I Quit My Job

Because it was time and my thoughts on career envy

Hi from False Spring in New York! The temperature is over 50 degrees (for now), and I can feel my personality returning. Alexa, play “Life is Worth Living” by Justin Bieber.

Last week, I put in my two weeks' notice at my corporate job.

in summary

If you've been following along, you know I took Suzy Welch's Becoming You class at NYU earlier this month, and I haven't shut up about it since. You can read more about my experience here if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Suzy gave me the language to articulate my values, and I've been using it. Last weekend, on two separate occasions, I ran into classmates from the intensive, and we had the best conversations about the experience—shoutout to Heather and Aminatou for indulging me. Yes, we pulled up the Values Bridge mid-conversation.

Why I Quit

It doesn't feel normal to quit a job without another lined up, especially in this job market, but I've felt the urge for a while. I've been saving money and discussing my departure at nauseam with friends and family.

Taking Becoming You solidified my decision. The class helped me understand my values. I quickly saw the variance between what I care about and how I spend my time.

My dream career includes writing, podcasting, and having meaningful conversations, yet most of my energy goes into attending endless video calls and planning B2B corporate events and tradeshows. It was time for a shift!

When I finally told my manager I was leaving, I felt the relief that usually comes with saying exactly what you want out loud. This reminds us (me) that we should do that more often, both personally and professionally!

When the news of my departure hit the Slack group chats, I didn't have a corporate-approved Linkedin-ready answer about my next steps. However, I did have concepts of a plan.

On Comparison & Jealousy

There's something else I've been thinking about a lot. We've all heard the saying, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Lately, I’ve been stealing some of my joy.

I've spent most of my adult life in NYC, working at companies you've heard of—Complex, Condé Nast, Meta, and Adobe. And I'd be lying if I said those jobs didn't give me a certain level of validation. A role at a recognizable company made answering the common NYC question, “What do you do?” much more manageable and made me feel impressive. But the conversation I want to have with you is about jealousy.

As I step into this next career phase, I've caught myself comparing—more than I'd like to admit. I'll see someone with thousands of Substack subscribers, a thriving community, a podcast that gets a lot more engagement than mine, and suddenly, I'm spiraling. How did they get there? Why am I not there yet?

Yesterday, I saw someone I follow post about an event I'd love to be invited to, and I was jealous. I let that feeling fester for a second. Until I ultimately asked myself, “Why was this triggering me?” The answer was simple: I want to be in rooms like that. I want people to recognize my work at that level.

Jealousy feels ugly, but I don't think it has to be. I'm reframing it as a data point—it's showing me what I want. And sometimes, when I sit with it, I realize I don't want a specific person’s career—I just like some of the results. That distinction is helpful. It helps me be more intentional about what I'm working toward instead of comparing lives on IG stories. I’m generally happy for people, so I give myself the ick when I sit with these feelings for too long.

What's Next?!

I'm using this time to be honest and intentional about what I want in this next chapter. I want to write more, facilitate meaningful conversations—whether through my podcast, speaking engagements, or something else I haven't even imagined—and build something that feels like me. I am reading everything

Anna Mackenzie

has to say about Portfolio Careers.

Quitting your job for no reason other than because you want to isn't considered normal, but I did it, even with all the job marketing fear-mongering. 

Next week, once I'm officially unemployed, I'll share my game plan.

Until then, if you're curious about Becoming You, my code Shelbi100 gets you $100 off Discovery Day and the Three-Day Intensive workshops.

And since I can finally feel my hands again while walking around the city, I've been looping this playlist. "All For You" has gone triple platinum in my household. Also, get into the Leon Thomas Tiny Desk: 10/10, no notes.

As always, thank you for reading Define Normal. Please feel free to send me a message to continue the conversation. Otherwise, you can find me on IG, TikTok, or the Define Normal podcast.