Expert Advice from Aliaa Remtilla, PhD, Harvard-trained Anthropologist, Executive Coach and Startup Founder
Dear Hope+Wellth, I’m dreaming of a new career but I’m terrified to take the leap. How do I know when it’s time to pivot professionally?
Answer
Dear Terrified to Take the Leap,
What you’re feeling is completely natural!
I’ve been exactly where you are – several times. I’ve left academia after earning my PhD, stepped out of a high-impact non-profit role, and walked away from a startup I co-founded. Each time, it looked risky from the outside. Each time, it felt terrifying from the inside. And yet, each time I knew: staying would cost me more than leaving.
One of those moments came late at night in my university office. I’d spent years traveling for research, interviewing people in remote mountain villages, and producing work I’d once dreamed of. But as I sat at my desk surrounded by books, drafting another grant proposal, I felt nothing.
That was my signal that it was time to pivot: the life I had built no longer fit the person I’d become.
