Posts Tagged burnout

Strevo (back in a while)

Earlier this season, William Peterson, Grissom on CSI,  one of the top-rated shows on TV, walked away from the role that put him on the map.  The reason that he gave was that he wanted to do something different.  Like theater.  Many people thought that he was crazy to give up that gig.

Tiki Barber, of the New York Giants, one year removed from the best year of his career, announced his retirement, effective at the end of the 2006 football season, during the 2006 season.  He wanted to get into TV journalism.  I thought he had a couple more good years left in his legs.

Going Out On Top

What causes people who are seemingly at the top of their games to take their ball and go home?  The answer is boredom.  The thing that they’ve conquered has become drudgery.  Been there, done that.  Burnout, as Dick Vermeil put it when he resigned from the Eagles.  Vermeil had just coached the perennial loser to the Super Bowl two years prior to his resignation.  But that was only the first time that he resigned on top.  He quit the St. Louis Rams after taking them to the Super Bowl, too.

But He’s Not Alone…

Vermeil is but one on a long, distinguished list.  Bill Parcells has jumped around alot, going from the Giants to the Patriots, then the Jets, Cowboys, and currently the Dolphins (though not as head coach).  Rick Pitino has held a variety of both college and pro basketball head coaching jobs (Providence, the Knicks, Kentucky, the Celtics, and Louisville).  But the granddaddy of job-hopping has got to be Larry Brown.  I’m not sure if it’s burnout in his case.  It seems the ink is barely dry before he’s scoping out his next destination.  Sounds like he’s following the strategy in Die Broke.

“Focus on the journey, not the destination.  Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it.”

-Greg Anderson (no relation to Barry Bonds’ trainer)

It seems that when each of these people had “finished” their “journey”, they’ve used up their joy.  When that happens, it’s time to start another journey.  It’s like the Woody Allen quote from Annie Hall:

“A relationship, I think, is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark.”

Just substitute “career” for “relationship”, and the metaphor applies.  If you don’t progress at your job, or if you stop learning anything new, then it’s time to look for another challenge.  Search for new obstacles to overcome.  Look for new success.  Keep moving forward, or you’ll wind up like that shark.

If you’ve liked what you’ve read, stick around!  I’ve got more good stuff rattling around in my head.

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