I worked on the 26th floor of a downtown highrise for over 6 years. The view was amazing. I remember how I felt after my last round of interviews, taking the elevator back down to earth thinking, “I hope I got it!” And then I did, and I was so happy. It was just what I wanted.
The company was huge and had offices around the world. Yet the San Francisco office was small enough that everyone knew nearly everyone. If you hadn’t worked directly with someone at one point or another, then you probably said Hi to them in the elevator or kitchen.
Time passed, and the company and I both changed (as people and companies do). Eventually I realized that it was time for me to move on. I felt so many bittersweet emotions around this. So when I decided to leave, I spent time with my journal writing down all the highlights of my time there. I wanted to acknowledge and honor my experience: what I had learned, how I had grown, and the people who had come into my life during that time.
I didn’t want to rush off to my next adventure and opportunity without saying Thank you, in my own way, to the company and people who had been such a big part of my life for the last many years.
(I learn a lot about conscious exiting from Havi, who writes so well about moments easily sped through and overlooked.)
Sometimes you know when you are on the threshold of change. You sense a chapter closing, and a new chapter beginning. Before you go, take a moment. Pause. Have a last look before you say good-bye. Take a deep, slow breath and feel everything that comes up — even if it is uncomfortable, just stay a moment, please. Honor the path that brought you here. It laid the groundwork for your next step, even though the next step leads you away.
Kim Nicol 