As many of you are aware, this past fall I started a new job. I spent the past 5 years working for the YMCA and accepted a job as a teacher. I didn’t really talk about it much then, mainly because everything happened so fast that it took me a while to settle down and get my bearings. The decision was not an easy one for me to make, and it was one I wrestled with for a while. I was a part of great things at the Y. Sure the job had ups and downs like every job, but the ups were really high. I had great relationships with kids, parents, and co-workers. It was like a second home to me. But the limited time I was able to see Iron Man pushed me towards a tough decision.
Once the decision was made, everything happened so fast. With the timing of school starting, I was only able to give the Y a week’s notice (and felt like a complete jerk for it). I barely had time to say goodbye to all the families I had just spent years getting to know before I was caught up in a completely new whirlwind that is teaching. My emotions were all over the map that week (and made for an extremely awkward goodbye to my camp leadership staff). I knew at the time it would be the right decision. Looking back from where I am now, it absolutely was. But that didn’t make it any easier to make.
Life is easy when you are comfortable, but this can make the tough decisions even tougher. When the thought of leaving the Y first crossed my mind, my immediate reaction was, “what else would I do?” I am one of those people who will push off a tough decision when it means it will be really uncomfortable. I’ll look for every loophole and reason to stay exactly where I am.
Four months ago, I put up a post about how I would use the app periscope even though I was uncomfortable with it. You guys should have called my bluff because I think I scoped a couple of times and that was it. Then I went back into my comfort zone of ignoring the app. You would think that I would learn that stepping out of my comfort zone has lead to some of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done, but I haven’t. But in 2016 I plan to focus, and part of being focused will mean being uncomfortable. It will mean making tough decisions. And at the end of 2016 it will mean a pretty rewarding year.
until next time…