I wrote about my journey from a climbing the career ladder in the automotive industry to becoming a stay-at-home mom in my previous post. The past few months have been quite the journey, and my opinion of my previous corporate life has drastically shifted.
Before leaving my job as an executive leader in the automotive industry, I really enjoyed my work and thought I was a valuable contributor to my company. I lead a global team, requiring early morning meetings and regular trips abroad. I sacrificed time with my family to keep up with my demanding job and career ambitions. At the time, I thought I was making the right choice for myself and my family.
Since leaving Corporate America, my outlook has changed. I see more clearly what is truly valuable in life, and who most greatly benefits from my time and attention. I am so grateful to have this opportunity to leave my job and shift my mindset, as I know so many people don’t have this choice.
Here I want to share the top 5 lessons I’ve learned since leaving my corporate life.
1. Time With Family Is Invaluable

As I was climbing the career ladder and gaining positions with increasing responsibility, family time was becoming scarce. My husband and I were constantly juggling school before and after care drop offs and pick ups. Evenings were spent rushing to make dinner, clean up, and getting the kids ready for bed. There was hardly time to decompress after the work day and have any enjoyable family moments together. Add in any after school activities and taking care of our dog (our first baby!), and each day flew by in a chaotic blur.
Even when I was physically present, I often was not mentally present. My mind was typically racing with all the uncompleted tasks at work and at home. This kind of mental exhaustion that so many mother face was adding to the overall household stress level. I knew I needed a change, but didn’t know how to make it happen.
Now that I’ve left my corporate life, I am truly grateful everyday for the quality time I have with my children. There is a great article by Tim Denning which discusses a Reddit post about how the only people that will remember you worked late are you children. This really hit home and now I strive to be present and engaged with my children as much as possible. The time I have with my family is invaluable and finite, and I want to make the most of it while I can.
2. Feeling Overwhelmed Doesn’t Have to be Normal

While I was pursing my career and engaged in corporate life, I was in a state of constant overwhelm and didn’t ever realize it. Feeling overwhelmed and anxious became my normal state of being. It’s as if I were running on a treadmill with ever increasing speed.
Each block of my day meticulously organized to minimize time and maximize efficiency. My day typically started around 5am with a workout in my basement gym, followed by getting ready for work, and then getting the kids ready for school. Then came school drop offs, early morning calls with my global team, afternoons trying to catch up on work, and school pick ups. Only to be followed by the after school chaos of dinner, cleaning, and bedtime routines. This was the daily grind.
Since leaving my corporate life, I can reflect on the utter craziness of my daily schedule. I continuously raced from one task to the next, trying to be the best wife, mother, and employee. In reality it was impossible to be the best at all three all of the time – something was always sacrificed. Now my life is far more peaceful and relaxed, both mentally and physically. I enjoy sitting down to breakfast with my kids. I can choose whether they ride the bus to school or I drop them off. Now that I don’t need to race from one thing to the next, we can all savor our time together more intentionally.
3. Stepping Off the Treadmill Doesn’t Make Me Lazy

One thing I struggled with after leaving my corporate life was a feeling of laziness. I was so used to constantly dashing from one thing to the next, it felt strange to have time to breathe. Now that my days were not filled to overflow with various work and home tasks, I felt lazy. I didn’t know how to be relaxed in my daily life. Sure, I knew how to relax occasionally, like on vacation or for a few hours on weekends. But that was a temporary state of mind.
Being a relaxed woman was something entirely new and different. It has taken some inward reflection to realize that I am not lazy, even though I no longer have an income. I am not lazy, even though I feel calm and at peace every day.
There’s a quote by psychologist Nicola Jane Hobbs that sums up my feelings perfectly:
‘Growing up, I never knew a relaxed woman.
Successful women? Yes.
Productive women? Plenty.
Anxious and afraid and apologetic women? Heaps of them.
But relaxed women?… I’m not sure I’ve ever met a woman like that.’
Before leaving my job, I was all of those things above, except relaxed. Now I’ve changed my mindset. I can still be productive, successful, and relaxed at home, without my previous corporate lifestyle.
4. I am Replaceable at Work

As much as I thought I was a valued team member at my past employer, this harsh truth still remains. I am replaceable at work. I left during a time of massive organizational change where all leaders were being shuffled into new roles. A select few executives were making decisions that impacted hundreds of people. Some were given increased responsibility while others were placed in entirely new roles.
As I watched the changes take place, I quickly realized we are all replaceable. After I left, my responsibilities were shifted onto the next person in line, and the enormous corporate wheel continued to turn without me. Additionally the colleagues I spent hours with every day became a distant memory, and I only kept in touch with a few.
Upon reflection, all the seemingly important work I thought I was doing for my employer mattered very little after I left. This realization was startling, to say the least. I used to think my work mattered enough to sacrifice time with my family. Now it’s clear the one place I am NOT replaceable is at home.
5. I am More Than a Job Title

Every week I spent at least one third of my life on work. It became easy to start defining my identity by my job title, given how much time I spent on it. And one of the first questions asked to a new acquaintance is “What do you do for work?” I’m still trying to figure out how to answer this, now that I don’t have a job to fall back on.
As I transition away from my old corporate life, I am taking the time to figure out who I am without a job. I am starting to answer new questions such as what are the activities I truly enjoy, what are the things I choose to spend time on, and what type of work do I gravitate toward. Through this exploration I understand I have so many interests and skillsets outside of my previous employment. My old job title does not need to define me as a person.
I am still a person of meaning and value, even though I no longer work outside the home.
What has been your experience with corporate life? Comment below!