Renee Devore spent 25 years in education before walking away from a career she thought would define her. She had started teaching at 21, became an assistant principal at 32, and later became a principal, reaching the goal she set for herself at 17.
But the job she had worked so hard to get stopped fitting the person she was becoming. After changing school districts and losing her father around the same time, she said it felt like her walls were caving in. She described wearing a mask at work all the time and said it was exhausting.
In 2017, during a short trip to Mexico, she met a man who had taken a three-month unpaid break from work. That encounter changed her view of what was possible. Devore said she returned home asking whether it would be crazy to step away too. Nobody told her it was.
She sold her condo, car, furniture, and clothes, then spent a year in Puerto Vallarta trying to figure out what was next. The reset did not deliver instant clarity. She painted, rested, and eventually went back to education, still feeling boxed in.
A year later, after a panic attack, Devore took FMLA for a month and realized she could not keep going back to that job. She quit in June 2022 with no plan, no partner providing financial support, and no clear next step. She did have a 401(k) and some savings, but she said what mattered most was believing she would figure it out.
Her first move was into retail. Two months after leaving education, she walked into Anthropologie at the mall, asked for the manager, and applied for a part-time job. She started two weeks later.
For Devore, the job was not a detour. It was a pause. She said the slower pace gave her nervous system time to settle, let her decompress, and reminded her that her identity did not need to be tied to a title or salary. She worked, played, and had fun.
More than a year later, she decided what came next: a mix of life coaching, motivational speaking, and owning her own business.
The business lesson is simple. Sometimes the highest-status role is not the best one for your margins, your health, or your runway. A smaller job can buy time, reduce pressure, and help you rebuild with intention.
Founders and operators often treat stepping down as failure. Devore’s story says otherwise. If the current role is costing you your energy, the real risk may be staying put too long. Start smaller than you think. The right temporary move can create the space to make a better one.
