The Part of Career Change We Don’t Talk About Enough
Not so long ago, my life looked very different. At the time, I was working in a big international agency in Paris. From the outside, it looked like a good job: stable, respected, well paid.
But what looked good on paper was no longer right for me.
My body knew it before my mind was ready to admit it. I started having back pain, I couldn’t sleep, and I was deeply unhappy.
That is the part people do not talk about enough. People see the title, the salary, the safety. They do not always see the cost of staying.
Fast forward to last Sunday, I opened my first yoga class.
And between those two moments there was a lot of fear. But also a lot of rebuilding. I had to rebuild trust in myself. I had to create more calm in my body. I had to reconnect with what I actually wanted, not just what looked good from the outside.
That is why I believe career change is not only about strategy. Yes, strategy matters. But when you have been disconnected from yourself for too long, the first step is not always to update your CV or make a plan.
Career Change Is Not Only About Strategy
For many women, especially women living abroad, career change is not only practical. It means deconstructing the belief that being from abroad makes you less than, and finding the courage of starting again.
You may know something needs to change, but still you’re not able to move forward just yet. You may feel fear, guilt, confusion, or pressure to stay where things look stable. That does not mean you are weak or ungrateful. It often means your nervous system has been in survival mode for too long.
Before making a big career move, many women first need to feel safe enough to hear themselves again.
The Process of Meaningful Change
This is the process I believe in:
Feel safe enough to hear yourself again.
Rebuild trust in yourself.
Create a plan and start building the change.
This is why meaningful change takes time.
Not because you are failing. Not because you are behind. But because real change is not only about external action. It is also about internal alignment.
My own career change did not happen overnight. There was fear. There was doubt. There were many moments when it would have been easier to stay where I was.
But over time, I learned that staying in the wrong life also has a cost. Opening my first yoga class was not just a professional milestone. It was a reminder of what can happen when you stop abandoning yourself and start building a more aligned life, step by step.
If you are in a season of burnout, transition, or career change, know this:
You do not need to have everything figured out today.
But you do need to start listening to yourself.
Because meaningful change takes time. And often, it begins before fear fully disappears.
If you are a woman living abroad and you are ready to create a calmer, more aligned next chapter, my Women Abroad Reset program is designed to help you reconnect with yourself, rebuild trust, and create a plan for change that feels sustainable.
What would happen if you stopped letting fear make the decisions?