The Gift of Experience: Stories Worth Sharing

By Hayley McDonnell.

There comes a time when life slows just enough for you to look back, not in regret or nostalgia, but with a kind of gratitude-laced clarity.   After 25 plus years of formal teaching, middle management up and down the educational career path the time has come to write my last report, assess my last examination, set and mark my last piece of homework whilst always  working with purpose (though not always in conventional career terms), as I’ve been juggling family life, ambition, and the evolving definitions of success, I’ve reached a season of reflection.

This piece is not a conclusion; it’s a conversation and an offering. A space for you, wherever you are in your journey, to pause and maybe find something that speaks to you too.

My overarching purpose now is not to climb or strive, but to share. To pass on what I’ve learned with open hands and an open heart, and in doing so, find a little or a lot more me in the time that I have been gifted. 

It’s interesting how, with time, you realise that knowledge means little unless it’s shared. I’ve mentored, supported, encouraged, and sometimes been met with resistance, such is the life of a classroom teacher and beyond.  That’s human nature, and it's also been realised with family members. Frustrating when you can see things spiralling and not in a good way. In the end, some people just want to forge their own way. They need to touch the fire before they believe it burns. There are lessons in the falling, just as there are in the listening. The truth is, not everyone wants to hear hard-won wisdom, and that’s okay. However, for those who do, this is for you.

I never followed a stereotypical career path with an intended goal. My work in the classroom and my pleasure work (writing) were grounded in value, integrity, and people, not titles or traditional accolades. Stepping back from that world isn’t as simple as it sounds. Leaving the working rhythm behind can feel both liberating and disorienting. It takes time to adjust to the silence after the noise. Still, in that space, something beautiful begins: time to volunteer, to be present with growing children, to read, to rest, to think, to just be.

The shift from “doing” to “being” is not always easy. The glossy allure of "leaving the 9-to-5" fades when faced with real questions of identity, structure, and purpose. Compromises are made. Choices weigh heavier, but within still, gratitude rises. In many ways, I have found that the quiet hope I held has manifested itself. A slower, deeper, more meaningful way of living.

In this greater quiet space and opportunity, I’ve found something spiritual, too. Evangelism - often thought of as religious rhetoric - is, at its core, the sharing of good news. And that’s what I’m doing here. Not preaching. Not persuading. Just gently offering what I’ve learned. Looking within, reflecting on a life lived with intention, and asking what that might mean now. And maybe, through that honesty, someone else finds something useful for their own path.

So, as you work, create, read, and absorb the carefully crafted words in The Female CEO, curated by Tricia and her inspiring team, know that you are part of this beautiful, global circle of sharing. Your voice, your creativity, your curiosity - these are not small things. They ripple outward, bringing goodness into your world and, by extension, someone else’s.  This is my message to you – sharing is caring, a mantra I encouraged my daughters to follow from a young age, though that was with toys, of course.  Ideas, opportunities, knowledge, and understanding are now your gift for others. 

That’s what connects us all. Whether we’re starting out, stepping back, or somewhere in between, we are the same in our desire to make life a little richer, a little kinder, a little more purposeful. If anything I’ve written helps you do that, even in the smallest way to know this, then it’s done what it was meant to do.

Sometimes, the most powerful stories are  the quietest ones, and they’re still worth telling, and this is what we are all doing here.  So continue to live your goodness in all its guises, proudly and purposefully sharing it with others, and I will continue to do the same. 

Hayley McDonnell is a passionate advocate of the just Hygge philosophy, living each day with intention and ease and flow at its core. A former teacher/middle manager of 24+ years, she has worked through several transitions and continues to do so. 

A mother, wife, friend, sister, daughter and so on; despite these guises, the one golden thread that runs throughout is the desire to be happy and live a life of truth. This is where the concept of Hygge takes prominence.

Hayley hopes her blogs provide a conduit for sharing the Hygee lifestyle and the benefits of 'Nothing Much Happens Here'. You can contact Hayley here.