Episode Details

Episode description

Six years after leaving San Francisco, I went back for an AI conference. Somewhere between the airport and the city, I realized the city hadn't changed much. I had.

In this episode, I talk about the selves we carry and the ones we semi-retire for a season. I also explain why a quiet, heads-down stretch in your career might be Outgrowing rather than a Plateau. And I share how one comment at a hotel front desk almost decided my whole trip. If you've built a life that works and some part of it no longer fits, this one is about how to tell what you've outgrown from what you set down because you got busy.

Show notes

Gone, But Not Done: What Going Back Shows You About Who You've Become

Most of us assume we'll notice when we change. We don't. We notice afterward, usually somewhere that belonged to the old version of us.

For me, that place was San Francisco. Six years ago, it was the center of everything I wanted: the girl pack, the heels, the bar hopping, the future I could see clearly. Today I live in flats, work from a quiet home with my dogs, and spend my weekends writing. Going back for a conference showed me how far I'd moved without ever deciding to.

This episode lives in the Recalibrate stage of the Career Evolution Framework, where you ask what you learned and what's next, and then cycle back into Recognize.

In this episode:

• Why change rarely shows up as a decision, and why you usually notice it in a place that belonged to an older version of you
• Why the woman you used to be wasn't wrong about what she wanted, and how chasing her definition of having it all can leave you with goals that no longer fit
• How careers move back and forth before they move forward, and what my path from the classroom to MedTech learning technology taught me about it
• The difference between a Plateau and Outgrowing, and why treating Outgrowing like a Plateau gets you the same restlessness with a bigger title
• How I ran a moment at a hotel front desk through The Model, and what changed when I chose curiosity over "this isn't me anymore"
• The three Recalibrate decisions: what you take with you, what you leave behind, and what you keep available to test
• Why semi-retired isn't retired, and how to run small tests on the parts of your career you set down

The question to sit with:

What did you stop doing because you outgrew it, and what did you stop doing because you got busy? Only one of those is actually gone.

Resources:

• Take the Career Signals Quiz: a two-minute diagnostic that names the signal you're actually dealing with, so you're not solving for a Plateau when it's really Outgrowing. theboldlife.coach/resource_redirect/landing_pages/2151902103
• Career Strategy + Coaching: a private, 12-week, application-based engagement built on the Career Evolution Framework. theboldlife.coach/career-coaching

About Jamesyn

Jamesyn is a career strategist, author, and the voice behind The Bold Life. By day, she leads learning technology for a robotic surgery education program at a global MedTech company. She's been choosing again her whole career: from classroom teacher to educational publishing, to learning leadership, to building her own companies. On The Bold Life, she shares the stories and strategy behind career evolution, and works 1:1 with ambitious women ready to build what's next.

Connect:

 Instagram @theboldlife.coach · YouTube @The-Bold-Life · theboldlife.coach/podcast

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