Post Quitting The Corporate World
So its been around 6 months since I quit my corporate job, and I wanted to give a mini life review!
This review is for all of you who really resonated with my ‘Quitting My Job’ reel, where I talked about the struggle it took to say goodbye to that job. I got a lot of comments and dms after from people were struggling to take that leap up themselves.
I promised to share with this journey with you guys, as I figure out if this was a good decision or not!
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My days usually consist of a hodgepodge of all the roles I play — from a bit of part time work, to wifey roles, to my writing and studying my deen.
I know it may come as a surprise to some of you that I actually work in finance again. Yess, I decided to try out something part time to see if that would suit me better. It meant I’d still be able to make a bit of money, and still have a foot in the finance world. I was really stubborn on the part time job hunt, preferring not to work than have a full time job in it again. And alhamdulillah, I managed to get one and now work 2.5 days a week.
For anyone who isn’t too sure about leaving work completely, I highly recommend trying the part time life.
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Alhamdulillah for the way life is now.
The days I am not working, Im finally able to spend more time on things that are more important to me. No more squeezing my hifdh time into a quick 15 min session. No more pushing off projects I love, like this blog. And finally, more time to spend with my husband and looking after a home.
The most valuable part of taking the leap to quit corporate life was realising the value of doing something fulfilling with my time. Because its not just about having more hours in my week. Feeling more fulfilled allows you to be more present and alive in each moment of the day, than being constantly drained out and tired.
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But saying that, I’d still say the hardest part is still questioning myself about my decision.
I spoke about this in a previous story too — the itch to jump back into the working world (and a lot of you resonated!).
I knew the itch wasnt coming from having too less to do with my days. My days were packed and I had no clue how I would manage a full time job with it again, but the itch was there.
And just from a bit of introspection, I realised straight away. I was questioning my decisions because of the people I was speaking to — peers my age who seemed to be smashing their way up the career ladder to family members who saw my choice as a step backwards.
It made me realise how I was still trying to fit in with the model of ‘success’ my community holds for me. And more so, how dangerous this model of success was to Muslim woman in general.
It has always confused me because I thought the model of success my community gave me would be perfect. I wanted my model of success to be the one most pleasing to Allah and I come from a practicing Muslim community, surrounded by family and friends who value the deen above all. So shouldn’t that be easy?
But the more I reflect on the idea of ‘success’ even in this community, the more I realise how it simply resembles the feminist capitalist version of success defined by the West, only now wrapped up in Islamic wrapping paper instead. Its never explicit, but the connotations are there loud and clear.
As a result, over the last few weeks, I really spent a lot of time doing a lot of journaling — reassessing what really success is for a Muslim. For a woman.
It’s been a tough realisation, but Im slowly becoming more and more sure with this path I’ve taken.
Its the very reason why I’m deciding to write and post content about this part of my life here. I’m beginning to realise how big of an issue this is for the Muslim woman who wants to be the best abd to her Lord. And so I hope to share more of what Im learning over the months, inshaAllah.
Thank you for reaching till the end of this post!
I hope we get to meet each other in my next post too. Until then, if you have any thoughts about what you’ve just read let me know (in the comments or any other way). I’d love to start a conversation!
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