When Is It Time To Step Away ?

I have spent roughly the past three years as part of a committee at work.  I originally joined this group, when it was first formed, because I was passionate about the agenda we were going to focus on.  I wanted to help establish a group of people that could promote education around this initiative.  I wanted to ensure that the right messages were meeting the right people.  I wanted to be a part of something bigger than myself but be able to make an individual contribution.

Over time, the group expanded to include new members, with some people stepping away for a variety of reasons.  I took on a bigger role in organizing the efforts of this group and was happy to do so.  We planned and facilitated an obscene amount of things: training courses for employees, discussion forums, open meet and greet events.  We partnered with groups outside of our work area.  We won some awards and recognition for our efforts, which allowed us to influence more people in a positive manner.  It was nothing short of everything I had hoped it could become.

But ... over the past year, I have found myself struggling to put forth the time and effort that this project is deserving of.  My passion was waning.

After much thought, I decided to step away from the group for at least a little while.  This came as a huge shock to many of my peers in the group, several of whom had begun to rely on my leadership and 'expertise' in this endeavor.  I could sense disappointment from many people, but I also felt supported in my decision, which meant the world to me.  In fact, that support convinced me to bring about one more change in the group, which will allow me to stay connected with much less time commitment.

Song Of The Day:
The first line from Foreigner's big hit "I Wanna Know What Love Is" is the reason it is featured with this post.  "I've got to take a little time, a little time to think things over."  We often rush through life so quickly that we just do things instead of reflecting on whether or not we want or need to do them.  When we take a little time to think things over we allow ourselves to make good decisions and feel good about them.

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