Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? What to Do When Your Job Clashes with Your Mental Health

A towel in my mom’s kitchen says, “Bloom where you’re planted.”

This mantra got me thinking about a close relative’s career dilemma.

She was a server for the majority of her career. In her 50s, she got a shot at SaaS sales and lept on it.

At first, the learning curve was rocky. While she had strong selling skills, the technology was new to her.

For a while, things looked grim. She was constantly teetering on the edge of a PIP (performance improvement plan — the precursor to a severance package, if you know what I mean).

Nearly a year in, she rallied. Something just clicked, and she catapulted to top salesperson out of about 40.

Since then, she’s been a sales leader month over month.

Sounds rosy, right?

Not really. It’s come back down to a struggle recently, and she’s barely keeping her head above water.

Why? Even though the company’s been around for a while, it seems to be in perpetual start-up mode, forever trapped in growing pains and not quite getting it together.

Consultants come and go. Methodologies, CRM technologies, and expectations constantly change.