There’s a unique comfort in mastery, but also a quiet question that can arise from deep familiarity. My 36-year career in television, a role I loved, had recently begun to feel like playing a beloved part in Cats on Broadway for its 22nd year. The thrill of performance is always there, and you certainly know every nuance of the script, but the landscape becomes so well-known that you begin to wonder about your own capabilities beyond that stage. You begin to feel the pull of a new mountain to climb.
This past week, I began my ascent. I walked into Diablo Canyon Power Plant as a Senior External Engagement Representative for PG&E, trading the world I knew for one I am just beginning to discover.
The start has been, as expected, like drinking from the proverbial firehose. Yet, what has struck me most is not the volume of information, but the quality of the people delivering it. I am surrounded by individuals I can only describe as passionate and brilliant, whose attentiveness and depth of knowledge inspire a different, more deliberate way of thinking. One of the plant’s vice presidents recommended a book to me, “Love + Work,” and its theme resonates deeply. For years, I’ve been looking for a way to braid together my background in science with a deep concern for our environment and the future of energy. This new role feels less like a job and more like a purpose. Of course, I have the advantage of joining others who also left the TV life who have offered me both smiles and amazing counsel making a move like this. Here is a look at just some of people who make the same leap from the same place, it is good to have amazing friends like this.
This move, however, was always part of a larger life change journey I set out on nearly a year ago. A lot of that change has been about adjusting the rhythm of my life. And perhaps the most surprising discovery of this first week has been the unexpected ease of that new rhythm. Going to bed around 10 p.m. and waking up near 6 a.m., a necessity for this new role, has felt surprisingly natural. My sleep tracker shows it, but more importantly, I feel it – the quality of my rest has dramatically improved.
I’ve found a new routine: getting exercise or errands done right after work. This simple shift means there’s nothing left on the to-do list when I finally sit down to relax. And the simple, profound pleasure of being out and about while others are, sharing the same slice of the day, is in itself invigorating.
Do I miss being on TV? If I do, the feeling is slight. I’ll be honest, I haven’t watched a second of local television since my last broadcast. It’s also an interesting shift to a career where language is so careful and precise, a departure from the “excited words” television sometimes demands to engage an audience. I don’t miss that pressure.
The first week was a whirlwind, but each day was progressively better. Each day ended with a quiet, growing confidence: the feeling that “I can do this.” I feel like I have some road out in front of me, and I can’t wait to see what a few more weeks will bring as I learn from this new group of people.
I may not feel old, but I am certainly a novice again, and I’m embracing it. The journey continues.