In the past, I have frequently treated holiday weeks as a time to tamp down the breadth and scope of my posts. The resulting blogs are typically shorter and more tightly focused. Even though Independence Day is over, I will maintain that trend this week. Of course, I hope you commemorated the sovereignty and freedoms associated with being an American in ways you deem appropriate and desirable, in honor of the 235th Anniversary of
Last week I likened my own recent medical procedure as a touchstone for helping to ensure that we men take the requisite measures to maintain and enhance our quality of life, so as to enhance the lives of those whom we care about, and those who care about us. In today’s post, I have once again personalized the discourse.
When I left the office at 5:00 PM, Friday, June 25th, 2010, it was not simply a matter-of-fact start to an otherwise typical weekend. Oh no; it was the beginning of a new, and for all practical purposes, confounding adventure for me. That Friday, a little over a year ago, was my last day as a member of the "ranks of the employed."
It has been my intention since then to sift through this career-culmination in a blog post. The deep thinkers among you will no doubt characterize this effort as a pathway to some kind of cathartic immersion, and metaphor-ize it as an emotional purging on par with the physical cleansing I endured in preparation for the Colonoscopy I referred to last week. In all honesty, I am probably just not that process oriented.
Oh, to be sure, I needed to synthesize and assess the events of more than three decades of continuous work life. It was necessary for me to gain traction in my new life arc, and to land and acclimate to my new time and space continuum. During the past year, away from the demands and rigors of the daily work grind, I was afforded an opportunity to recalibrate, rejuvenate, and revive.
Oh, to be sure, I needed to synthesize and assess the events of more than three decades of continuous work life. It was necessary for me to gain traction in my new life arc, and to land and acclimate to my new time and space continuum. During the past year, away from the demands and rigors of the daily work grind, I was afforded an opportunity to recalibrate, rejuvenate, and revive.
As a seasoned public service professional employee and manager, it is fair to say, by all accounts, I enjoyed a successful career. In the process, I accrued more than three decades of uninterrupted service in progressively responsible positions, managed over 100 employees, prepared/executed budgets exceeding twelve million dollars, annually, and built and maintained a reputation of fairness and integrity.
When all is said and done, it is indeed plausible to look in the rearview mirror and conclude all is well, and more important, all is as it should be. Yet, I cannot say I was there, June 25th, 2010.
Why not?
In retrospect, while the answer is still somewhat difficult to articulate; after a sufficient season of post-career analysis, I can now confidently say the primary bases for my inability to enthusiastically embrace the finality of the conclusion of my career, at that time, were:
- The timetable for the end was not of my choosing
- My focus was on effectively fulfilling my job duties; not my transition plan
- Attainable goals were still on the table
- Work was still a productive and enjoyable pursuit
- The timing was premature, in my opinion
When I consider from whence I have come; from unremarkable beginnings to becoming a first-in-family college graduate, having augmented that by earning a professional degree, having completed a 30-year plus career, and still, leveraging opportunities to continue making contributions to society in general, and to my various personal communities in particular…I know there is a God, and moreover, that He has blessed me, beyond measure!
So, where am I now? “A Year Later: On the Other Side of the Rainbow!” That’s how I would describe it. For years, decades even, I maintained a laser-like focus on running the course. It has been said that old habits are hard to break. Axioms such as this are truisms, in large measure because we make self-fulfilling prophesies of them.
While I had discovered long ago, I was not my job, my work had, to some extend, become habitual. As such, stepping away was hard to do. In essence, the 30-year plus habit was hard to break. Ultimately however, it was akin to a satellite escaping the gravitational pull of its orbit. Once freed, the satellite can establish a new course, which is what I have done.
The good news about all this, and there really is good news, is that, I had completed that particular course. That does not mean I have no other courses to run, or dreams to fulfill, or feats to accomplish. In fact, quite the opposite is true. It means, instead, I now have the flexibility to chart those courses, chase those dreams, and claim those feats on my own terms, and in my own time.
That is how things are, “A Year Later: On the Other Side of the Rainbow!” I’m done; holla back!
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2 comments:
U 2, Bruh?
One window closes and multiple doors are openned for you, especially with your credentials.
So which door are you going to pass through? When and where will you enter? Enquiring minds wanna know, Bro., 'cause this could be the best thing to ever happened to you!
Then again, I am on the sidelines, just reading your blog.
Hope all is well with you.
Drop:
Thx for the good wishes. I do sincerely believe what you say is true.
As for those doors, I hope to pass through many of them. Which ones? You'll just have to wait & see. ;-)
'06!
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