Quitting My Bank Job Changed My Life This Year

By Gbemisola Elekula

A lot of things have happened to me this year but I’d say leaving the Nigerian Banking industry in May really changed my life.

I don’t recall having a good life while I was in the bank. I was just working for the paychecks. I told myself I was going to leave everyday…..but working in the bank gives one a false sense of security. I worked Mondays to Sundays. The work was endless. The pressure was something else.

Going to church on free sundays was an ordeal for me. I was a back bench warmer. It was more of a routine for me than an actual relationship with God. I hated it and wished I could do better.

My family didn’t actually suffer because I tried so hard, with deliberate effort to be there for them. But it wasn’t easy. Taking care of a husband, loving him despite the stress, having babies, taking care of them and doing the job with all its pressures was mind tasking and I must say I was one frustrated woman.

Amazingly, while on the job,pregnant with my second baby, I enrolled for a course I had passion for online and till I die I can never figure how I completed it in due time. I graduated and registered my own company in 2011 whilst still in the bank.

To make matters worse, the bank moved me from Operations department to Marketing department at a time the bank wasn’t marketable. No one wanted to bank with my bank and the few who decided to, did out of pity. I endured it for 11 months and I left to pursue my passion.

My life is back on track. My life is beautiful. I didn’t think I’d survive it but I’ve never lacked for one day. My family is enjoying me. I’m doing a job I love. I don’t have pressures. I don’t work like I’m going to die. Customers do not look at me pitifully. I’m not scared of Mondays. I’m not depressed or frustrated. My kids are doing better in school and I and my husband are closer.

I am a survivor of the Nigerian Banking Industry.
Gbemisola Elekula

Tagged What Changed Your Life This Year