A few days ago I attended a business meeting and encountered a woman I haven’t seen since I left my old job last May. Our hotel properties used to be side by side so we had a fairly regular occasion to bump into each other but I haven’t seen her since I began my new job. We exchanged the usual pleasantries, took our seats and the meeting began. After an hour of brainstorming, the session adjourned and we were able to chat a little more and catch up.
We, of course, commiserated with each other about the roller coaster of weather we have been experiencing this year. We talked briefly about how the hospitality business has been for each of us this season and then the conversation changed completely.
She looked at me quizzically and said, “I’m not sure if this will come out the way I mean it to, but your face looks so much lighter.”
It was an odd statement, certainly, but one I have been hearing more frequently. It wasn’t in reference to my pallid winter flesh color nor was it meant to infer anything about weight loss. She simply observed my happiness.
(image credit: myvintagejewelbox.com)
When she had seen me last, I was working at a job that I no longer enjoyed. The stress that I faced each day was etching itself into my face and I looked, and felt, like a different person. It was a tough decision leaving that job because it had once been a place I considered to be a second home and my fellow employees were like family. When that home was bought by a corporation, the feel of my job evolved into something foreign. It was no longer a warm and inviting place to be and, although I had to leave some great people behind, I made the tough choice to get happy again.
I was fortunate enough to be able to make the decision to be happy, and if my face is any indication, I made the right choice.
polysyllabic profundities 
Making such a big change and saying goodbye to people who had been like family must have been such a difficult decision. So glad it has paid off in happiness for you 🙂
Thank you….at least I still get to see those people and maintain our relationship. But the happiness was well worth the tough decision.
If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it. That’s not just a children’s rhyme!
haha….so true!!
It’s awesome that your happiness can actually be seen by others. Shows you that you’re doing something right.
Thank you. It feels great knowing I took a big leap of faith and it worked out.
That moment when you make the right decision and you know it is the top five ebst moments in your life. Goof for you
I am amazed at how many people have commented that I am myself again. I didn’t know I had been living such a facade.
The funniest thing is that other people see the change when you aren’t even aware of it.
I left a soul crushing job, but had friends there, so I visited often. All of them commented on how much happier I looked.
It’s amazing how much of yourself you can lose before you realize that part of you is gone.
Leaving a job is a difficult decision (especially in this economy) but happiness has gotta be a first priority. So glad it all worked out for you!
It sure did….thanks!
Not that you needed it, but it’s just a confirmation you did the right thing in leaving. I’m glad you wear your happiness for all to see 🙂
Thanks Janna!! It’s nice to have it back again. 🙂
It’s amazing how much stress shows up in our faces. To me I always look the same, but when I left my job people noted for months how incredibly well I looked (even when I thought I was stressed about something). You certainly made the right decision 😀
Thank you….and I know what you mean. I never really thought I looked different but I certainly feel much more like my happy, carefree self. 🙂
Hooray for happiness. 😀
Isn’t it a nice little surprise when other people notice that we are doing better. I had the same thing happen to me not long ago after starting my new job.
It’s a great feeling!! Just about to post my scavenger hunt. I’ll link to it in your comments!!
Fun fun fun! 🙂