Leaving my Full-Time Job to Work Independently

My Story and How I Got Here. In this post I talk about my earlier college years and how I see now how I was holding myself back. I talk about my history of binging, when that stopped, nursing school, my first nursing career, the evolution of Lauren Fit Foodie, deciding to leave my full-time job and diving whole-heartedly into a full-time blogger, recipe developer and coach. I share the good, the bad, and the ugly. I hope you enjoy the read and can take something from these chapters in my journey. <3

Well this is a loaded post. I have been meaning to write this for a while now, but I have been putting it off. In between the move, establishing a routine and getting into the swing with my new independent job, launching my cookbook, and now with COVID 19 craziness – this post just kept getting pushed to the back-burner.

To be honest, I have also been dreading writing it a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, I have been wanting to share with you guys! I have gotten many questions from y’all on all of it – how I got here, what is my back story, and advice I can give for others looking to quit their job. I’ve shared here and there on instagram, but never the full story. And I want to! I am the happiest I have ever been. And I’m so proud of where I am.

But really I have just been dreading it for two reasons:
1. I knew I would have to dig into the deeper parts of my soul and some of the hardest times in my life to reflect and give you guys the whole picture, the whole story.
2. I really, really do not want to give anyone the wrong idea about choosing a career in nursing! It is a great career, and even though I parted ways from it, I still believe that.

But despite the challenge this has taken to reflect and write on (and proofread again and again), I really did feel like it was something that needed to be shared. Because there are so many lessons to be learned from my story. So many lessons that I have learned and see now. I have come so far and grown so much from where I was and I want to help others do the same in whatever way I can.

This is my story. Of how I got to where I am today. The good, the bad, and the ugly. These are my thoughts and the decisions and choices I’ve made along the way.

What I do hope you can take from this post, ehrm novel (P.S. I’m sorry it’s so long).
1. It is never to late to change career paths. It’s never to late to change yourself. It’s never too late for any of it.
2. Hard times will come. It’s a part of life, but you will get through them. And if you put in the time and effort to reflect, you will always learn or gain something from these times.
3. Really, negative self-talk is one of the worst things you can ever do. You and your mind and your body are all stuck together for life. You are all a team and can all accomplish amazing things together. Be kind to yourself. Always.
4. Do not compare other peoples lives, bodies, jobs, whatever it is to YOURS. We are all on our own journey. We all have our own story. And most of the time we only see the highlight reel of someones life anyway. Don’t compare.