Day 319/365 "I Quit" (Explore!)
Originally uploaded by Wellstone
Before you read this post, I encourage you to read my post Story Of A Nudge first. I don’t mean to get all George Lucas on you here, but this is the prequel to that post. Don’t worry though. There is no sign of Jar Jar Binks in any of these stories.
I walked into work that day with a brisk pace. I had a purpose. I knew in my heart what I was doing was what needed to be done. I had tried for far too long to bring about some positive changes, but could no longer beat my head up against the proverbial wall.
To say I was frustrated would have been an understatement. It had been 4 years and nothing had changed. In fact workplace morale had only worsened and nearly every suggestion for improvement (by many, not just myself) was either ignored or shot down. It didn’t seem many at the top wanted to change anything, or they lacked the courage to do so. It wasn’t just me who had reached this point of no return. Many were tired. The letter I had in my hand was signed by myself and another manager. Though we had the moral support from our peers, we were the only two willing (or dumb enough some might say) to lay our income on the line and follow through with our plans.
We walked into the office of our district manager and handed him the envelope. Essentially it pointed out some of the problems the store was facing, how we had been trying for years to fix them, and how we could no longer continue in our current positions since there was no apparent effort to change the direction we were heading. We resigned from our positions and asked to be demoted to cashiers. Which is suicide, financially speaking, in the retail world.
I was pretty confident I wasn’t going to lose my job. I had some capital I could afford to spend, but I wasn’t sure what would happen economically because I was essentially asking for a demotion and a pay cut. I knew I couldn’t survive very long on the menial pay my new position would bring, but there comes a point where peace of mind is much more important than a couple more dollars an hour.
Sure, we were young and a little crazy for taking the risk, but looking back it was one of the best moves I’ve made for myself professionally. But, boy, was it scary.
If you did as I suggested at the beginning of this post and read Story Of A Nudge, you know what took place just about a month later. You also know I never would have had that encounter in my check-out line that afforded me the opportunity for a much better job had I not been willing to take the risk my partner and I took that day.
Sometimes in order to better ourselves, we need to take some risks.
In a poor economy you and I tend to withdraw and take fewer risks. It’s understandable. I get it. It can be scary, but you should never allow fear to paralyze you. If you’re ever going to bring about any change (whether in your personal life, or professionally), you will have to do some things that at first will be uncomfortable or even scary. If you aren’t willing to be a little scared or uncomfortable, you’ll end up just complaining all the time – and never going anywhere.
Do what is needed. Take a stand. Do what you know is right. Say what needs to be said. Move on if you must. Push through. Start taking steps to bring about real, effective change. But please, don’t just be frustrated, always complaining, and never willing to take any risks that could bring about change. For your sake and mine.
