08 Mar 2008 12:28:38 | David Stoddard
There comes a time when we are presented with an opportunity for
something better than what we have. A new job or promotion which
will take us closer to what we have dreamed, or you get a letter
in the mail saying you may already be a winner.
You might even feel like chucking it all and joining the flying
Wallendas as you tour around the world on your tightrope of
fame, or maybe you'll just feel the need to get off the hamster
wheel and find something new.
It's all good. It is your life, and you have the right and
responsibility to yourself to do what you need to do, want to
do, or just would like to do.
Maybe you hate the idea of leaving a job you like a lot but know
there is something better you are moving towards. Perhaps you
have just been there because you couldn't see yourself doing
much else for one reason or another, until now. Or, like so
many, you cannot wait to tell those so-and-sos what you really
think of this place as you walk out the door, head held high and
never looking back.
But as you think about it, there come these mixed feelings. Yes,
it is time to move on with your life. But I have so much freedom
in this position. Not sure at all what I am getting myself into
moving forward. They never respected me nor what I brought to
the table, forget them. I was good at what I did. I hope they
can handle things without me. Boy, will they be sorry I'm gone.
It isn't always easy moving from one part of your life to
another. If it was a place we liked most of the time, we hope
that those we leave behind will be able to handle things without
us. On the other hand, when we don't feel appreciated as we
leave, we hope so strongly that the place will just shut down by
time the door closes behind us.
Truth of the matter is, life goes on. The places we leave will
be fine. Sure, they may scramble a bit to get reorganized, our
former bosses may feel hurt that we would dare leave them, and
we will definitely be blamed for anything that just isn't right
for about a year or so later.
But we can't let that stop us. Sometimes, we overstay our
welcome. You see it in sports when a once great athlete tries to
stick around for one or two more seasons too long.
But, nothing is forever, much less any one job.
Probably, one of the hard things to deal with is the feeling of
being replaced. I've been lucky. The last two jobs I left, I was
not replaced. Well, at least not right away.
It takes away the option of being able to go back. In a sense,
you're stuck with the decision and have no other real choice but
to move forward. And that, despite what we feel, is a good thing
too. Safety and security are can be the worst things for us at
times. They keep us grounded, they keep the status quo, and the
longer we stay, the harder it will become.
There are countless hall-of-famers in all walks of life. Sad
thing is not everyone gets to be enshrined in the hallowed halls
like they do in Cooperstown, Canton, or even here at the bowling
hall-of-fame in St. Louis.
One thing those we immortalized have in common is that someone
else at one time or another replaced them, just like they had
replaced the ones before them.
It's part of the whole circle of life I suppose. Even though so
often it feels as if we are going nowhere and life as we know it
is just standing still, it's not. It's constantly moving
forward. And we will all reach these points of decision at one
time or another.
Let's hope we don't start asking ourselves "What If" when it's
our time to go.
About Author :
Pick up a copy of David's 12-page e-booklet "In Search Of
Ourselves" when you subscribe to his free motivational
newsletter "Que Sera Sera." Mail to:
que_sera_sera-subscribe@topica.com. Or visit him online at
http://www.djstoddard.net