205. Deprogramming From the Corporate Mindset [REPLAY]
How to Break Free
Today, Michelle and I are replaying our most popular episode, 112. Deprogramming From The Corporate Mindset
When I first started thinking about leaving my job, I struggled to deprogram from the corporate mindset. Entering the FI/RE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) movement, I thought accumulating enough wealth would be the hardest part of leaving my job. In hindsight, saving and investing enough money turned out to be the easiest part.
The most challenging part was shifting my mindset. The first—and hardest—mental adjustment for me was accepting that I would stop working as a physician assistant.
Not only had I invested significant time and money into my education, but I had also dedicated years of my life to this career. Shortly after starting my family practice job, I decided to commit my life to my profession. Before that, I had tried to balance my career with time for friends and travel, but I found myself exhausted and worried that this was affecting the quality of care I provided to my patients. Ultimately, I decided to dedicate myself fully to my work. Even if every waking hour went to my job, I told myself I could at least take pride in knowing I was doing my absolute best.
While this shift made me feel better about the work I was doing, it, unsurprisingly, led to burnout after a few years. My lifestyle was unsustainable, and I knew something had to change. When I discovered FI/RE, I started saving aggressively, but I still hadn’t fully processed the idea of leaving my career as a PA.
In 2022, I realized that many of my nighttime dreams were rooted in low-level anxieties about work. To address this, I scheduled appointments with both a therapist and a shamanic counselor so I could learn how to better detach from my work during my “off- hours” aka while I was sleeping.
During those sessions, both practitioners immediately recognized the unsustainability of my job and encouraged me to find a way out.
At that point, even though I had been saving 50–80% of my income to gain more freedom, I hadn’t admitted to myself that I would stop working as a PA. The practical squirrel side of me was quietly plotting my escape, while my ego clung to the delusion that everything was fine.
Hearing the therapist and shamanic counselor affirm that I needed a change felt like a cold plunge into reality. Tears flowed as I came face-to-face with a truth I already knew: I wouldn’t be working as a PA much longer.
Now, fifteen months into my sabbatical, thinking back to that painful realization almost makes me laugh. It was just a job. Life is long, and it’s not that serious. That’s how deeply programming can run—it can convince us that suffering is something to value or even enjoy.
These days, when I meet new people, I sometimes sense that they view my decision to leave my career and live a life filled with yoga classes, trips to the beach, time with friends as lazy, entitled, privileged, or selfish. I notice these judgments and occasionally feel a twinge of guilt or defensiveness. But I’ve learned to catch myself. To care about those judgments is to open the door to a self-made prison. Today, I choose to be free. I’ve deprogrammed from the corporate mindset.
What about you? What kind of deprogramming have you had to do? What mental obstacles have been the hardest for you when taking a sabbatical or leaving a job? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Check out today’s podcast episode to hear more about Michelle and my recommendations on deprograming from the corporate mindset.
Show Notes:
Visit the original post for this episode here: 112. Deprogramming From The Corporate Mindset
Referenced Piece: Why You Should Take More Time Off from Work by Emma Seppala
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