We’ve all been there.

You had a long day.
You come home and pour yourself a glass of wine.
Put on your fuzzy socks (just me?) and begin to scroll through social media.

And you see it:

How I quit my job and began to travel the world!

And you think, “Damn, what am I doing wrong?!”

And quite frankly, the answer is…

nothing.

(Moment of transparency…While this is the correct answer, I never tell myself “nothing”. I usually flail around for a while, then hop on booking.com and look at tropical destinations, remember that I have some papers to grade and a cash flow that isn’t equipped for a vacation right now, and get my life back on track.)

Now, this is no shade to anyone living out their God given gifts with a passion for travel. Some really good friends have decided this is the lifestyle for them and are so happy and fulfilled and I am happy and fulfilled for them.

This post however, isn’t for them.
This post is for the person who is exactly where they’re supposed to be at their 9am-5pm, or 7am-5pm, or 12am-12pm.

This is for the person who is thinking about quitting a job God directed them to.

The person who  always clicks the “Why I Quit My Job” article but needs to read the “How I Stayed At My Job Even When It Was So Hard” one instead.

A job where your impact is great even if it’s not instagram worthy.

People like me.

I have spent the last few months looking for a new job.

For the first time…ever, I started thinking about who I “should” be outside of work and trying to tailor my job to fit around that. It was done with really good intentions but when I truly stopped and took stock of my life and my work I realized I am right where I belong.

So here are my five reasons for not quitting my job.

1. My work fills me up.

I get so much joy from my work. There are more days when I am happy and fulfilled than I am frustrated and depleted. I’m not a fan of the hours that are attached to a school building, but my children more than make up for this with the number of jokes, books, tears, hugs, and laughs we are able to fit into a ten hour day. Teaching children is my jam. Watching teachers improve their practice makes me feel good. Amassing incredible books for my kids that allow them to both see themselves and the lives of those so far away from them brings me joy.

2. My impact is greater than my feelings.

There are days when work feels thankless. Where children don’t give hugs. Where adults rather watch you work than help you work. When books I work my behind off to get for kids end up ripped and destroyed (which literally kills a piece of my soul). But even on those days when it doesn’t feel good I know it is good. I know that my impact is great and has the potential to be even greater. Choosing to leave a classroom where I served 80 kids now means I have the chance the impact about 340. So on the bad days I remember that feelings aren’t facts and I keep pressing because my impact matters.

3. My work tribe supports me.

My team has my back. I have a boss who trusts me to do my job and works to give me the things I need to do it. The team of teachers I work with gets it done for kids without exception or apology. The people I see in hallways, classrooms, and the front office genuinely make me happy. They are kind. They see my value and when my life was really hard, they were there with check ins, flower deliveries, meals for my family states away, and PTO donated days when I literally didn’t have the physical strength to come to work. People matter. You can’t just assume that type of work environment will be everywhere…because it won’t.

Also, I am tired of being the new person.

Being a professional nomad has had its perks. It has come with pay raises, new experiences, and an ability to navigate steep learning curves.

And it has always made me the new person.

And being the new person means continuously proving your worth to the people who have employed you. I work really hard and I’m working to get better everyday for my teachers and kids but not because I have something to prove, but because I want to be strong for my team.

We as millenials can sometimes think we’ve hit the pinnacle of knowledge after a year or two of employment somewhere and in some ways, this serves us really well. But I think there are times in which it doesn’t, in which we move on too quickly without having harvested all we could have from an opportunity because we want something newer or shinier.

4. I aint no punk.

Lord, forgive me for these next few prideful lines.

I gotta go out on top.
I haven’t figured out how to be the best at my job yet, so I can’t leave.

When I walked out of the classroom, I did so knowing that my kids and I had outperformed the region we’re located in multiple times on multiple assessments. I left knowing that I was a damn good teacher.

But I am not a damn good coach…yet.

And because of that I can’t leave knowing I haven’t perfected my craft.
I haven’t even hit my prime yet.

So I stay, because I’ve got something to prove to myself.
I stay because I know what my team is and what it has the potential to be. I want to watch that come to fruition.

5. God told me to stay.

I was on my way home from work. I think it might have been a day when I was working hard to remind myself that my impact was bigger than my feelings and God said, “Stay.”

God are you sure?!

Like, for real for real?

I always know when it’s God because normally:

• I am hearing something COMPLETELY opposite of what my flesh is telling me to do.
• The message has zero regard for my plans (or the applications currently under review).
• It gives me such a peace when I choose to obey it.

So while I will be traveling the world (hello, school breaks?!) I’ll happily be doing it while working at the place I know is right for me.

And if you are struggling in this area, I encourage you to take some time to get quiet before the Lord and afterwards assess how your job is currently making you a better person–or not. (Now, notice how I didn’t say how your job makes you feel. You can feel great and be building not a thing or feel miserable and be gaining all of the skills necessary for a future season of life).

I encourage you to do an annual performance review of your job.
It’s not like they don’t do one of you.

Think about your opportunities for growth and new experiences, the fulfillment that you feel, the people you are around, and what God has placed on your heart to do.

A dear friend once told me earlier in my career,

You do the best you can every single day for as long as you work somewhere and when it’s time to leave, you leave.

I am not a proponent of staying in places that won’t grow or develop you and I think sometimes we rush out of jobs before we can truly be grown and developed.

There’s magic in our musings (and in our current portion),
Nicole