Stopping freelancing and returning to employment isn’t a failure.
There’s been a lot of posts recently I’ve seen about freelancers returning to employment, and the tone is one of “I’ve not been successful as a freelancer”.
This couldn’t be further from the truth.
We need and crave different things at different times. Sometimes we need a feeling of stability, sometimes we want to focus on the work over finding the work. Sometimes we need the flexibility that some employers don’t offer. Sometimes we need a team around us.
The future of work is fluid. Longer contracts, shorter employment, a couple days here, several years there.
Design and find the models of work which work for what you need right now, and don’t see it as a failure when those needs change.
Failure would be ignoring that things change.