Starting from scratch: "Listening to your discomfort forces you to make decisions"

Who hasn't thought about leaving everything behind and making a radical change? But leaving a stable job is difficult, training in a new field requires effort, bringing the family along is an added burden, and no one guarantees success. The protagonists of these stories listened to themselves and decided where they wanted to go. Easier said than done.

PHOTO LAURA PUIG

From lawyer to nutritionist

Laia Puig: "Now I work much more than before, but I feel more fulfilled."

When Laia Puig decided to study law at eighteen, she thought it was a prestigious degree and, in a way, what was expected of her at home, since her parents had worked hard to give her the opportunity to go to university. She later completed a master's degree online while working at a law firm in Granollers. Before long, she felt she was suffering, that she wasn't enjoying herself: "The master's program at the UOC was incredibly tough, and I didn't like the pace of work, surrounded by lawyers in the courts who, far from the utopian image of a defense attorney, mostly worked for insurance companies. I experienced a lot of anxiety." In 2018, in the midst of a process she remembers with great anguish, she felt the need to study something that motivated her. She liked cooking and healthy food, and opted for the highest level of vocational training in dietetics. "Suddenly, studying was enjoyable, and work wasn't torture." In 2020, with the arrival of Covid and a temporary layoff (ERTE) at the firm, a new vocation awakened. "I was calm, things had changed, I was doing yoga, and I opened an Instagram account, @eatwlaia, to share things about dietetics and food," she says.

The day she accidentally left court documents in a parking garage restroom, she told herself it was a sign. And when she was laid off, although she initially felt uncertain, she soon started an internship at the company Eres Lo Que Comes (You Are What You Eat). First, she wrote content for the blog, and later she managed the social media. "I was nervous, but I was convinced I was being brave and that these were beautiful things that made me feel good," she says.

Four years later, she reaffirms her decision and has begun a new chapter as a chef for spiritual retreats. For Laia, who now lives in Sabadell, the change has been well worth it: "I don't want to live on a treadmill that traps and distresses me. Now I work much more than before, but I feel more fulfilled and satisfied. You know where you have to be, you and your body know it, you're not there, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too, you know it too; reasons."

PHOTO JAVIER MARTÍN

From dancer to social educator

Javier Martín Luque: "It was an emotional shock to have to give up dancing, but that also excites me."

At fourteen, Javier Martín Luque finished his primary education and began vocational training because he didn't think he was smart enough for the upper secondary and pre-university courses. He chose drafting because it was the best fit for his family, with uncles and an older brother working in construction. He lived in Ciudad Cooperativa, a working-class neighborhood in Sant Boi de Llobregat with large apartment blocks, built mainly by immigrants from Andalusia and Extremadura. He became a technical draftsman for buildings and construction projects, a career he enjoyed because he was fascinated by architecture, but Javi "was dying to dance," and his draftsman's salary paid for his dance classes. At 22, he enrolled in Coco Comín's dance school, gigs started coming in, and over time, he combined drafting with a budding artistic career. "I remember performing at a nightclub until three in the morning on Mondays, and the next day I had to be at the office at nine," he recounts.

At 31, he felt exhausted. He was about to throw in the towel with dancing when he auditioned for Grease, the musical of your life Directed by Coco Comín, Manu Guix, and Ricard Reguant, he joined the cast. "I was working in mobility engineering in Barcelona and I quit. I left crying, wondering what I was getting myself into, but I also felt lucky," he explains. His family didn't quite understand, as his parents had struggled to provide their children with the education they themselves hadn't been able to.

He spent seven years acting in GreaseBetween Barcelona and Madrid, with periods of unemployment between seasons, she took classes in musical theater, singing, and acting. "Dance and everything artistic is very demanding. You not only have to perform, you must be constantly training, but I never lost the adrenaline rush of the stage," she says. She performed at El Molino, spent nine months on a cruise ship, had contracts for one-day performances, but had to say goodbye: "The standards of the artistic world force you to quit because there's a physical profile of beauty that you no longer meet at 41. It was a complete emotional shock."

One day, on vacation on a beach in Malaysia, she naturally found herself playing with some children and acting as a facilitator. It was then that she realized her future should be connected to the social sector, and she remembered how happy she had been as a teenager volunteering with various organizations in Sant Boi. A few days later, a friend told her there was a vacancy for a caretaker at the Fundació Arrels, which works with homeless people. It was a job in an apartment where people experiencing homelessness could spend the night.

During the five years she worked at Arrels' Piso Cero (Floor Zero), she studied social integration (two years of vocational training) and social education (four years at university). She spent many nights accompanying men and women with severely deteriorated physical and mental health. The book is born from those experiences. Wide openIn it, he recounts the experience of an educator working with homeless women. Through a blend of fiction and reality, he aims to bring these women's lives to light with dignity, respect, and tenderness.

Currently, he continues as a social educator at the El Troballa occupational center of the Arrels Foundation and recently completed a master's degree in community mental health. He also teaches dance at the Núria Dansa school a few hours a week. Looking back, Javi is clear about his path: "I've dedicated my whole life to doing what I'm passionate about, and social education is incredibly passionate."

PHOTO OF THE COUPLE FROM TREMP

Leaving Barcelona for Pallars

Ester Ferrando and Jaume Catalán, between "the need for constant change" and "never stopping"

Ester Ferrando was a secretary in the cabinet of the President of the Generalitat (the Catalan government), and Jaume Catalán was an educator at a vocational center in Barcelona. They were young, had jobs, two small children, and owned their own home. This would surely be the dream of many couples, but they had been toying with the idea of ​​leaving the city for a year and a half. As children, they had been part of a scouting group and had always loved being in contact with nature. But returning home on Sunday afternoons to be greeted by traffic jams was a real drag. When they announced they were moving to a village in the Pyrenees, family and friends were surprised: "Are you leaving? Are you quitting your jobs?" were the most frequent questions. Twenty-two years ago, they bought a rectory in Guardia de Tremp, or Guardia de Noguera (it has both names), and converted it into a rural hotel with seven rooms: La Rectoria.

The first few years went very well, but the 2008 crisis took its toll, and despite having sold their Barcelona apartment, the debts kept piling up. They negotiated a deed in lieu of foreclosure with the bank and reconsidered what they wanted to do. They moved to Tremp because they knew that the Pallars Jussà region and waking up surrounded by mountains was what they loved. Ester started working as an administrative assistant for the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) in Pons, Sort, and later, Tremp. Jaume worked as a cook at the town's school and is currently the first deputy mayor, a position he has held since the 2023 municipal elections.

They continue to travel up and down to Barcelona to visit family and friends, but less frequently. A few weeks ago, one of their sons told them, "Coming here was the best decision I ever made." And they agree: "Life is wonderful up here." Jaume and Ester believe they won't stay in Tremp, but will move to a smaller place. He speaks of a constant "need for change," and she of "not standing still," always convinced that every step they've taken has been a learning experience. Somewhat by chance, they discovered the Alt Pirineu Wood Craftsmen's Association and have developed a passion for woodworking, especially Ester. These changes have gone hand in hand with the dialogue between the couple. As Jaume, who wrote a book of poetry a year ago, says, in this case, "the anchor is the couple."

PHOTO XAVIER MOYA

Overcoming addictions and becoming a therapist

Xavi Moya: "I have rediscovered love for myself"

Xavi Moya defines himself as a recovering addict since 2016, when he decided to quit drugs and, with a lot of therapy, support, and exercise, became a passionate runner. Nine years and more than 20,000 kilometers have passed. He remembers exactly the day and time when it clicked. "I hit rock bottom on June 15, 2016, at 7 a.m. After a night of using, alone at home, shut down, broken, with my entire social circle shattered, I woke up and saw I had a rope hanging from the ceiling. I attempted suicide," he explains. Xavi asked his mother for help and entered a private detox center in La Garriga for nine months. From then on, he gained self-esteem, regained his independence, and focused on raising awareness about addiction and the stigma surrounding it. Sport, and running in particular, helped him immensely, to the point that he ran at least two hours every day, and nowadays he regularly participates in marathons, half marathons, local races, and even ventures into races in the Sahara Desert (Morocco) and the Gobi Desert (Mongolia).

Sport and outreach have become two new pillars of his life. He gives talks to organizations and schools, and interviews to the media to raise awareness about addiction and treat it as a pathology, not just a vice. He doesn't do it to make money; instead, he uses what he raises to help people with addictions who lack the resources for rehabilitation, because he himself found the public healthcare system very limited and was able to recover thanks to financial and family support.

This 51-year-old athlete, who says he is constantly learning, now volunteers at the Bellamar addiction center in Tarragona and is training to be a therapist so he can share his experience and perspective with people who, like him, are trying to start over. Xavi is focused on his personal growth and all he has gained: "I've rediscovered self-love, and I smile every day."

PHOTO MERCEDES BREY

From banking executive to 'coach'

Mercè Brey: "I didn't leave angry, but there were things I wanted to do differently"

Mercè Brey spent nearly thirty years at the forefront of the banking sector, specializing in the financial internationalization of companies. She traveled with Spanish companies to develop their projects in other markets such as Turkey, South Africa, China, and Angola. She was the International Business Director at Banco Sabadell and the Foreign Trade Director at CaixaBank, becoming the first female president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Barcelona, ​​an institution with a 125-year history at the time. She was also deeply involved in teaching, giving courses in world economics, international trade, and finance at various universities. All of that experience led her to believe that business school training was too mechanistic: "It taught you how to do things, but not so much how to understand and lead people, and I felt that other tools were needed." Being a young woman, leading predominantly male teams, and motivating people was neither easy nor automatic.

Mercè Brey's breakup process was carefully considered. Traveling and experiencing a wide variety of cultures helped her understand that "the genuine differences between people are pure richness." Furthermore, she wanted to write (she has already published three books): You're the best thing that's ever happened to you, Alphas & Omegas and The millionth womanand wanted time to be with her children, now teenagers, before they left home. It took her a couple of years to take the plunge, and when she consulted her partner and children, she received their full support.

"At a certain point, I thought that was enough. I didn't leave angry, but with great gratitude for the experience I had gained, but there were things I wanted to do differently." With this goal in mind, the consultancy BLUE was born in Sabadell, her hometown.Balance, Leadership, Uniqueness and EmpowermentMercè Brey, a specialist in female and inclusive leadership, has a completely different life now: "I've clearly gained freedom. I decide about my time and who I want to work with, and I've gained balance and consistency. When you're in an organizational environment and hold positions of responsibility, you can't always be consistent with yourself, and that's very disruptive," she says. She trusted her abilities and ignored the fears of others who questioned her decision to leave a good salary and a good job. The response was that she was starting to feel uncomfortable. "When you listen to that discomfort, it puts you in a situation where you have to make decisions, and all decisions have consequences. The network you have because of a certain position disappears; you stop being part of the tribe, and you end up feeling alone," she says. Seven years ago, Mercè Brey started from scratch, and since then, she has provided training to management teams at universities and schools, as well as mentoring young women who are already directors. At 57, he wonders, given the number of hours one spends at work, "what would it be like if organizations were a straw bale for changing society?"