Career change - terrifying
 

Tongue in cheek title, but I’ve been doing the same job for years. I don’t particularly like it nor am I that good, but it pays well, and I’m used to it. However, it’s not what I want to do forever, and I do have the option to retrain to do something else, so I’m about to become a teacher.

It’s scary stuff. My uni days were over 20 years ago. I can’t remember a thing. I’m doing a knowledge course, though, and it’s coming back slowly.

What’s this self-promoting waffle got to with sobriety you ask?

1. If I was a drinker, I wouldn’t have the time to even consider such a change.
2. Last time I had such a change of routine was when I stopped drinking, and that worked very well.

So if I can overcome an alcohol problem, anything is possible. The amount of things I’ve been able to do since kicking the booze (17 months ago) are countless.

I’m no better than anyone else on here. It’s just that I was fortunate to have the opportunity to quit although I made that opportunity work.

There are opportunities out there, folks, but whilst drinking, you’ll always be wondering what you could’ve done. I had to stop drinking and go through weeks of restlessness and anxiety. It gets easier, though, and after that the possibilities are endless.

If the field of what you are teaching is related to your career the transition should be very doable.
There is much value in being a “subject matter expert” SME.

‘Sobriety leads us to humility. Humility is also important, I’ve learned, in teaching.

I was advised, early on, to not BS my students.
If unfamiliar with a concept or topic or item of discussion, embrace that as a chance to learn together, or, tell them you’ll look it up and get back to them.

You’ll do well, in sure.

Enjoy!

I do have a small confession in that I did some language teaching many years ago. This is not my current subject.

I drank a fair amount back then and frequently taught with hangovers. I got away with it then as a young guy, but it’s not doable now nor is it sustainable.

The point here is so many more things are possible when alcohol is taken out the equation. All of us here are good at something, and not being slowed down by alcohol will help us get there.

Thanks, I needed an uplift this morning! Congrats to you, and I hope to follow in your footsteps! Not to be a teacher, but to stay sober and see what can happen.

😀 Cliche alert, but being sober is the gift that keeps on giving.

I did a triathlon before the lockdown came. Two and a half years ago, I was obese and hadn’t run for 20 years! I hope my teaching is better than my triathlon performance 😀, but I wouldn’t have even thought of trying if still drinking. It’s also a progression of events. You can’t train for a triathlon if you’ve had a bellyful of beer the day before. Lifestyle changes which results from sobriety in turn encourage sobriety.

And it doesn’t have to be about being a teacher or doing a sport. Anything you do will improve when sober.

That sounds like it will be a great opportunity for you.

Thanks. If it doesn’t work out, at least I’ll have tried 😁

Wow sounds exciting to me - I hope you'll find teaching rewarding Hodd:)

D

Cool change Hodd.

Simply from your post I believe you will make a great teacher.

Great stuff. Recovery is all About change. My life has changed hugely in my sobriety. I recovered everything I’d lost and then some. I live a life beyond my wildest dreams as it states in the book AA. Peace of mind is the most precious gain of them all.

This is great - I always enjoy hearing about positive professional moves as so many people get stuck in jobs and careers they no longer enjoy or straight hate... even sober people who never had issues with addiction. Congrats on the move :) New things and not feeling confident usually just seem scary at the beginning in my experience, once in it, it often turns into positive excitement and anticipation if it is the right choice.

My version is that I've developed a private business since getting sober and it's going very well. Still have my old job/career thatI like it in general, but I have been contemplating becoming 100% self-employed for a while and this COVID lockdown actually reassured me pretty strongly that I don't need to fear making that move (~80-90% of the business involves working from home even during normal times). It would take a while as my old job is now so full of responsibilities/dependencies that I can't just leave overnight (or even over a couple months), but I am working on winding down this year. I might still get another job at a different institution/field eventually and keep doing that in parallel with the business if I find a place that I like and they allow enough flexibility, not sure yet... but definitely all of it is new and exciting. For me, these changes have been gradual over time and I still use my old education and expertise, for me learning and continuing training is a life-long passion... but it definitely stalled a lot during the worst of my drinking.

Most certainly none of these would have been possible while drinking and the professional stuckness was one of the major factors I hated the most at the end of my drinking - even a decent and theoretically interesting job was dull and uninspiring while "competing" with my alcoholism. Wanting professional development was also a major motivating factor for me to quit drinking for good.

All the best, Hodd!