Live Every Work Day Like You Just Gave Your Notice

Go ahead and rock that red lip

Simone Keelah Brathwaite
Forge

--

Photo: Btihal Remli/Getty Images

An interesting thing happened when I decided I was going to quit my job: I got better at my job.

At the time, I held a seemingly sexy position at a well-respected company. For ego-driven reasons, among others, I started in the position hopeful — albeit somewhat skeptical — that this would be the place where I’d finally get to live the life I had dreamed of. Spoiler alert: I did not.

Eventually, I devised a plan to leave. And although it would be another year before I resigned, that decision to quit changed my entire perspective for the better. I became a more effective, engaged, and motivated employee in the meantime.

I realized that you don’t have to start drafting your resignation letter to get that “I quit” swagger. There’s a sense of empowerment that comes from having one foot out the door. Here are some lessons I learned that year that you can apply to your own job — no matter how long you choose to be there.

Seek to connect, not to impress

Like many people, I would get insanely nervous before big presentations. Shoot, I’d get nauseated walking into recurring weekly meetings. But in the months before I resigned, a colleague gave me a piece of advice that…

--

--