Disclaimer: The mission of P&P is to equip and empower confident female creators to success. My focus is helping YOU, not talking about myself. However: I wanted to share some more about my personal transformation story, and the most impactful career and life change I’ve made to date, in hopes that you too can take something away from it that will motivate YOU to take your next big step, whatever it is. Enjoy!

A few years ago, I made one of the biggest changes of my life and left my 9-5 marketing job to pursue my “side hustle” full time. I had worked in corporate and agency marketing for almost eight years, and after a year of soul-searching I knew it was time to take the leap and pursue my dream.

So I quit. And it was a little terrifying, as you can expect. I started picking up more freelance work to supplement my income (I had already been doing some on the side), and soon began working full-time to make my dream life my reality.

And the results… have been a little surprising. Not only am I mentally and emotionally more fulfilled, but after only two months of working from home, I started to notice physical changes in my body as well. Here are the biggest unexpected changes I noticed in my physical body after quitting my 9-5 job.

I lost weight

When I shifted my working space from an office to my own home and became truly in charge of my schedule (which has been a learning curve as well!), I realized that I almost totally stopped snacking. Especially when I was working full-time at a well-stocked digital marketing agency that prided itself on monthly Costco snack deliveries, it was all too easy to head to the kitchen and grab some chips – usually out of boredom, and needing a break more than anything else.

But now that I’m working from my own home or the occasional coffee shop, I’m finding that I really only eat when I’m hungry. I’m working on things that truly fuel my soul, which is fulfilling and doesn’t cause me to turn to snacking as a procrastination or distraction tactic. Plus, since I’m at home, I can make my favorite lunches which leave me feeling satisfied (not like the paltry salads I was bringing to work each day). I lost weight through simple changes in my eating habits and without really changing my workout routine at all.

My skin cleared up

When I first started working from home, it took me a while to realize that I couldn’t stay in pajamas all day – although for those first couple of weeks, it was pretty cool just to do it because I could!

Since then, I’ve found a casual style of dressing that makes me feel just put together enough to be productive. Generally that style consists of comfortable clothes and minimal makeup.

When I was working in an office for 8-9 hours each day, even on my “dress-down” days, I still wore makeup. Not a lot, usually just BareMinerals foundation, bronzer, eyebrow pencil and mascara. But now, I put on tinted moisturizer (I’ve found one from Kiehl’s that I love) and mascara…and that’s pretty much it.

A few weeks into my new routine, I realized my breakouts had subsided. My skin can breathe more during the day, and it’s easy to pop in the bathroom and wash my face before I work out – something that I didn’t always remember to do when heading straight from the office to the gym. I was lucky if I had a bag of makeup remover wipes in my gym bag!

Plus, since quitting my 9-5 job, my stress levels have gone way down. I don’t have to deal with demanding corporate clients, rigorous deadlines (other than the ones I set for myself), and high-stress situations that were often out of my control. This has also helped improve my skin, since my breakouts are usually hormone and stress-related.

My voice improved

When I was working 9-5, I was also balancing my passion of performing: going to rehearsals during the week, and performing in musicals on weekends. I love performing, but my singing has always been, in my opinion, my weakest skill. I have been working on slowly expanding my range and vocal strength with a vocal coach, and just a couple weeks after I quit my 9-5, I had a number of vocal breakthroughs. Now, my singing voice is stronger than ever.

I don’t have an exact reason for why this happened, but I have a few theories. First, in singing and in life in general – tension kills. When you’re stressed, your body becomes tense, and this affects your throat and your vocal chords probably more than you realize. And even if you’re not a singer – if you work in an office, or you speak to others in any capacity as part of your daily activities – your voice plays a huge role in your perception and your own personal confidence levels. Not to mention, tension manifests in other parts of the body as well, which can lead to pain, discomfort, and those pesky stress “knots.”

I think another reason why my voice improved is because making this big move to pursue my ideal life was a big moment of bravery… and it has inspired me to continue being brave. If you’re not a singer, it’s hard to know what I might be talking about here, but singing isn’t something you do quietly. Often you have to sing very loud (especially when you get up into those Idina-Menzel-land belt notes) to get the sound you want. You have to put yourself out there. If you hold back, if you don’t fully go for it, you will crack. In life, and in performing, you must sing, and sing loud. 

I’m happier

Bottom line – since quitting my 9-5 job, and making the scary, yet exciting choice to pursue my passions, I’m so much happier. I’m fulfilled. I wake up each morning without the weight on my shoulders of work stress, and excited to tackle what the day brings. My “work” doesn’t feel like work, because I love doing it so much, and it’s so meaningful to me that I’m able to help and inspire other people every. single. day. 

Now your dream life might not be quitting your 9-5, but whatever it is, find it, pursue it, and watch your body improve as a result of your newer, happier life!

If you want to jumpstart your own journey to pursuing your dream life, then download this free assessment: “What’s My Reason for Being?” This 7 page worksheet will help you:

-Learn the 4 key questions you must answer to start discovering your purpose

-Identify your unique blend of talents, strengths and gifts

-Discover patterns that already exist in your life to help you understand what you’re meant to do in this world

Get started finding your purpose and creating YOUR dream life, today!

Header photo by Adriana Zuniga-Williams