Most of us are taught early on to compartmentalize.
The work you and the play you.
The student you and the teacher you.
The creative you and the analytical you.
But humans aren’t iPhones with discrete apps we switch between. We’re complex, multifaceted beings. And when we compartmentalize ourselves, we’re not just simplifying things—we’re cutting off valuable parts of who we are.
Bringing only “work you” to the office means leaving other, equally important pieces of yourself at the door. The problem? It’s those very pieces that—combined—make up the full, incredible, and irreplaceable YOU.
A few years ago, I started breaking down the walls I’d built between my work self and the rest of me. I let “non-work” parts come out and play at work. At first, it felt uncomfortable. Showing up as someone who wasn’t polished and perfectly “professional” felt vulnerable.
But here’s the thing: professional isn’t profound. It never will be. It’s a mask we wear, one that hides our most interesting and impactful qualities behind a rinse-and-repeat routine. And let me tell you—there’s nothing exciting about rinse-and-repeat.
One of the most meaningful projects I ever worked on came after I stopped compartmentalizing myself. I was working at adidas and developed a proposal for a high-profile celebrity.
As part of the proposal, I did something that felt risky—I wrote a poem to kick off the concept. That poem grounded the conversation in emotion and purpose. For the first time, my creative side, my business side, my visionary dreamer side, and my analytical side all came together to create something bold.
It was fun.
I was nervous when I presented it. It was untested —and included pieces of me that had never existed in the sterile “professional” box. But everyone who heard it loved it.
By bringing more of my aliveness to my work—my work was more alive.
That was the moment I understood what it meant to “bring your full self to work.” Before, I’d thought compartmentalizing meant being professional – and being professional meant success.
The truth is, I experienced a lot of success with work-me. But the work was a slog, with only rare moments of fun.
Now I know that bringing all parts of me to work makes the work more fun and the output better. More fun and better—that’s a winning combination.
As I continued to break down my internal compartments, I became more authentically me in every situation. No more self-imposed filters. And I realized how much energy—decades of energy—I had wasted suppressing parts of me.
As I continued to unbox myself, my being outgrown my job. Which makes sense, afterall work-Kathy was less than full-Kathy. The “work me” that had once fit perfectly in the role now felt like a shell, or worse, a straitjacket.
When you find yourself in a cage, it’s your responsibility to open the door and walk out.
It happened fast. From the moment I felt the straitjacket chafing my skin to the moment I quit my job was two or three months.
The truth is, I didn’t want to be five years down the road still wondering “what if.” What if I had bet on myself? What if I had trusted that I’d figure it out? Where would I be now?
So I jumped.
I bet on myself.
I trusted I’d grow wings as I unfolded into the fullest version of me.
That leap into your full potential—and a dream job that brings you alive—doesn’t have to be daunting. You can start making the shift now.
In my FREE Masterclass -The Career Shift, I’ll teach you how to start moving toward a career you love. Just like I did.
In the Masterclass you’ll learn:
✅ The 5 biggest career pitfalls that keep people stuck—and how to avoid them
✅ How to stop thinking about changing your career and actually start doing it
✅ The fail-proof way to break through fear and step into the career you’ve always wanted
Compartmentalization is just one of the major pitfalls keeping people trapped in unfulfilling jobs.
Don’t wait until your career feels like a straitjacket. Join me for this one-hour FREE Masterclass, and let’s open the door that has you feeling stuck.
Register here.
