(This post is part of the “LifeWork Renewal 101″ Series. The series introduction is HERE.)

Have you been there…

suspended in a kind of limbo somewhere between a major ending and your next beginning?

I certainly have. Several uncomfortable journeys there in fact.

It’s maddening.

Endings are hard enough. By the time you come out the other end, you’re tired and feeling more than a little beat-up.

You’re ready for relief. Ready for something better. And honestly, ready for some certainty.

But instead, you often find an uncomfortable pause. A between-place that can extend much longer than the practical-brain can stand.

It’s not what you were expecting. And you wonder what you might be doing wrong.

Recently I met Ellen

and her story reminded me powerfully about this normal but daunting territory…

Ellen doesn’t dabble.

She dove into law. She did the mountain of schoolwork, passed the bar, and invested all of her effort and talent. Then she entered misery.

Never a wimp, she gave the profession 10 unhappy years of her life (not counting her years of education.) And, like many doomed relationships, she desperately tried to make it work. She changed positions and explored several different legal roles: Public Defender, Prosecutor, and more…

And found misery in every one.

Ellen’s battle to make her profession work took it’s toll. The stress and misery wore at her pride, ate at her self confidence and, eventually, impacted her health.

Finally, with the gut-deep feeling of standing on a cliff edge, she leapt – quitting, and leaving law for good.

More than a Career Change

It took real courage. It took some good therapy. But when she left Ellen knew it was the only way to get her life back. Beyond leaving law, Ellen was leaving behind her way of choosing. [Read more...]