Last week, I made a decision – a big one – I quit my job!
I’d only been in the position for 14 weeks but what at the time of the interview seemed ‘quirky’ became micro-management of the worst kind.
I needed the job for the usual reasons, money, self-esteem and because I wanted to make a difference, but when you’re micro-managed to within an inch of your life making any difference isn’t going to happen, and with it, I was disappearing.
Twooldgirls was born out of a desire ‘not to disappear’ as Jan and I age actively. We’re both tired of being constantly nudged into ‘old age’, told we must accept the way our bodies look, how we’re supposed to behave, and God forbid that we expect them to be athletic.
Quitting a job that paid well, was situated in a stunning position on the waterfront in Sydney and most of the time involved working with lovely people, wasn’t easy, but it was a decision I HAD to make for me to survive.
“In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worse thing you can do is nothing.” Theodore Roosevelt
Decision making is crucial to survival, sometimes those decisions work, often they don’t but without change, there is no growth, no adventures in life and you arrive at the end with nothing but regrets. It’s scary jumping blindly into the unknown but when you open your eyes after the initial leap there are often surprising things waiting, and of course, the occasional tough landing.
Ironman training and racing is very much a leap of faith. Whenever someone asks what the race entails you can see how their brains just can’t fathom how anyone can even contemplate a 3.8km swim/180km ride all topped off with a marathon, let alone actually do it!
Last week saw 2500 Ironman athletes from all over the world compete in the Ironman World Championships in Kona. Around 100 are professional triathletes whose next meal is very much dependent on a win; this race only pays 10-deep so there were 80 professionals racing who would have been very much out of pocket.
For Ironman triathletes Kona is the Mecca of the sport. Both Jan and I have been fortunate to race there, Jan five times and me a glorious once and believe me to get there is no mean feat. Some triathletes never realise their dreams, some race for years without qualification spending thousands of dollars on race entry fees, equipment, coaches and travel and all for a maximum 17 hours of glory. They make sacrifices with work and family, sometimes to their detriment – so why do they do it?
I fell into Ironman racing by accident but how I got to my first start-line in 2006 involved a series of decisions and a lot of fear about the unknown. Quitting my job last week didn’t seem anywhere near as daunting as it might have done pre-Ironman.
Buzz words get thrown around in the workplace, the same can be said for sport but I think a handful sum up what keeps me motivated – passion, stubbornness, fearlessness, faith, strength, determination and a massive dose of ‘don’t tell me I can’t’.
I am also incredibly fortunate to have 101% support from Allan, without that life would be difficult, so never underestimate support networks when it comes to a leap into the unknown, but it doesn’t all have to come from a partner.
Yesterday I had to go to the bank. A young man served me, and we got on to talking about triathlon, not because I wanted to talk, but he simply said, ‘You’re obviously very fit‘. He didn’t know anything about triathlon, let alone the Ironman distance but 10 minutes later he was offering me his business card, asking for advice and how he could get his mates moving and I walked away feeling supported, I hope he felt supported too.
I am also fortunate to have not been afraid of ‘re-inventing’ myself over my working life. I originally trained as a teacher, then fell into radio as a DJ and presenter moving into journalism and the online environment in its fledgling years. Once the triathlon bug bit hard I trained as a coach and have worked as a swim coach, gone back to journalism and I’m now back coaching. Many of the jobs I have had have been as a result of a ‘leap of faith’ a determination not to let life pass me by, worry about only the negative consequences, but fix my eye firmly on the position.
Never underestimate focus and passion
In one of my most corporate roles with APN in Auckland, all the managers of a new project I was working on were attending a one-day training session. One of the activities that sticks in my mind was a three-minute talk about focus that we all had to give. I chose my first Ironman race in Busselton, West Australia.
The swim back in 2006 was along the longest pier in the Southern Hemisphere almost 2km out to sea. The image of that moment is seared in my memory. I was standing on the beach with 800 other nervous triathletes, the sun was rising behind us casting a glow over the pier and without fail every single triathlete’s head was focused on that one point, it was amazingly powerful.
The next 13 plus hours were equally powerful and life-changing. The emotions throughout the day ebbed and flowed from absolute fear to excitement, embarrassment and elation, doubt and pride, but I was completely in control. I was hooked, and life has never been the same since.
Pay it forward!
Since 2006 it hasn’t all been plain sailing. Once you’ve completed an Ironman you tend to think you’re invincible and you’re not. You have races that are just the pits, you get injured, have accidents, meet some people you’d rather not meet again, but on the other hand regardless of the medal and the t-shirt you’re handed when you cross the finish line of an Ironman distance race you are handed what Maori would call ‘mana’.
Mana (noun) – authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma, a supernatural force.
Currently, in New Zealand, it is used to mean prestige, but its original sense was much broader – a tree that grows well has mana.
Completing an Ironman race is much more than something YOU achieve, it’s about taking that experience and moving forward into society with the mana handed to you, it’s a privilege, a responsibility to make sure that one day in your life helps you make a difference to those you come in contact with.
Twooldgirls isn’t just about Jan and me, the decision I made last week about my job isn’t just about me getting what I want or not being able to put up with a micromanaging boss, it’s about taking a stand against what is bullying, protecting myself so that I can protect others – it’s the mana I was handed back in 2006.
Kia Kaha!
Brilliant!!