From social care to writer, designer and artist

What work were you doing previously?

I was working for education and charities in a social care environment – people with disabilities, carers, young people and families.

What are you doing now?

I’m a writer, designer and artist.

Why did you change?

I had my fourth burnout a few years ago, followed by cancer.

It was a large wakeup call that the way I was living wasn’t working. Even though I’ve enjoyed parts of my work and I love people, I was a young carer at home and my childhood was difficult.

Caring and people pleasing became my identity. It wasn’t until that final burnout that I realised I didn’t even know I was allowed my own needs.

I started to question everything about myself and my life. Who was I underneath my assigned roles?

How did you choose your new career?

I tried things out, and took up free courses and webinars.

I went to Australia for three months to spend some time with spiritual teachers and do some environmental work.

I came back even more curious about myself. I started to join dots around things I’d always been interested in.

I started doing some freelance work, which wasn’t the final endpoint but was what I call my transition work. Now I do part-time freelance work with the podcast.

What didn’t go well? What wrong turns did you take?

I felt safe keeping small, even though I was unhappy.

I went back to working with young people for a while, and whilst I loved it, it was extremely demanding work and very poorly paid. I started to become ill again but caught it earlier this time.

How did you handle your finances to make your shift possible?

I’ve never done well-paid work, and lived in survival mode most of my life.

When I decided to make a career shift and met others who lived very differently to me, it brought these limiting beliefs into sight. I did a lot of self-reflection and started to get ideas of where these limiting beliefs came from. Some ran quite deep and painfully into my childhood.

To challenge my beliefs, I read books about money mindset, talked with friends, and listened to some spiritual talks on the topic of money and how childhood events impact how we act with money.

I started to up my standards and some of the freelance work I took was the best pay I’d had.

I’ve been gifted in other ways. An altruistic entrepreneur believed in me enough to buy me a new laptop when my old one died. My new partner, Pierre, bought me an iPad with Procreate on for me to create with.

What help did you get?

I attended some amazing free webinars and had some coaching.

My coach training (with the MOE foundation) was gifted to me.

An entrepreneur approached me after seeing my social media posts, listened to me for two hours, and gave me incredible feedback. He’s the one who purchased a laptop for me and connected me with a few people.

Lovely friends encouraging me to put myself out there and believe in myself. Pierre never stops encouraging me to be me.

What would you advise others to do in the same situation?

Don’t let others fears about you or for you stop you.

Those who truly love you will want you to be yourself and do work you love.

Believe in yourself and your dreams. They matter, you matter and you’re allowed to go after them.