I recently had to make a very serious decision: whether or not I wanted to continue to work for someone else or work for myself. I had been over this in my head at least a thousand times over the course of the previous year, and always came to the conclusion: at least if I was employed by someone else, it was income and benefits. Income is always important, but even more so during these hard economic times. And benefits? A must have for my kids.

So I stayed employed by the company - got up every morning, went to work, clocked in and answered (sometimes extremely ridiculous) calls, clocked out and went home. When I first started working for that company, it was great - but over the course of the next couple years, my co-workers remained awesome, but I started to see issues with the product we were selling and supporting. But even more bothersome, I began to notice signs of failing health...I passed it off as stress from going through a divorce, being a new single parent, the whole transition. But even after that calmed down, my health was never back up to 100% - but I had my job, my income, and benefits, so it would all be okay, right? Wrong.

I woke up to reality. Yes, I had income, I had benefits, and I realized, I had a health problem - it isn't normal to wake up every morning with knots in your stomach with just the thought of going to work; it isn't normal to want it to be the end of the work day before it's even started! I tried taking "mental health" days - time off work, but it was a temporary fix. So I made the decision to resign. During my exit interview I had a tiny voice in the back of my head saying, "I hope you know what you are doing!" At the end of the interview, back at my desk, collecting my personal belongings, I had a strange feeling: no knots in my stomach, my nerves weren't on edge...I knew then I had made the right decision. Despite the "guaranteed" income, the benefits, the great co-workers, leaving was the right decision.

Do I regret my decision at this time? Not at all. I can connect with my co-workers and friends via social media or text or a phone call. Am I nervous about my decision? Yes, but I am also comfortable with knowing that taking care of myself enables me to take better care of my kids.

Next Chapter: From unemployed to Business Owner