It’s a fascinating dilemma:
When should a person resign from an organization, a board, or a position of authority?
To put it bluntly as a gambler: “when should we ‘fold’ and throw our cards on the table?”
Please take note, I’m NOT asking you when it’s good to become a ‘quitter’, in the sense that most people would use that term. What I AM asking is how do we know when it is right to open the door for another person to step in as we are stepping out?
I came to a moment this election year when I was approached to run for County Commissioner. (In some states, the position is called County Supervisor.) The logic was that my 2022 race for State Senate raised a great deal of money and volunteers, though the district itself was very BLUE and I am a RED state kinda guy. I was nominated in the Primary and lost in the 2022 November election.
The hope was that the county where I live would certainly bleed Red on Election Day 2024 and I would gain a seat. That was THEIR hope.
The only problem was that I didn’t want to be an elected County executive on a Board of 3 Commissioners. Others could do that better than I.
Instead, I wanted to be a better husband to my newly retired bride and a father/friend to my adult kids, and a Papa to their young kids. I did NOT want to be involved in the 2024 election cycle, other than to vote.
And so I withdrew my name from consideration for election. I resigned, in a sense.
Sometimes it’s just a good life strategy to exit stage right and “NO ENCORES” as Tom Hanks told The One-ders.
The key to considering resigning from something that you previously placed your heart, soul, spirit and mind into is found in these questions:
- Why am I involved? What’s the TRUE reason I’m doing this thing?
- Would my absence open a door for others who might be better skilled to do a good job in the future?
- Would my resigning from this task allow me to live more simply in my life?
Let’s unpack them one at a time.
Why am I involved In this?
How did I first get myself into this organization, denomination, service club or job opportunity?
The honest reasons might really surprise you.
Maybe it’s an obligation you shoulder because you’re trying to please someone who’s not even in your life any more! Maybe it’s a false sense of personal value. If… then. And once you withdraw from that position, your clarity regains balance and you see straight once again! “Heck no, I’m not doing that anymore!” may become your NEW perspective.
Regardless of what your vice-grip is: loosen it, pull your thoughts from the pressure of it, and say NO to further involvement.
Would your absence open a door for others to join in the fray?
Hey listen, you were once a newbie and didn’t know squat about what you are a now being called, a “recognized expert”! Fresh blood means fresh thoughts. Fresh faces mean less wrinkles. More YES means less NO.
And maybe, just maybe, you’ve been around too long. For all the criticism that Joe Biden got for hanging on too long, the truth is he EVENTUALLY decided to quit. My guess is that his 81-year-old mind and body are thanking his decision.
Would your resigning from this task allow you to live more simply in your life?
For me, my decision on this third point involved making a decision to retire from the Board of Directors of Campus By The Sea in October, a full year after a new Executive Director was hired. He’s done a GREAT job and my time in service needed to come to an end, opening up a slot for a new Board Member. So, this past week I’ve spent time on Catalina Island at this camp, finishing off my responsibilities as a Board Member. I resigned on Sunday. My life became more simple.
By years end, I may resign from a few other obligations, simplifying my life even more.
The key is that I’m choosing Susan and my family and their families to just “be” and not “do”.
So what’s YOURS? What’s got itself wrapped around you?
PTA, church committees, additional work projects?
Too much of BIGNESS and not enough of smallness?
Too much inhaling and not a balanced amount of exhaling?
Think on it and let me know: Why are you doing things? What open doors are you obstructing for others? Could you choose to live a simpler life?
Let me know.
More later,
Den
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- Take an inventory of what gives you life and what takes life away from you.
- “Fire” those things that suck marrow out of your bones. Stay with what gives you life.
- Start finding good people to backfill your possible absence(s). They want to be asked!
- Resign!