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In the noise of the last few months, I have found the time to make some profound life decisions. While COVID-19 has made the school, I worked in unsustainably busy (like all schools), I had enough time to decide on making a tree change. And hence, the topic of this blog is Tree Change, Family Time and My 3 Most Important Things.
So while Paul has been holding up the fort for me in more ways than one, I have been plotting my family's escape to the Hunter Valley. Not a bad choice of location if I do say so myself. The decision was hard initially, how do you tell your friends, colleagues and athletes that you are abandoning them for a better life for me. Then it got harder with all the questioning about why, how and when did you make the decisions. Then exponentially harder when I realized how many people have relied on me. Some of those people I will always wonder if they are O.K.. But, after all of that, there have been and will be even more beneficial components adding to the move.
Firstly, my tree change will be a fresh start for me, but also a fresh start for the squads I leave back in Sydney. I have always thought the consistency in voice or in training is essential. But I also know that if you hear the same voice or have the same person in charge, you can become institutionalized, which is never a positive.
Secondly, family to me has always meant the world to me. Why didn't I put this first!! And it will mean that we are closer to our family and I will have more time to give to my family. For instance, today I got to take Tommy for a bike ride, a walk in the forest and I got to sit down and have all my meals with him... It has been a while since I have done that!
Thirdly, it has meant a fresh start for us. We have been able to clear out our physical baggage, our possessions that have been holding us back and evaluate what is important to us. Although, I am surprised my PS4 made the cut.
In the process of moving up, I had a couple of car trips on my own. Five to be precise, and the trips took a little more than 2 hours, so I got to get in some quality podcast time. I listened to a couple by Alistair McCaw and a few from Getting Things Done (GTD), a couple of Daily Stoics, and a few from the Art of Manliness ones. While I was listening, I found a common thread, which was to set out 3 of the most important things that you want to tackle in your day. If you subscribe to GTD or Leo Babauta's Zen to Done you're hitting your '3MITs'. If you subscribe to Steve Covey or Brett McKay, you are tackling your 'Big Rocks'. Or if you are an Allistair McCaw follower, you are trying to be 'Champion Minded' by making yourself a better person, by making those around you better people.
Now I don't entirely buy into most of that stuff but listening to it has given me a purpose for the next few months. I free to spend as much time as possible with family, so that's one point ticked off. I am going to be doing some solid work on myself, professionally I have been hitting some zoom calls and conferences. Uni starts back next month, and I have worked hard on getting more content up on Team Gazelle Running. And I am back out running again, so that checks off my 3 Most Important Things.
1. Family
2. Professional Development and Being a Life-Long Learner
3. Being Physically Active
So that is what I am up to at the moment. While I know, I will miss the majority of people who I have worked closely with I feel I am in a much better place, and maybe I will start getting the ball rolling with a squad up here soon!
Bradley Woods
Head Coach/Founder