Changing jobs isn't a sign of instability. It's a sign you're ready for more. Let's normalize chasing potential, not comfort.
I read that line and it wouldn't leave me alone. I've had two jobs in a year, and I'm still pushing. Not because I can't sit still, but because I refuse to sit small.
Here's the truth people don't see on a résumé: every exit has a story. Some are about courage. Some are about health. Some are just the market doing what the market does. All of mine were choices toward growth—even when the choice was made for me.
The Real Stories Behind Job Changes
🏢 Strategic Shifts
I've left roles because the chair disappeared—strategic shifts, new leadership, realignment. When the pandemic slammed the brakes on headcount, the only smart move was to adapt fast.
🏥 Health & Well-being
I've stepped down to protect my health. After three years on the graveyard shift and a diabetes diagnosis, I chose a day role to stabilize. That wasn't retreat; it was strategy.
🎯 Skill Alignment
I've walked away when the work asked more of my body than made sense. I tried teaching, learned I don't have the patience students deserve, and owned that quickly. Self-awareness saves everyone's time.
🚀 Growth Opportunities
I've also moved toward things. A compelling offer that sharpened my skills. A return to network engineering—because that's where my strengths compound.
Important note: I've adjusted. I can run permanent nights now if the mission is right. Health management isn't a permanent limitation—it's strategic preparation.
🎯 The Pattern: Learn Fast, Act Faster
From the outside, it's easy to call all this "job hopping." From the inside, it's a clear pattern: learn fast, act faster, protect the foundation, chase the work that fits.
Not all endings are dramatic. Some are calendars flipping. Some are org charts redrawn by people far above your pay grade. Some are you listening to your body. Some are you listening to your ambition.
Recognizing the Warning Signs
What I won't do is stay parked in a role that shrinks me. I've felt the early warnings:
⚠️ When It's Time to Move
- The meaning leak: You're there, but your spark isn't
- Autopilot mode: Yesterday's stretch is today's yawn
- Wasted potential: Ideas with nowhere to land
- Sunday dread: Creeping into Saturday
- Praise without progress: "Great job" with no path forward
When those lights flash, you don't owe anyone stagnation. You owe your future self a shot.
Rewriting the Narrative
Does moving carry a reputational cost? Only if you let someone else write the story. The story is simple:
I align work with health and values. I go where I can grow faster and contribute more. I leave clean. I document, hand off, thank people. I keep relationships. I turn lessons into leverage.
📚 The Lessons That Stack
- Stability isn't a seat; it's a system: Sleep, health, boundaries. Get those right and you can take on any schedule, any challenge.
- Conditions count: Tools, support, environment—these aren't perks; they're performance multipliers.
- Markets move: Redundancies, realignments, sunsets—take it personally and you'll freeze. Take it professionally and you'll move.
- Fit is a force multiplier: When I'm in the right lane, output jumps. That's not ego; that's data.
- Self-awareness is speed: Knowing what I'm not saves quarters. Knowing what I am builds careers.
Intentional Career Bets
Two jobs within a year didn't break my narrative. They clarified it. I want work that stretches me, leaders who elevate me, and conditions that let me bring my best. I want to be measured by impact and learning velocity, not tenure alone.
I want my career to be a series of intentional bets—some placed by me, some called by circumstance, all aimed at growth.
🚀 Your Permission Slip
If you're where I've been—watching the warning lights, powering through dread, telling yourself to be "grateful"—here's your permission slip:
Choose momentum.
- Set your non-negotiables
- Write the one-paragraph story that connects your last move to your next goal
- Protect your health like an asset
- Exit with grace
- Keep your standards high
The Bottom Line
Changing jobs isn't betrayal. Betrayal is abandoning your potential because someone else prefers the optics of you staying put.
I'm not unstable. I'm in motion—on purpose. And I'll keep betting on myself.
Because momentum isn't about running from something. It's about running toward the person you're becoming.