Letting Go

I retired from full-time employment on December 31, 2014.   At the time, I was working as the Project Manager for the Life Critical Standards Training Project, in my chosen field of occupational safety and health.

I spent 22.5 years of my professional career in occupational safety and health.   When I took my first job in safety, I had one college course in Industrial Hygiene under my belt.   Because I loved my new career, and wanted to bring my very best every day, I obtained a number of professional certifications.

The certifications were very important to me, not because I like to have letters after my name, but because it was in the preparation for my certification exams that I really learned the history of my chosen profession, and learned how to provide the best safety and health services to my clients.

It was hard work studying for and achieving first my Occupational Health and Safety Technologist (OHST), and then my Associate Safety Professional (ASP), and finally my Certified Safety Professional (CSP).

With a change in the bylaws in 2013, the Board of Certified Safety Professionals decided to no longer offer the Certified Safety Professional - Retired designation.  Because I am retired, I am letting my certifications lapse, and will no longer be an OHST, an ASP or a CSP.

It has taken me this entire year to come to resolution about letting these certifications lapse.  But it is time to let go of my former career, and embrace my new careers of blogger, author and crochet artist.

I'm blessed to have the freedom purchased by years of saving to not need to earn my living from my new career.  I hope that someday there is a financial benefit from my writing, but if not, my savings and pension will see me through.

And that brings me to the point I wanted to make.  Growing, taking on a new role, taking on a new life direction almost always involves giving something up.

I can't be the next thing I am going to be without giving up a part of who I was.

That is the scary exciting thing about choosing to continue to grow.  Because I have chosen to grow in a new direction, I have also chosen to give up some of the past.

I worked hard for those certifications, and was proud to achieve them.  They do not serve my future, so I am letting them go.  They will always be a very important part of my past.  Part of my formation.  Part of what allowed me to be who I am today.  I am grateful to what they provided me.  But I'm OK with them becoming part of my past.

As I march confidently into my future, I am ready to let the past go.  With gratitude for what I learned, with gratitude for how the past shaped me, I am moving on.

The future looks bright.............