There’s a Scottish saying, Whits fur ye, won’t go by ye – What’s for you won’t miss you.

I held zero faith in that phrase until April 2024.

For 20 years, I worked, did the job and paid the bills. I worked with some great people and made friends along the way, but it was just work.

Monzo was the first place where I realised the value of my lived experience of disability and mental health. After probation, I moved into the Vulnerable Customer team and quickly progressed to VC Expert.

After that, I moved to a well known mobile network. It turned out to be the worst move ever.

Their practices didn’t align with my values, and being somewhere incompatible with who I am took me to a dark place. A familiar place. One I hoped not to revisit.

Friends and family often commented that I wasn’t myself.

At the time I was successful in an application for Social Security Scotland as a manager, but there was a year-long wait due to the DWP to SSS transition.

My start date was around 12 months away, then extended by 3 months, then eventually rescinded altogether.

I couldn’t find anywhere that truly appreciated my lived experience or the ability to engage meaningfully with people experiencing vulnerability – I felt stuck.

Then, in April 2024, I saw a vacancy for my current role with the disabled access charity Euan’s Guide. The job description felt like it’d been written about me.

The focus was on travel, advocacy and writing. Three things I enjoy and have experience in. Best of all, the role offered the chance to make a real difference. To make the world more accessible and to highlight the challenges disabled people face every day.

The application closed the same day I saw it on Facebook. I applied immediately.

The first interview was remote. The second was in person. I had an email offering me the job before I’d even completed the drive home.

The previous role had me so low I could barely speak on the phone. This role has me giving talks to hundreds of people. I still get nervous, but I believe in what I do.

People now comment on my confidence and how much I’ve changed. That’s the difference finding a purpose makes.

If the plant doesn’t grow, change the soil.