Re-birthday

April 16, 2019. I thought this date would mark the end of a career in biotech. 18+ years in rare diseases plus 7.5 years in pharma and there I was: leaving that life behind.

I know you may have heard this story before but today it was different.

I have a friend who asked to interview me for a new YouTube channel she’s been working on.

We were talking about identity and how I started my search for my own back in 2019 and a book I read about changing directions and finding new skills.

This is when this whole thing hit me.

I mentioned before that I had a coach who asked me if I had given myself time to grief after leaving my corporate life. That made a lot of sense and helped me throughout the years.

Credit: Unsplash

But today…today I realized that April 16, 2019 was not the day that ended an important part of my life. That day was my re-birthday as a person.

Yes, I was born again! And as a “baby” I had to start from scratch.

I didn’t know where to go or how to get to so many places. Unexpected people came to help and showed me the way.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My family held my hands.

I wanted to try different things. I treated myself with kindness when it was hard.

It is far to be done! The process of re-birth requires years, effort, trial and error, questions. It also required me to recognize fear so I could overcome it.

I used to say that I left because I lost my purpose. Today I know it is not true. My purpose was never to become a senior executive in the biotech space and work with rare diseases. That was just a moment, a phase in my life, maybe a mission,

I left because the disagreements surpassed the agreements. We were not on the same page anymore.

The challenge with humans is that we want to fit in. Find a place we know. Stay connected to people like us.

Part of being a human is also to dare. To explore. To question. One day, maybe, that safe space is no longer what you need.

From now on, I’ll celebrate my birthday and my re-birthday. I still have a long way to go.

My birthday is in two days. My re-birthday is April 16. Cheers!