at my life and realized that while I was successful, I was very unhappy. It was the mirror that I needed to show me that I was stressed, anxious and working myself to death for someone and something that I didn’t really believe in. As the stress of work began to melt away, having limited mobility and trying work from home, I could finally see how much I had changed. How my family was affected, how I was so focused on that ladder and seeking approval that I had forgotten who I was. It wasn’t about being happy anymore, it was about the job.

During this time, the job posting for Commerce Chenango went live and I applied right away. By spring I knew I was being considered, so I put in my notice and left my job. No net, no job offers but knowing that I was meant for something more and I wasn’t going to stay one more day in a job that I felt unfulfilled at.

I deserved better and so did my family.

The next two months were exactly what I needed! I spent time with my loved ones, I travelled to Ireland, I visited family and just enjoyed life. When I started this job in August 2019 I was refreshed and renewed. I never had one minutes of regret and I have not had that “could of, should of, wish I had” feeling since I took the leap.

I recently celebrated a close friend of mine who also made the leap. He has worked in IT for over twenty years and decided that he was going to pursue his passion, which had nothing to do with computers or technology. He knew that if he walked away now, this was it. Technology changes all the time so walking away meant he was done with that life.

It’s amazing what can happen when you don’t let the fear of the unknown stop you. He knew what he loved, how he wanted to spend the next twenty-five years or so of his life and chose happiness.

I remember seeing him a couple of days after he gave his notice, and he looked lighter. Happier and full of joy in a way that I had not seen in a long time. As the weeks went by, closer to his last day, you could see the pep in his step, his excitement over his new path and the pure joy.

When someone is that happy with their life, with their choices, you can see the joy; it’s written all over their face and it’s infectious. You want that joy for yourself, you want some of that happy. My friend is extremely brave, and I admire him for having the courage to start over.

With all that is happening in the world, you need to find the joy. Find the happy.

All jobs are stressful, all careers come with their own brand of issues and times that the work seems overwhelming. The difference is, at the end of the day, do you still love what you do? Are you still excited to go to work? Do you feel the joy?

If the answer is no, then it’s time to look for something that does.

There’s no more time for “coulda, shoulda, woulda”.

Start now.

Be well,

~ Kerri

The views and opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views and positions of any entity that this author represents.