What actually happened when I quit my day job
Simone IriarteMarch 1st 2024 – I can feel my body struggling to fully relax to sink into the couch with my neck thrown back while staring at the ceiling. The day before, I had ended my slow quitting journey working in a clinic as a physical therapist.
On paper I went from 40 hours, to 32 hours, to 20 hours, to zero hours...
In my mind – I went from a hundred to zero.
I didn't hate my job, I hated how it made me feel – limited.
Looking back, that constant internal tension was the real reason I burned out after only my first year of treating.
After my recovery, I committed to slow quitting to move towards something more aligned.
The catch? I had no idea what that was.
The only thing I knew was that I was committing to the uncertainties of starting a business... and I was making $158.88 a month from YouTube and about the same amount from my sticker shop.
I was simultaneously the most stressed and relieved I had ever been in my life.
But I was finally free and completely unsupervised.
For the first time in my life I had
- No tests to study for
- No degree to pursue
- No patient notes
- No mandatory meetings
- No trainings
- No Sunday scaries
- And nobody to tell me what I had to do next
That following April I released my first online workshop.
Then in July I announced my first coaching program.
Then another workshop in December.
And another round of my program in January 2025.
But throughout this entire time I learned there were things I hadn't quit.
Things like:
- Hyper-vigilance
- Hyper-independence
- Fearing a lack of money
- Performing for external validation
- Ignoring my energy and pushing myself to work non-stop because I "should" – because that's how everyone else is becoming sUcCeSsFuL.
While working with my coaching clients I began to realize that in order for them to truly be able to do anything they wanted, they had to understand what was holding them back.
This wasn't any different for me.
I learned that self-discovery isn't optional if I wanted to become someone who does things I'd never done before.
It all seems obvious on the surface.
But I realized how easy it was for me to avoid any process that forced me to face and understand the worst parts of myself... The parts I’d rather suppress and avoid by trying a new business strategy 🤡
No matter what I decide to do in life, whether it's working in a clinic, coaching, or building a productivity app – these will all be just be lateral movements if I don't quit everything on that list above too.
It's February 2026 – almost 2 years to the day I shared my slow quitting experience on YouTube and drew this sticker
the numbers on the key was my last day in the clinic!
Since then, I've learned that the key to quitting the things that were holding me back was becoming aware of my negative patterns and interrupting them.
Over and over.
If I can do that, I can truly do anything (and I think you can too).
TTYL!
✌🏾Simie✌🏾
