My Turning Point

It was a Thursday night in August, back in 2020.

I was a senior strategy consultant back then.

1AM in the morning.

I was on a Zoom call, in my room, working ...

It was our 12th Zoom call that day.

Maybe the 50th that week.

Empty. Burnt-out. Trapped.

These are the words that are coming to mind as I write this.

My life was like a living nightmare that repeats itself each day.

I wake up, I do meaningless work for 16 hours, I sleep.

On repeat 5 days a week.

For months.

I remember the director on the project saying: "Guys, don't worry, it's gona be a sprint in the beginning, and then it's more of a marathon..."

Yeah right 🤨 ... each of us on that team knew it was gona be sprint, after sprint, after sprint.

While the team was going around in circles, I zoned out for a minute ...

Staring at the window, I thought:

"3 more months of this shitty project?

How on earth will I survive that?

Is that what success feels like?

What's the point of making good money if I'm depressed?

What can I do?

Surely I can't tell them to remove me from the project ...

How will it affect my reputation? And my promotion?

I'M STUCK!" 😭

I felt completely powerless.

And like a prayer in the middle of the night, something crazy happened the next day.

"Guys the client is stopping the project", said the director.

"There's an issue with security clearance on the team, so we need to stop until further notice".

Sighh ... as if my prayers were answered. What a miracle!

Taking this as a sign of the powers above, the same day, I told the HR team I wanted a 6-month sabbatical.

"Why do you need that, Majid?", asked the HR Manager.

"Honestly I'm exhausted, I can't work properly, I just need some time-off".

I didn't know what I'd do or what would come out of it.

I just knew it was necessary, or else I would break.

Looking back, it was one of the best decision I've made.

That marked the start of the end of my consulting career.

And that was the event that lead me down the path I'm on today.

That's why I decided to become a career change coach.

So I can help unfulfilled high-performers find their true calling and shift into exciting and meaningful roles that feel like play.

Because I learned the hard way that a successful career alone is not enough.

If that resonates with you, and you feel unfulfilled in your current role, reach out and let's chat!

PS. Here's a selfie I took during that project, looking all fancy for the call, while wearing boxers 😁