Thursday, April 2, 2026

Walking on the Moon

What do you do after you’ve taken your “giant leap” at work? Here are five ways to navigate the emotional comedown after reaching a peak career achievement and take your next steps forward with purpose

By Alison Brown

What do you do after you’ve been to the moon?

My kids and I have been captivated by the launch of Artemis II and its 10-day mission around the moon.

At school drop-off recently, I joked with other parents about how it must feel to be one of Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen’s children attending school today and speaking up in Show-and-Tell:

“Oh yeah, my dad is away on a business trip . . . to space!”

As we watched the rocket launch , eyes glued to the TV screen, I told my kids they were witnessing history, as this is the first crewed mission to travel around the moon since Apollo in 1972, and the first time a Canadian astronaut has travelled beyond low Earth orbit.

It’s a surreal experience to watch history unfold before your eyes. We can only imagine how Jeremy Hansen feels to not only embark on this mission, but also represent your country as the first to travel to the moon, alongside the first woman and first Black astronaut to journey around it.

How do you top that?

Many astronauts who have travelled to space describe a postmission adjustment period that involves both physical and emotional challenges: spaceflight alters the body by strengthening some muscles, weakening others, shifting fluids, and disrupting balance. Astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore—who spent a prolonged 286-day mission aboard the ISS—reported lingering health issues, even struggling to stand weeks after the mission.

Many astronauts also report an emotional comedown upon returning from space, often referred to as “Earth Blues.”

The effect isn’t just theoretical. It showed up after one of humanity’s greatest achievements. After walking on the moon, Buzz Aldrin fell into depression and struggled with a loss of purpose. Even Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot there, quietly stepped away from public life. Once it was over, there was no obvious “next.”

After years of intense education, training, and mission focus, the most difficult part isn’t the journey itself, but readjusting to normal life afterward.

If even walking on the moon doesn’t protect you from a loss of purpose afterward, it’s no surprise that finishing a major project, hitting a big workplace milestone, or reaching a career peak can leave you feeling unexpectedly empty.

While most of us won’t orbit the Earth, we may experience smaller versions of this letdown in our jobs. In healthcare, workers may come down from the intensity of saving lives during a crisis, only to return to routine shifts that feel less meaningful. In construction, crews can spend months or years building something tangible and lasting only to move on once the project is complete. The sense of purpose, teamwork, and momentum fades, and what comes next can feel uncertain.

The lesson is the same: when work is deeply meaningful and high stakes, the transition afterward matters just as much as the work itself.

So, how do you move on? Once you’ve reached a peak, how do you go back to everyday life?

5 Ways to Take Positive Steps Forward

Mark it. Hold a debrief, wrap-up, or even a celebration to mark the end of an era. This will help you meaningfully “close” that chapter of your work.
Recover. Give yourself time to adjust and prioritize your rest before jumping into something new.
Plan it. After you’ve given yourself time to recover, get yourself excited for a new project, role, or responsibility. Having something to look forward to—even something small—will help ease the emotional letdown.
Name it. If you’re feeling flat, disconnected, disappointed, or bored after your career high, don’t be afraid to speak openly about it. By naming it, you normalize the feeling that others may be experiencing as well.
Reach out. Maintain contact and communication with your crew or coworkers who experienced the peak with you. Sometimes, it’s the team people miss the most and not necessarily the work itself.

Just as astronauts need support after returning from a mission, workers need support after periods of intense and meaningful work.

Marking the end of a project, setting new goals, maintaining team connections, and simply acknowledging the emotional shift can make a significant difference. The transition isn’t a sign that something is wrong. It’s a sign that the work is important.

It may not be the moon, but it still matters.

Walking on the Moon

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