In the fall of 2020, I realized it was time for a major career transition.
I had spent almost 10 years dedicating myself to the health and wellness space as an integrative nutrition health coach, health and wellness blogger and group fitness and yoga instructor. I had multiple certifications in these areas. And I had become very burned out.
After talking with a few friends who are in real estate, I decided that was a field in which I could utilize my relationship-building and communication skills, my marketing education and sales skills I learned in past jobs, and still serve others, which is something I find to be very rewarding. So I went to real estate school, took my test and joined my brokerage.
Now, 15 months into my new career, I can look back on some of the lessons I learned in my career transition.
Making a big change made me feel alive. I felt a new excitement — or was it fear? — that lit a spark within me, and I hadn’t felt that in a while, professionally speaking. I was excited about all the possibilities my new career could bring into my life — new knowledge, new skills and new people. There was so much room for growth and expansion, and I could see it in front of me. Feeling the highs and the lows reminded me of my human-ness and breathed a new sense of life into me.
Noticing when it was time to make a change, and then taking action on it, was empowering. We all know what it feels like to realize it’s time for a change. But when you feel that and don’t act on it, it can feel like you’re not being true to yourself. Taking action and making the transition, even when I knew others would question me (and even questioning myself), filled me with a sense that I do have some power over the direction of my life.
Skills, experiences and relationships can be transferred and utilized from one career to another. Even though I was moving into a completely different professional arena, I have absolutely been able to draw on the skills I’ve learned and the experiences I’ve had over the years, in my health and wellness career and in all the jobs I had before that. I’ve also been able to draw on the relationships I fostered in my previous work, now in my real estate career.
Knowing when to pivot, and then pivoting, is one of the most important skills there is. We live in a world where the only constant is change itself. I have learned that I am less stressed and more happy and fulfilled when I am not resisting change and instead pivoting as needed.
Elizabeth Finch is a sales associate with Capital Sotheby’s International Realty in Little Rock. Email her at elizabeth.finch@capitalsir.com.
