Hello, been a while since I posted some new material, but here it goes..............
So I have written quite a few posts about me, about my journey, who I am , who I was, self perception and more. Most are soccer related but a few of them were quite personal. My favorite among the non-soccer posts can be found via these links. apparently-i-might-just-be-a-low-key-nerd-or-some-i-am-told.html i-am-probably-fooling-myself-or-i-am-full-of-it.html i-am-nobody-and-i-am-everybody.html However today, I wanted to share a little about another reality that becomes quite evident as we become older..... I am no longer cool.... assuming I ever was. The word cool, when used to describe someone can mean many things. Cool means surviving a work day on only two hours of sleep and still being able to laugh and stay upright let alone function in any capacity. Cool means buying clothes that might be somewhat off standard and yet being able to pull it off. Cool means being able to hold the attention of a group of people sharing about funny stories and these same people genuinely enjoying them. Cool means being able to pick your own definition of the word and not letting others decide what it means. I am halfway through the year where when it is done, I will turn 55. I am at most three and half years away from retirement, the road ahead of me is significantly shorter than the one behind me. And until now, I always took pride in being well informed about the latest trends or news about day to day society. It was my way to remain relevant and be open to change, willing to adapt, willing to lead by example. Regardless of some of the stuff that you might have read via the 3 posts listed above, there was a part of me that naturally drifted towards leadership roles. Not because I thought I was better than everyone else, but moreso because if someone had to take charge why not me. So I never expected the day would come when I wouldn't have the same drive and that I would actually be able to let go, and not freak out when I didn't have a say on what was going on around me. I mean, I still have a bit of that, but to be honest, I don't worry as much anymore about things that I can't control. And yet, the day has come. Or more precisely, the day actually came a while ago. I'm just coming to terms with it now. I work in an academic institution where the majority of students are between 17 and 20, I am surrounding by coworkers who for the most part are younger and sometimes MUCH younger than I am who prove to me every single day that I actually know nothing. About anything. And the more I hang out with the 20 and early 30-somethings in my office, the more I realize, much to my chagrin, I'm kind of not cool anymore. I've never been one to be at the forefront of changes in technology, I was far from an early adopter but I wasn't one those that only changed when they absolutely had to. I was late to getting Facebook for sure, I really only got twitter a couple of years ago, and while I have instagram, I really don't use it. I hate texting but accept that it has become the most prevalent form of communication. For the interest if sharing a very specific life event ( the 2009 FISU games), I made the website to share pictures and it became the blog from which you can read this post. I blog when I can, I tweet at intermittent frequencies, I try and stay relevant with today's music, tv shows and movies. I prefer TV channels to streaming services, I understand how technology works but while I'm still looking up acronyms that people send to me to close off emails or tweets. (Thank god for google or I might never know what SYS, LMAO or TTYL stand for). I am at a point of my life, when I have started to run out of great life experiences with which I can regale my friends or co-workers. Now when I still stories, in mind's eye, I think of myself as the old guy holding onto former glories. I am not hip, cool and with coaching is done, I have lost the chance to stay in contact with a younger part of society that helped me need to make sure I understand what made younger people tick. I am no longer cool, let me say it again But here's the surprising thing -- I'm actually not as upset at the loss of my "coolness" as I thought I would be. (Is it even cool to say "cool" anymore? Maybe I should google that.) I've accepted the fact that I'll always be playing catch up with the lingo and technology. I will never look great in the latest fashion trends, I have male pattern baldness, I hurt like crazy after intense physical activity, I can't go out an eat 3 burgers, large fries and 4 beers and feel like I still need to eat, I have to get up 3 times a night to pee and no one is coming to me for advice. So as I approach the double 5s age, I've decided to redefine what it means to be cool, or at least what cool means to me. Cool means knowing I have worked hard enough in my time to be able to spend extra for the luxury room at a resort, about driving my Subaru SVU because it is safe and gets through the snow with ease and not that my care is a status symbol, I don't need to survice a work day on only two hours of sleep and still being able to laugh and stay upright, but I know that if I really have to, I can, because I've been there, done that. Cool means knowing that I have had a great life, that I am really ok with who I am today and that if people don't like me, it just might be more about them that anything to do about me. Cool means being able to pick your own definition of the word and not letting others decide what it means. Or it just means being who you are -- and being ok with just that.
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AuthorAfter many years of coaching at various levels and with different teams, I thought I would share some of my experiences and thoughts about coaching. Archives
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