Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Detour

Sometimes you need to take the detour, sometimes you have no choice.

Today life presented a detour to me.  I received the news that I was let go from Sprint (again).  My last day is next Friday and it is a bittersweet moment for me.  I have struggled to know my place here ever since they laid off my entire team last year.  I came back after about 5 months as they needed someone to work through some of the transition that was incomplete when they let my team go.  It was easy to come back to Sprint.  I love so many of my coworkers and after 23 years here things got pretty comfortable.  I’ve been pondering a whole career change ever since I came back and it looks as if I get to give that idea a try.

Once they told me about my being let go, they said I could go home early and take some time to think about things.  Well of course to me that meant only one thing, bike riding time.  I got home and ate a quick lunch and started preparing to ride.  I thought a few times about loading the bike on the Jeep so I could go do a different trail and almost talked myself out of it.  I knew riding from home could add an hour of precious bike riding time, but I felt drawn to ride the Gary Haller Trail rather than the tried and true Indian Creek Trail.  Finally I decided I must follow the urging and packed the bike to the Gary Haller Trail. 

I started riding and it’s amazing what riding can do for me.  It really clears my head and gets my mind working in a higher level kind of way.  I was clipping along nicely when I came to this:



Talk about a detour!

I immediately thought about how this forced detour paralleled my current situation.  The detour was not optional.  To continue going forward without paying heed to the detour would mean destruction (or at least a great deal of pain).  As I rode past this obstacle on the detour path I noticed that the path was not all smooth and comfortable (as the bike trail was).  It was on gravel and was bumpy and filled with potholes.  But in a matter of feet I was back on the path and moving quickly and comfortably again.  Another parallel struck me.  Detours are sometimes bumpy and not as comfortable.  They can be tough and painful, but in the end they can also be lifesaving.  And once you get past them you can start moving again.

I know that in the end this detour will be a good thing.  It gives me a chance to think about what I want to do for the next 20 years or so.  It gives me a chance to take care of things that I always say I would do if I had more time to do them.  It gives me time to take care of myself and my family. 

Last year when I got laid off I commemorated the occasion with this tattoo:



The translation  for this is – Never look back, continue going forward on your journey.  I need to remember why I got this tattoo as I move forward. 


In the meantime, I foresee even more riding as I will have some free time on my hands.  Hopefully I will be able to share more thoughts that come to me on my rides.  One thing that helps me is that I am a positive thinker.  I'm always looking for the silver lining.  I know I can and will find it!

9 comments:

  1. Nice post. Those are incredible words of wisdom full of advice. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Wow...that's a lot of deep corollaries there! I'm glad that you've got time to figure things out, and honestly, this seems to be the path change you were destined to find. Change is never easy, but when it's where you're meant to be/go, it is well worth it to get there. Wishing you luck and much family love during this transition!

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  3. Proverbs 3:6 says in all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Don't forget your faith Ronnie. We love you and believe in you!

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  4. RonM, I realize getting let go at Sprint *again* is painful....very painful. My first time was 12/31/09 after 12 yrs, then 10/24/14 after 2 years. 14 yrs there were good years for me just as your 20+ years were good for you. I really identified with your blog entry here and I commend you for your using biking as an outlet to think, reflect, and ponder the next steps in your career journey. You are inspiring many with your blog and I hope you continue with more entries.
    I have not gotten a tattoo yet. I might get one someday. I do enjoy seeing tattoos on people and asking them about their "tattoo story" because every recipient of a tattoo has a story about why they got one. I like the story about your tattoo....inspiring!

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  5. Thank you! You've made me think about my "detour." Having run half marathons and being stricken with avascular necrosis in my hip (bone death) was my detour. I wanted to run a marathon the following year until I found out about the bone disease. Now, instead, I read information on my health and think about the things I could do instead of running. It took me awhile to realize I had to be happy with the options that were put in front of me.

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  6. Nice job. I will be following you. Our paths are very similar!

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  7. Ron, we can all learn from you! Awesome post!

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  8. Great perspectives gained. You are in a really great place in processing this change. Go you! -Meleah

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  9. Outstanding post. Sorry to hear that you were forced to leave the mothership, but awesome that this opens up new opportunities for you and your soul.

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