Flying Arrow Social Media Management
  • Home
  • Social Media Services
    • Packages
    • Process
    • FAQ
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog

It's OK- Really

5/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Making brave change

About a year ago, I made a giant leap. I pursued the first career I have ever had outside of healthcare. It was terrifying. All I have known since I was 22 years old is being a nurse. This means I've only worked as a nurse for more than 20 (cough, cough) years, but I knew I needed a change. I was feeling burned out and did not have enough emotional energy left for my family. So I reached out to some acquaintances, and I started training as a travel agent- my specialty being Disney travel- something I've always loved. I began learning  how the rest of the world functions using Google Docs and Zoom and all manner of things that were never required to take care of patients. I started booking trips and getting into my groove and then- WHAM. A pandemic took over the world. Disney closed. Do you hear me? Disney CLOSED, and Disney stayed closed. 

I had no work, so I began pouring myself into improving my skills on social media. Now mind you, I had to get creative. In no way would I feel OK with trying to "sell" travel when there was no travel to be had. My posting needed to change, and I began shifting to just sharing content which related back to Disney in some way and could help my followers. With everyone spending more time at home, I started posting content to make people laugh, help them keep their kids busy, and show off products from shops that they might enjoy. And do you know what I learned? I found out that I really ENJOYED the process of social media. I liked learning what to share, when to share, and how to properly hashtag. I found out that I could do other things well.

This is still a wild ride for me, don't get me wrong. I don't want to gloss over that, and I don't want to dismiss the things I've learned over this past year. There is so much I need to learn, but here is what I DO know.
  1. It's OK to admit to burnout. I was not working too many hours when I finally admitted to feeling exhausted from my mental health care job. I thought that it was ridiculous that I felt this way from only going to the office two days per week. But the reality was, that I was fried. Days at work were cumbersome and seemed to last forever. The joy in my heart that I experienced when seeing a patient start to heal was nearly gone. Most evenings when I came home, I couldn't even put my thoughts and words together to carry on a conversation. I just wanted to hide in my room and not have to face the realities of teenagers and emotions and hormones and all of those scary things. I had nothing left to give. It was time for me to make some changes. For me. For my family.
  2. It's OK to walk down a new path. Do you know what held me back from making changes? Well me, of course. I was afraid. Afraid of looking like a failure. Afraid of making less money. Afraid that I wouldn't like any other work. Afraid that I wouldn't be able to learn new things. Afraid that my parents would think I was wasting my education. Afraid. Afraid. Afraid. Let's be real. I didn't want my pride to hurt. What I didn't realize is that I was missing out on a chance to grow, but one day it hit me hard. I was not getting younger. I was only living this life once. It was OK for me to adventure down a new path
  3. It's OK to walk around and learn from roadblocks. Like I said earlier, my initial plans for change did not go as planned. There was a pandemic y'all. Disney closed. It was time to pivot. I did not stop working in travel, but I did spend more time upping my social media game. I joined a strategy group. I picked the brain of a dear friend. I started posting daily. I revisited a course in Pinterest strategy I had taken. I kept moving. I kept learning. 

So here I am. Do I have it all figured out now? Nope. I never will. All I know is that I just have to take the next step. The pieces will fall into place. Eventually. And you know what else?

It's OK- really.
Picture
Let's Connect!
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Meet Gretchen

    I am a mental health nurse practitioner, with a love for social media, trying to find my way through an often-messy life.

    As such, I’m intrigued by the fact that self-esteem and emotional well-being impact nearly every event of my life!

    ​Sometimes it’s funny and sometimes it’s completely hard, but it’s all very real.

    Archives

    May 2020

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Services

Take Off
Climb
Soar
Additional Services

Menu

Home
Services
About
Contact
Blog

Support

Contact
FAQ
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
© COPYRIGHT 2019. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
  • Social Media Services
    • Packages
    • Process
    • FAQ
  • About
  • Contact
  • Blog