Dear Tom, I TOLD YOU SO!

I don’t often talk like that. In fact, I find that I will go out of my way not to say it or even hint at it. But now since Tom Brady is back, I will state it in capital letters:

I Told You So!

    Let me explain. If you will recall, in one of my recent blogs, 

Retiring the Big R - Imagine the Possibilities!

I talked about trying to find a substitute for the word ‘Retirement.’ I do feel replacing  (or enhancing) the word is important because the connotation is just dripping with...

"it’s over!  
you’re a has been!  
you are outa here! and
 you have become a 'usta be!’ "

Tom Brady felt it, I’m sure. After all, when he decided to quit playing football, here is how he announced it:  “I am not going to make that competitive commitment anymore.”

​Rather fancy, huh? Kind of a dancing around the situation, right? He could not bring himself to say, “The Big R” word, so he just used some other pretty words instead. But the meaning was there: I am retiring and “imagining the possibilities.”  … at least for a little while. 

"Acting Before Thinking is Regret"

Here we are two months later, and I’m sure you heard the news: ​

Tom Brady said Sunday he is returning to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his 23rd season in the NFL. The seven-time Super Bowl champion announced his decision on Twitter and Instagram, saying he has unfinished business.

​Uh, yeah. ‘Unfinished business.’ Ok, now maybe you will try to tell me he was made an offer he couldn’t refuse. Money? Really? Tom Brady would be swayed by the money? I doubt it. 

Instead, he found himself in the position that I have warned you against - namely, regretting the decision soon after leaving work and then wasting time trying to figure it all out. It can be nice during that honeymoon phase of the first few months, having no schedule or responsibility. But it’s when you start longing for connection, searching for identity and finding your purpose that  the questioning and doubting begin.

The Takeaway

Unless you are forced out, do not leave your work until you have some idea about how and with whom you will spend your time. It is so important to get involved in some interesting, satisfying, and challenging activities OUTSIDE OF WORK many years before you plan on reaching ‘The Big R.’ Which brings me to another of my blogs:

A Sense of Belonging..., It's a Basic Human Need!

​Please go back and reread my two previous blogs through the links above. Be smart, and don’t be like Tom Brady. (Has anyone ever said that before?) Contact a Retirement Coach today (maybe me?) and imagine the possibilities!  Enough said, except  ...

 I TOLD YOU SO!

Loretta
P.S. If anyone out there knows Tom, please send him my contact information. I’ll be glad to help him figure things out.