The Career Advice From Your Girlhood

I recently had the chance to be a mentor at a career summit, and I’ve been thinking a lot about the conversations that came out of it. It brought me right back to a feeling I know well… that uncomfortable space where things just don’t feel right anymore. I have sooooo been there, and it was meaningful to connect with others who are in that messy middle now.

It’s that terrifying moment when you realize the career you planned for yourself isn’t unfolding the way you expected. Maybe the industry you’ve been in for years no longer feels fulfilling. Maybe the daily grind is wearing you down.  Or maybe you’re just plain bored. Whatever the reason, many of us reach a point in our careers where we start to question if the current path we’re on is the right one. It can feel heavy, especially when you’ve invested so much time, education, and identity into your work. 

There is no shortage of career advice out there, most of it focused on creating plans, leveraging frameworks, or some version of a pro/con list, but what I’ve found is that some of the clearest career directions don’t come from a spreadsheet. 

They come from reconnecting with yourself, the parts of you that existed before you started “optimizing” everything. The curiosity, the interests, the things that once felt fun or energizing without needing to make sense on paper. The teenage version of you, your girlhood self, full of curiosity, energy, and passion!

We know it’s impossible to feel perfectly satisfied in a career at all times. Work is work, and most people are navigating the reality of needing stability while building a life. But that doesn’t mean you have to stay in something that constantly drains you, or ignore what you genuinely want just because it doesn’t fit a traditional path. 

A lot of clarity comes from turning inward and paying attention to what still feels alive in you, even in small ways. (Hello, inner teen!)

My Career Shift

I spent nearly a decade in corporate roles where, on paper, everything looked fine. My résumé was growing, and from the outside, it was easy to justify staying on that path. I was doing what I was “supposed” to do.

But internally, I felt exhausted in a way that rest didn’t fix. Burnout hit me HARD. There was a constant, underlying feeling that something wasn’t right, and over time, it became clear it wasn’t sustainable. I knew I could not keep going down that path. 

That realization led me to make a major shift and return to school to pursue a degree in clinical psychology. Fast forward: that career shift led to even more fulfillment, allowing me to use my creativity to destigmatize mental health and help others connect with themselves. 

So when I found myself at the career summit, speaking with other women stuck in the middle of their own uncertainty, it all felt very familiar. I remember how scared I was to step away from everything I knew and was comfortable with

It was really scary not knowing if I would ever “succeed,” scary not having a reliable W-2, scary putting myself out there and knowing I’d be judged for it (because I absolutely was), and scary admitting when something wasn’t working out the way I thought it would. But I also remember being more willing to sit with that discomfort than to stay in something that was making me miserable. 

At the same time, leaning into what was calling me felt really exciting, and becoming an entrepreneur turned out to be incredibly freeing. I love being able to choose the people I work with, set my own hours, and do work that feels fun and meaningful to me. And I’ve been amazed to watch my confidence grow as I realize I’m capable of so much more than I used to think.

I’m grateful that I listened to that inner knowing, even when it didn’t feel practical or easy. That decision completely changed the trajectory of my life and has led me to work I genuinely love, work I sometimes still can’t believe I get to do, like creating a Y2K-themed oracle deck and, yes, even posting Backstreet Boys memes as part of my marketing!

It Might Be Time to Break the Rules

One moment from the career summit really stuck with me. Someone pulled a card from The Everyday Millennial Oracle titled ” Break the Rules.” It’s about tapping into that rebellious energy we had as teenagers when we weren’t afraid to take risks (like TP’ing someone’s house!) This card pull unlocked a whole conversation about how this person is usually a rule follower. She has done everything “right” her whole life. It also raised the idea that now might be the time for her to step out of her comfort zone. She could try something new, even if it feels scary!

We’re surrounded by unspoken rules about work, like what a “good” career looks like, how quickly we should move up, and how much we should sacrifice to prove ourselves. Over time, those ideas can start to feel like facts. But when you strip them away and ask yourself what you actually want, the answer can be surprisingly different.

Sometimes, moving forward means being willing to question those rules and even let some of them go. It can feel uncomfortable, even risky, but it can also be freeing in a way that’s hard to access otherwise. If you’re unsure where to start, think back to a version of your younger self who wasn’t as focused on doing everything “right.” The one who followed curiosity a little more naturally. What would she choose now? What would she be willing to try?

There Are More Options Than You Think

When you’re stuck or burned out, it’s easy to believe the only options are to stay exactly where you are or make a huge, overwhelming change. But there’s actually a lot of space in between.

If quitting altogether feels too scary, start smaller. Try re-engaging with hobbies you’ve let fall off, carve out more intentional time with friends, or dabble in a few passion projects without putting pressure on them to “go somewhere.” Let curiosity lead a little more than logic for a while. Notice what gives you energy, what brings a sense of enjoyment back, and what helps you feel more like yourself again.

It’s genuinely hard to make a big career shift when you’re already running on empty. When you’re depleted, everything feels heavier and more urgent than it actually is. Instead of making a major decision right away, focus on replenishing yourself first. As your energy comes back, your perspective usually shifts too, and the next step tends to feel a lot clearer.

Reconnecting With Your Inner Teen Can Help

Some of the clearest signals about what we actually want don’t come from careful strategy or overthinking; they show up through play and having fun. They come from the things we’re naturally drawn to when we’re not trying to base everything on efficiency or force our lives to make sense on paper. In those moments, our attention usually moves toward what genuinely interests us, and that pull is often more honest than any plan we try to construct.

There’s something really powerful about reconnecting with the teenage version of ourselves who was a little more impulsive, a little less filtered, and a lot less concerned with being practical. That version of you who was driven by big dreams without needing a clear outcome, and got completely absorbed in things simply because they were fun or interesting. 

If you look back to that earlier version of you, before all the filtering set in, there are usually clues. What held your attention, what you kept coming back to, what felt natural or energizing, even if it didn’t seem logical or useful at the time. Those patterns matter, and they can point to something consistent in you, something that hasn’t gone away just because your life got more complicated.

Reconnecting with that version of you isn’t about going backward; it’s about bringing forward a part of yourself you might have set aside.

A Low-Pressure Way to Start the Conversation With Yourself

If you want a gentle place to begin, I made The Everyday Millennial Oracle for exactly this. 🩷 It’s 48 cards, very Y2K-inspired, but grounded in real psychological concepts, designed to help you tap back into that more instinctive part of yourself. 

This kind of reflection can be really helpful if you’ve been considering a career change. It’s easy to feel like you need to figure everything out all at once, but clarity usually comes from smaller, more honest check-ins over time. You might start to notice what excites you, what drains you, what you’re curious about, and what kind of energy you need to tap into right now.

This type of activity also takes the pressure off making a big, immediate move. Sometimes a career change starts with a small reflection, exploring something on the side, or paying attention to what you naturally gravitate toward. You don’t need a full plan to start moving in a new direction, just a bit more honesty about what would feel fun to you. 

So dust off your butterfly clips and come get a little career clarity along the way. ⭐ Order your copy here!