When Making a Comeback Means Coming Back to Yourself
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
By Marta Grutka
Five years ago, I defined success by how much I could make a comeback into corporate and rebuild my financial cushion. As one of the early (since 1996 early) digital nomads and serial solopreneurs working remotely around the world when not in a demanding executive role, I was proud of my adaptability, and my ability to deliver no matter what. But when the “no matter what” meant that I was still overdoing for others when my own basic needs were not met, something had to give.
A combination of personal and professional changes left me without a stable address or any income for an extended period of time. As a career expat, I was alone in foreign countries where I had no legal right to work, let alone live for more than one to three months before making a visa run to start the clock all over again. Earlier attempts to return to my “home” country (the U.S.) had failed and wiped out most of my reserves. For someone who had always been the reliable one—the strategist, the leader, the fixer—I was in a place where I could not realistically be reliable to anyone, including myself.
When you no longer have the familiar markers of security, you are forced to build your own from the inside out. Facing my definitions of worth and freedom while finding new sources of strength meant being willing to let go of, quite literally, everything I had built up to that point. At the same time, I learned how to let other people – often complete strangers - support me and admit that I was unable to hold everything together on my own.
All of this was very painful – I was utterly heartbroken that my life had come to this. Yet, and as cliché as it may be, I learned through lived experience that security and stability don’t come from circumstances—they come from self-trust.
Along the way I also became even more attuned to what many women are carrying, especially those who look like they’re “fine” on the surface but are navigating real material or relational loss underneath. Importantly, I became acutely aware of the systemic issues whether in banks or Board rooms that are creating unsustainable financial imbalances–I would say injustices- worldwide. This understanding is central to how I help other people and organizations today.
Now, winning looks like using what I’ve learned to help others come back after their own downturns. Many of the accomplished women and men I mentor or advise come to me during a period of personal upheaval—often involving the end of a longstanding relationship. They start doubting their intuition, their value, or their direction. I help them make space for a more self-assured self-image to emerge.
Sometimes that means helping them articulate their story so they can step into new leadership roles with confidence. Sometimes it means helping them understand that their experiences—especially the painful ones—carry success clues, not shame. And sometimes it simply means reminding them that they’re allowed to choose what supports their well-being and walk away from unsupportive situations, not just stay in what they’ve learned to tolerate.
The last five years included the COVID era, causing more chaos in my career and life while giving me more chances to rise above and contribute to others in new ways. As 2025 comes to an end, I am curious and excited to see what twists life will take next, and I am confident that the best is yet to come.
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