Career Therapy- Reversed! Kids, Boundaries, and Perfection
These were your responses to my burning Qs!
Welcome back to Lunch Break, a weekly newsletter + modern guide to a meaningful career from career coach Janel Abrahami. Brought to you by Pivot With Purpose career coaching program.
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Plot twist: you’re not the only one who needs some career therapy. Your friendly neighborhood career coach (moi) also needs regular perspective and guidance. So, this week I actually asked you for answers to my own burning career question and, man, did you deliver!
Here are the particular puzzles on my mind, and your thoughts:
🤔 Let's get the spicy one out of the way: I haven't made up my mind about having kids yet. Am I going to regret not deciding sooner?
“No. It's the kind of decision that is a big one! I like to say that for these types of decisions (kids, marriage, etc.) it should be an ‘enthusiastic yes.’ If you're not landing firmly on one side of the fence, don't worry. One practical thing you could do to allay or inform fertility questions is to see a doc and get the scoop on that dimension of your health. Information is power.” -Kait
🤔 How important is it for my partner to "get" my work?
“I don’t think your partner needs to 100% ‘get’ your job, but they do have to understand why it’s important to you and your connection to it. It’s about understanding your personal values that drive your work. If they can understand that, they’ll understand why some days are a win and others aren’t, and they’ll understand why some days are particularly stressful.” -Daryl
🤔 What are the most effective ways to communicate my work boundaries?
“I've recently added my working hours/expectations for response times to be expected/etc in my email signature. My favorite line of date is paraphrased as...
‘Our working hours may not align — if you receive this in your unplugged time, please don't feel obligated to reply just because I'm in work mode! I will do the same.’ “ -Marissa
🤔 If I own my own business now but choose to re-enter the corporate world later, will that be perceived as a failure?
“If you decide to re-enter the corporate world after starting your own business, you did not fail! Whether your business was a success (or complete failure), you took a chance on yourself and that is all that matters. I have had several clients manage incredibly successful consulting firms, and decide to re-enter the workforce toward the end of their career.” -Mary
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Have your own thoughts to share on these Q’s. Drop them here!
Got a career Q I can answer for you in next week’s regular Career Therapy? Respond to this email and I’ll get back to you personally!
Janel Abrahami, Career Coach
📲 Screenshot & share your favorite part of this issue and tag @janelabrahami
👀 ICYMI (more from Janel + team)
✅ CURRENT FAVES
READ: Can Three Words Turn Anxiety Into Success?
Real talk: I was feeling super nervous about the free strategy session I hosted on Wednesday. I was prepared, but kept worrying about potential tech mistakes or dumb human errors that could derail the session. I reached out to my support network for a reframe, and my friend Chelsea delivered with this quick tip from The Atlantic.
USE: The Hopeful app from To Write Love on Her Arms
I’ve shared my own mental health journey quite a bit in this corner of the internet, and TWLOHA remains one of my top resources for help and hope. They just launched a new self-care app designed to use daily for encouragement, journaling, and mood tracking.
📌 COOL JOB (remote-friendly + mission-based)
Title: Operations Manager
Company: databento
Location: NY, NY (Remote)
Description: The financial industry is growing at a record pace, but our data providers are still stuck in the past — with cumbersome onboarding processes, complicated APIs, slow infrastructure, and expensive licensing costs.
Databento is the next-generation market data provider — with the radical idea that you should only pay for the data that you use. We power the world's largest finance and fintech institutions and lower the barrier of entry for small startups.
Want to support this movement?
📲 Screenshot your favorite part & share on IG stories or TikTok tagging @janelabrahami
💌 Forward this letter to a friend!
#takeyourlunchbreak 💚