A bigger paycheque can mean a lot to a family. More breathing room when the bills arrive, a holiday together or something put aside for the kids. Let’s face it, kids are expensive.

Those are good reasons to want a promotion.

For me, there was also the work itself. I love retail. I wanted to learn, have a bigger impact and earn a seat at the table. The chance to influence the business and help a team succeed was exciting.

I have been fortunate to get those opportunities. I am grateful for where they took me, the people I worked with and what I learned along the way.

Looking in the rear-view mirror, I also see some trade-offs more clearly than I did at the time.

When you get promoted, you know the title and the salary. It takes a little longer to understand everything that comes with them.

Moving from manager to director changes your view of the business. Decisions that once looked straightforward become more complicated when you understand how many people they affect.

You are learning to lead at a new level while your team is looking to you for answers. There is more scrutiny, and sometimes the feedback stays with you longer than you would like.

There is satisfaction, too. Helping someone develop. Working through a difficult problem together. Seeing a decision make a positive difference.

I enjoyed that growth. Some days I also brought more of the job home than I realized.

A few steps in my career disrupted our family dynamics. More travel, different demands on my time and nights when I was home but still thinking about work.

The opportunity was mine, but everyone felt the adjustment.

We talk about work-life balance or work-life blend. For me, the useful question is whether the arrangement is working for the people living with it. That answer can change as children grow, responsibilities shift and our own priorities evolve.

At the time, you are trying to do a good job and build a future for your family. It can be difficult to notice when the work starts taking up more room than you intended.

It gave us breathing room and choices. Those things mattered, and I would not dismiss them.

But if you asked me what I would like to buy more of now, time with my family would be high on the list.

There are evenings and weekends I would happily revisit. Moments when I wish I had put work down sooner or been more present when I was home.

Of course, that is easier to see now. I was making decisions with the information I had, doing my best and looking forward to what came next.

I can appreciate those choices and still see things I would do differently. There are opportunities I might pass on today. Others I would take again, with a better understanding of what I needed to make them work.

I would not want someone to read this and become hesitant about an opportunity they are excited about.

Sometimes you see the possibilities and go for it. You grow into the role, discover work you love and find that the stretch was exactly what you needed.

Sometimes parts of it do not fit as well as you hoped. You can have that conversation, ask for support or consider a different direction. Changing course may take some planning, but you are allowed to use what you have learned about yourself.

A career gives you plenty of chances to adjust.

I am glad I said yes to opportunities throughout my career. They gave me a great deal.

Part of the thinking was that working hard while I was younger would give me more choices later, including a more comfortable retirement and more time to enjoy it. That hope was part of the trade-off, too.

I am still only fifty, so retirement is not anytime soon. I guess I will have to wait and see how that part of the plan works out.

For now, I am grateful for what my career has given me and more conscious of making time along the way. There are things I look forward to doing in retirement, and things I do not want to keep putting off.

Until next week, The Retail Rewired Team