A couple of years ago, I decided to retire (from football coaching).
I was in the early stages of my diagnosis of hypothyroid, and I felt sh*t and the prospect of standing for an hour on a Thursday night in a freezing cold field, badly coaching a group of lads and then watching them at the weekend fight with each other and be shouted at by opposition parents and players did not fill me with joy.
That was because of the way I saw that because I felt like sh*t.
We got through the other side of that bubble even though I told everybody that I was giving up. After we won the Cup in May in the sunshine in Ilkeston, I asked if it was all right if I didn't give up and was allowed to stay on.
And by and by, the experiences I've had over the past few years have been remarkable and wonderful, and I would never have missed it for the world.
But it's interesting that if I just actioned the retirement and stuck with it, I would have missed those.
Maybe I would have seen something different, maybe something better, maybe something greater, but it would be hard to think that was true.
Recently, I've been thinking about retirement again, not from football coaching but from another project that I have on the go at the present time (specifics not required).
Careful, though. It's probably because I was tired or a little bit overwhelmed, but it seems the easiest line of resistance is just to jettison something, something that annoyed me or upset me or that I felt was too busy or too much (my own choice, obviously).
In situations like that, I like to create some space for myself, relax and rest just for a little bit, and then make the decision when I'm not exhausted.
Making the decision when you're not exhausted, stressed, or overwhelmed allows you to make a clearer, more objective choice about whether it's time to retire, give up the project, part company with an individual, or do anything else.
Blog Post Number - 3791
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