The Joy Of Quitting
ELLE Australia|August 2017

Having been told her whole life that leaving is for losers, Alex Holder gave up her high-flying job  and realised that, actually, it was the most empowering thing she had ever done

Alex Holder
The Joy Of Quitting
I took inspiration from Zayn Malik on the day he said goodbye to One Direction. I sat with my business partner in the park opposite our office, said the words “I’m leaving” and cried. I was quitting my dream job – or at least, what had once been my dream job. The one I’d gone through eight rounds of interviews to get. I was partner in an amazing advertising agency; one I’d admired for so long. Loads of people wanted that job, I’d got it, and now I was giving it up. And there you have it, my proudest career moment to date: the day I quit.

When I’d left the house that morning, I hadn’t known that, by the end of the day, I wouldn’t have a salary or, gulp, an answer to the question, “So, what do you do?” I had to ring my boyfriend and confess, “Er, I quit my job today.” Did I mention our 11-month-old son, our mortgage, my ego? Oh, and by no means were we prepared financially; there was enough money to last six weeks, maybe eight. But when I got into bed that night, I felt an elation that only comes from an act of bravery.

I was always taught that quitting was for losers, so throughout my life I’d made sure I wasn’t one of them. I stayed with the boy I lost my virginity to for seven years. I ran marathons, once with cystitis. If I started a book, I finished it, even when I misguidedly picked up Ulysses. I spent a relentless decade working my way to the top of my career. I was not a quitter. Then, with two words, suddenly I was.

What I had mistaken for ambition and conviction was actually fear. I told myself I was happy enough. I had the house, the partner, the baby, the job. This is what adults do, isn’t it? They forsake fun for security. I regarded freelancers, part-timers and anyone who didn’t go into an office every day with jealousy and confusion. I stayed put, not because I loved my job, but because I was too scared to leave.

Denne historien er fra August 2017-utgaven av ELLE Australia.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra August 2017-utgaven av ELLE Australia.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA ELLE AUSTRALIASe alt
Books: Shelf-Care
ELLE Australia

Books: Shelf-Care

Find a little respite in this season’s most exciting new reads

time-read
5 mins  |
June/July 2020
ELLE Australia

Men's Rites

Deciding to go through a gender transition isn’t easy for anyone. But the hardest person for journalist Daniel Mallory ortberg to convince was himself

time-read
10+ mins  |
June/July 2020
Kick Start
ELLE Australia

Kick Start

In these uncertain times, louis vuitton’s artistic director nicolas ghesquière is looking to the past to help make sense of the future

time-read
3 mins  |
June/July 2020
ELLE Australia

Music: Everything Is Illuminated

Phoebe Bridgers is a musician who revels in the darkness, albeit having earned her place in the spotlight

time-read
6 mins  |
June/July 2020
SUPER NATURE ESCAPISM WILDERNESS BREATHING INFRESH AIR BATHING IN SUNSHINE
ELLE Australia

SUPER NATURE ESCAPISM WILDERNESS BREATHING INFRESH AIR BATHING IN SUNSHINE

IN THE SPIRIT OF DISCOVERY AND NEW HORIZONS, MODEL GEORGIA FOWLER HEADS FOR THE GREAT OUTDOORS

time-read
3 mins  |
June/July 2020
ELLE Australia

THE big CLEANSE

WE’VE PURGED OUR KITCHEN CABINETS OF SUGAR AND CULLED THE CLOTHES THAT DON’T SPARK JOY, BUT WE MAY HAVE ARRIVED AT THE MOST BENEFICIAL (AND EASIEST) CLEANSE OF ALL

time-read
6 mins  |
June/July 2020
ELLE Australia

TALKING to strangers

SINCE THE EARLY 1900S, AN AGONY AUNT HAS BEEN A WILLING EAR. BUT AT A TIME OF DMS AND ASKME-ANYTHINGS, SEEKING ADVICE FROM SOMEONE YOU DON’T KNOW HAS BECOME RISKY BUSINESS

time-read
8 mins  |
June/July 2020
singled OUT
ELLE Australia

singled OUT

WE’VE ENTERED AN ERA OF MYRIAD RELATIONSHIP STATUSES – COUPLED, FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS, OPEN, POLYGAMOUS, THREE-DIGITALDATES-IN-BUT UNSURE-WHERE-THIS-IS-GOING. But is flying solo the last taboo?

time-read
5 mins  |
June/July 2020
GYPSY CREEK
ELLE Australia

GYPSY CREEK

INTERIOR DESIGNER LOUELLA BOÌTELGILL TAKES US INSIDE HER QUIRKY BYRON BAY HINTERLAND CREATION, WHICH OVERFLOWS WITH A BEACHY, HAPPY VIBE

time-read
2 mins  |
June/July 2020
DRIVE: DESIGN in motion
ELLE Australia

DRIVE: DESIGN in motion

HOW THE HOTTEST INTERIOR TRENDS COULD DEFINE WHAT YOUR NEXT CAR LOOKS LIKE

time-read
2 mins  |
June/July 2020