17d • 🃏 Card Challenges
The Writing Challenge - The Fool
The biggest risk I have ever taken was believing in myself enough to walk away from security and build something of my own. For most of my life, risk meant staying safe — always having another job lined up before leaving one, always pushing through exhaustion, always proving my reliability. As a single parent, a psychologist, and someone who is Autistic with ADHD, I carried responsibility on every level. I worked fifty to sixty hours a week, burned out multiple times a year, and got sick often. Three years ago, I reached a point where I had to face a hard truth: I could continue down a path that was slowly breaking me, or I could take a leap that might save my health, my future, and my ability to be present for my child. Choosing myself was terrifying — and it was the bravest thing I have ever done.
Leaving my job meant walking away from a steady paycheck and the sense of stability that came with it. The fears were loud and constant. Would I be able to support my son? Would I fail? Would I embarrass myself in my own profession? Would I let the people I loved down? Even though I knew I was a strong Psychologist and an exceptional employee, self-doubt crept in where confidence should have lived. Still, most of the people around me believed in me. They saw my tenacity even when I struggled to see it myself, and that quiet support carried me forward when my own faith wavered.
About six months before I officially left, I began preparing for independence. I built connections, created a website, and formed an LLC. At the same time, I was learning how to honor my needs — requesting disability accommodations and realizing that protecting my nervous system mattered more than saying yes to everything. The moment everything changed came when I received an email that revealed my employer speaking negatively about my need for boundaries. I responded, sought clarity, and then handed in my notice. Even when the owner tried to convince me to stay, I knew I could not. I cried. I was terrified. But I was also proud — and for the first time in a long time, I felt relieved.
Starting my business was harder than I ever expected. Competition was fierce, and my former employer worked to block me from opportunities. Still, I secured a steady contract that has grown into something reliable and sustaining. I even turned a profit in my first year — something I later learned was rare. I no longer imagine returning to traditional employment. My nervous system needs flexibility, and my life finally allows for that. Along the way, I have begun to recognize something I used to overlook: I am resilient. What I have built, and the strength it took to build it, is not small.
Today, the impact of that risk is visible in every part of my life. My physical health has improved. My mental health is steadier. My relationship with my child is stronger because I am no longer constantly stretched past my limits. I can care for myself and still show up fully as a parent and professional. Taking the risk to believe in myself taught me something I will carry forever — courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision to move forward anyway. If I were faced with the same choice again, I would take the leap without hesitation. And to anyone standing where I once stood, wondering if they are strong enough, I would say this: the worst that can happen is going back — but the best that can happen is discovering just how far forward you were meant to go.
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The Writing Challenge - The Fool
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