The Final Lap?
Greetings, my loyal MotoReaders! I know it’s been a while, but I’m still here. As you know, or may have noticed, there are usually a few times a year that I “disappear” for a few months. That is because my paying gig requires all, or most, of my free time a few times a year, and when I do manage to have time off during these months, my “creative juices” either dry up or I sweat them out. Thankfully, though, these “tides of activity” ebb for a bit and I can get back to my creative writing and, more importantly- back to riding my motorcycle, which often is the best way to get that creativity flowing again.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m dangerously close to retirement. Now, before you go thinking that “retirement” means a Floridian neighborhood with socks, sandals, Hawaiian shirts, khaki shorts, golfing, crafts and planned events each night… I assure you that, no… I don’t mean that kind of retirement. You see, those that know me personally, know that my line of work allows for retirement at a specific waypoint in my career. This means that, while I don’t have to retire, I can. I’ve had to make a few accommodations to make it happen, but those are 97% done and just about the only thing left to do is file some paperwork to start the actual retirement process.
One could analogize it like this- I’ve been racing… lap after lap, and now the white flag has been waved. The only question left is- is the white flag warning of a slow moving racer… or is it telling me to get ready for the final lap?
Fuel Level- “DANGEROUSLY LOW”
Regardless of the flag’s meaning at the moment though, I’m having to take myself out of the race this week- I’m simply outta gas. The petrol ain’t “petrolling” and my tank is draining faster than my bike is riding. At the rate I was going, I was probably not going to make it another lap to find out if the next flag was the checkered, or another green flag, telling me to gas it and “go”!
Racing is actually a great analogy, because it perfectly sums up how I feel right now. I’ve got so many things going on, so many responsibilities to take care of and there are so many projects I’m working on, that I’ve begun to neglect all of them because I either run out of time every day, or I run out of processing power to handle them. One thing is started, then put on hold… then something else gets thrown on me, so I have to get that done. Then, the next thing I know, someone says, “Oh, cool… you got that done? Great! I need you to handle this now… it shouldn’t take long.” I read something lately, probably on social media, that said something like this (and I’m paraphrasing, here)- “The problem with being the most competent person at your job, is that your boss will take the work from the incompetent people and give it to you.” I don’t know who said it, so I can’t give credit, but damn… that is about as true as it gets.
It seems like the harder you work- the work gets harder. At some point, as you move up through the proverbial (or literal) ranks, your job should get easier… and it does, for some people, anyway. So why does it seem like most of us work our asses off, just to get more work piled on top of us? The simple answer is this- because we can handle it. Our bosses don’t want to screw us over… they just can’t let the machine grind to a halt because there is some booger-eating moron, staring blankly into the abyss, not sure how to do the job he/she has been charged with. The machine has to stay running, so the boss has to do what’s necessary to make that happen. It happens in every workplace… and I’d imagine that, no matter what kind of work you do- you can relate to this.
So, what does the race car driver do, when he’s low on fuel and it’s so close to the end of the race? Does he take the chance, gamble on the odds that he has just enough fuel to get to the checkered flag? Or does he pull in, get fuel and jump back in the race? Well, here’s the conundrum- If he’s leading the pack, taking the pit stop will surely give the other drivers a chance to take the lead. Then, once he’s back on the track, he’ll have to run like hell to retake the lead. But, if he chooses not to take the pit to get fuel, then he risks running out of fuel and not being able to finish the race at all. Decisions, decisions, decisions… and they are all on the driver to make.
Each, and every, one of us must make these decisions on our own, because we are the only ones that truly know our race cars. Regarding this particular situation- I decided to take the pit, refuel, regroup and get ready for the next lap… or the final lap, whichever it may be.
What if, then?
What if this is the final lap? How will I know? When will I know? Beats me. Honestly, folks… I have no idea. I’m going to handle it the way I’ve handled every other major decision in my life, though- I’m going to pray about it, think about it, ride about it, then I’m going to just play it by ear and see what feels right, when it feels right. The fact is, that no matter what happens in your job… or what could happen- a pending raise, a potential promotion, a change in leadership, or whatever might be on the horizon… each one of us has to decide on our own, when we are going to pull over, gas up, get some road snacks and take a different route. It’s the same for our personal lives, too.. but for this post, I’m primarily talking about my career, because that it something that isn’t something that I do, but rather, it’s something that has become a part of my personal life, so it’s something that I am. It’s not all that I am, but it is a large part of my identity.
You see, our career paths inevitably become one with our identities at some point, and it’s at that point of convergence that many people get freaked out and change directions. For those of us that embrace that convergence though, our personal and professional identities continue to intertwine more and more and, if we’re not careful, our career choice will become all we are… or at least, all we are known as, or all we are known for. For example- a guy that welds for a living becomes known by his friends and family as being a welder.
My career choice has definitely become my identity over the years, but… there’s also more to me than just what I do every day. I’m confident that there’s a helluva lot more to you, than what you do every day, and where you punch your time clock, too. Think about it like having a pocket full of mixed seeds, with each seed representing a specific talent or skill. The trick, then… is taking one of those seeds, and planting it, watering it, and letting the sun hit it, to see if it will grow.
As for me, I’m just hoping, that if this is the final lap of my metaphorical race, that the seeds that I’ve sown, outside of the racetrack that has been my profession so far, will take root, grow strong and flourish in the new light that they are given. So what are my “seeds”? Well, for the answer to that question, my loyal MotoReaders, you are just going to have to keep stopping by my little corner of the interweb to get the next update… because as of right now… I still don’t know.
What I do know, though… is that I plan on writing until I don’t have anything else to write about, and I plan on riding until I can’t ride anymore. I’m hoping, that if this is the final lap of my race, that the next path I get on will be as fun, rewarding and as exciting (well, maybe not as exciting) as this one has been.
Until next time…
Ride safe and make good choices!
***Special thanks to my friend, Brandon W. for the inspiration for this post today.
