Walk, Eat, Sleep, Pivot: Finding My New Path on the Camino

The countdown to 40 is often met with a mix of reflection and a sudden, urgent desire to shake the etch-a-sketch of life. For me, that "shake" involved a resignation letter, a sturdy pair of boots, and a one-way ticket to the start of the French Way.

Deciding to quit a stable job to walk across a country isn’t a whim; it’s a reckoning. Here is why I decided to trade the boardroom for the trail and spend a month walking the Camino de Santiago.

Looking for my next chapter on the French Way

1. The "Pre-40" Physical and Mental Challenge

There is something about the milestone of a 40th birthday that makes you want to prove your own resilience. I didn’t want to enter my next decade feeling stagnant or comfortable. I wanted to see if I could carry everything I needed on my back for 800 kilometers.

The Camino is the ultimate litmus test for grit. It’s about blisters, steep climbs in the Pyrenees, and the mental discipline to keep moving when your body begs you to stop. I chose the trail to remind myself that I am still capable of monumental things.

2. Clearing Space for New Opportunities

When you are immersed in the 9-to-5 grind, your peripheral vision narrows. You become so focused on the task in front of you that you stop seeing the possibilities beside you.

I quit because I realized that to find a new path, I first had to stop walking the old one. The Camino provides a "cognitive clearing." By stripping life down to its most basic elements: walk, eat, sleep, repeat. I am intentionally creating a vacuum. I’m making room for new ideas, new career pivots, and a fresh perspective on what "work" should actually look like in my 40s.

3. To Truly Experience the World, Not Just View It

In my professional life, "experiencing the world" often meant looking at it through a screen or from the window of a hotel during a business trip. That isn't travel; that's observation.

Walking the Camino is an immersive experience. It’s feeling the change in soil under your feet, smelling the eucalyptus forests of Galicia, and sharing a communal meal with a stranger from halfway across the globe. I wanted to move at a human pace, roughly 4 kilometers per hour to actually see the world I’ve been living in.

4. The Search for "The Spirit of the Way"

Everyone talks about how "the Camino provides." After years of providing for others—clients, bosses, and brands—I wanted to see what the universe had in store for me if I just showed up. I’m trading my professional title for the title of "Peregrino" (Pilgrim). On the trail, nobody cares about your LinkedIn profile; they care about how your knees are holding up and where you’re staying tonight. There is a profound freedom in that anonymity.

The Next Chapter Starts at the Cathedral

Quitting a job to walk for a month might look like a mid-life crisis to some. To me, it’s a mid-life investment. I’m investing in my health, my clarity, and my future. The trail to Santiago isn't just a physical path; it’s a bridge between who I’ve been and who I’m becoming.

Ultreia! Onward to 40.