Just One Pivot: Maria Keckler on Security, Courage & Reinvention
Maria Keckler had the secure job, the big paycheck, and years of meaningful work with people she loved. She’d even gone back to school in her mid-50s to finish a PhD. But the work calling her and the work she was doing were no longer the same.
In this episode, Maria, a researcher and former university administrator whose PhD work focused on empathy in healthcare, shares what happens when a natural builder spends too long maintaining. A health crisis became her wake-up call, and a month of medical leave gave her space to take stock. One honest conversation with her husband turned that reflection into a plan: a six-month handoff, a clear-eyed look at the finances, and a leap without a visible safety net.
But the leap didn’t end with her resignation. Maria talks candidly about the internal resistance that showed up even after she decided, the chess lesson from her father that became her life mantra, and why, more than a year in, she’s still learning to give herself permission to rest.
If you’ve built a stable life you’re grateful for but keep wondering whether waiting is costing you more than changing, this conversation is for you.
In This Episode:
- Why being a builder stuck in a maintainer role can burn you out, even when the work and the people are good
- How a health crisis reframed what security was really worth
- Planning a leap thoughtfully: a six-month transition, the money conversation, and the difference between reckless and courageous
- The internal resistance that shows up after the decision, and how Maria talked herself through it
- Her father’s chess lesson: just one move, one pivot, can change the momentum of the game
- Unlearning productivity guilt and choosing presence over postponed living
Maria isn’t reckless. She’s just more daring than she’s ever been, and her story is a reminder that it’s never too late to make your next move.
Resources & Links:
Connect with Maria Keckler
- Pivotal Empathy
- drmariakeckler.com ⚠️ verify before publishing
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