Don’t put lipstick on a pig, make bacon
It’s Saturday night, and I’m enjoying a Bloody Mary from Silver Circle Monmouthshire (review in progress). Its fantastic. Perfectly spicy, it’s accompanied by Spectre in the background. I glance down at the time on the Rolex Explorer, 1:30 am. I mention the watch on my wrist as it is both a a promise I made to myself and a token from a tactical retreat I completed this week.
I resigned from my day job last month. Nothing specifically bad particularly happened, it just was wearing me down and wasn’t the organisation that I joined anymore. What’s more surprising is that I resigned from the dream job in a tremendously short period of time. It wasn’t the wrong fit, it was a bad one. Nothing about it made sense or matched the expectations set for (and by) myself.
Intel Drop
And while I thought everyone in my life would have some reservations about the decisions, everyone cheered and I was met with support. I was met with excitement at returning to doing things that I love as my primary income. I was gobsmacked, they’re all proud of me. But of course they are, you will be surprised at how objective people can be about a situation when it’s towards someone they care for. We’re less likely to have grace for ourselves than others.
How much more likely are you to advise someone else to cut their losses?
Cutting your losses is the right move more often than we think. I’m thinking of Craig (Ice Cube) in Friday and John Weatherspoon, telling him to “live to fight another day.” In the case of this mission, you may be realising that you have pressed forward and calculated against red flags. Now you’re outnumbered in a firefight. While you’re not necessarily outgunned, You know that you’ll need to white knuckle this to come out the victor.
But here’s the thing, not every prize requires a fight. Often the biggest ones, don’t. They require direction, determination and repetition. Fortune favours the bold, not necessarily the boisterous. If you can skip the fight, and still win…bet on yourself and double down on the right stuff. Let the enemy shoot at false targets. I picture a room full on henchmen shooting in the general direction of where they think James Bond is, meanwhile he is in his Chelsea flat drinking a Tom Collins with a brief case full of treasure waiting for his next brief.
Field Note
When you decide a fight isn’t for you, you may feel loss or a sense of frustration…but I’d recommend keeping the end goal in mind. Better to stay the path and keep ego in check.
Action
So you’ve left the fight, now what? Relax, breathe, and know that you’re an agile cat with 9 lives. You’re not in free fall. You’ve landed on your feet and you’re in an advantageous position. If you objectively don’t feel like you’re in a good spot…
The Closer
Follow your gut. If you’re needing to change the mission, be like Bond. Draft that resignation to a relationship, job, event or former self who’s holding you back. You don’t necessarily have to hit send. But it may be time to apply the brief to an entirely new mission.
