Just this morning, I received a phone call from a close colleague of mine regarding his career. It seems that my friend was coming to a crossroads with his current vocation. Now, being rather long in the tooth, he has endured many eras within our vocation. But the question de jure is now how much longer can he put up with it? First, I am honored when any friend calls me to assist them with such an important discussion. It is important that when making life decisions, one should always confer with trusted friends as career consults. He was considering whether he should resign his current job, should he continue and weather the storm, or invest his efforts in a new job elsewhere. As we talked and weighed out several options, I could not help but recall how I had gone through the same life decisions a few years back.
The storm that he is going through was like mine from the past. I was fortunate enough to recall the advice given to me by an old friend of mine back during my stormy times. He told me that when you get into your car and start it up, you look at the various gauges. The oil pressure, the temperature, the fuel gauge and so forth. Just like the cockpit of an airplane, which has many more gauges, you check your gauges before you depart. However, when you start your day, do you look at your life gauges? Every morning when commuting to work, you need to consider what your life gauges are displaying to you. Of course, you check your health, pulse, blood pressure, temperature. Some check their credit score. And when you look at your life gauges, there’s one gauge that you should closely monitor, and I call that the misery gauge. So, what is your misery index today? Now of course I have written and proposed in previous articles that the pendulum will swing back. I have also always tried to be positive and upbeat for those who stay the course within this vocation. I keep telling my colleagues to call me if you need to talk. And as always, I am reminded that these storms too shall pass.
There comes a time when you arrive at that crossroads in your life. Most ponder if they have enough gas in their tank to tackle a new job or experience. Do you have enough stamina or gas to make it to full retirement? When you check your gas gauge, compare it to the misery gauge. Is it so burdensome that you must face the job every morning with regrets? Is it so burdensome that it will weigh you down with baggage to take home to your loved ones and family? If so, weigh your choices.
Now, I too have had a couple of career crossroads. The decision to pursue a chief’s job, stay and endure or test the executive waters was one. The final one was when will I know it is time to retire. I had to make it clear to myself, it is time, and the timing was right. When I did retire, I knew it was time to go. I was dealing with some elected officials who did not get it. I also had to deal with some other life choices dealing around family and my own better well-being. I am blessed to have a wife who always gives me insights in her own special way. She told me look for the unicorn moment. I questioned her and she replied, you will know when the time is right for you will have that unicorn moment. And sure enough, the day that I made the decision while going through several political storms, I looked and checked my misery meter, and it was pegged into the red warning zone. And at that time, I knew it I had my unicorn moment.
Now my advice for anybody going through these storms—how long do you wish to stay in a job or career? There’s a lot of factors into that and of course you must look at your own financial well-being. Your well-being and your family’s well-being is paramount. Always consider the long-term ramifications of your retirement options. There is no need to cut one’s nose off to spite their face. Sometimes we must just “embrace the suck” and endure it the best we can. The thing of it is, whether you have the gas in your tank or not is one thing. You can always change, re-energize yourself. You can take another career path just like I did and just like he may. But the thing I must remind you is checking your misery gauge. I never want any of my readers to become so miserable in their life that they bemoan going to work, or they almost regret their career choices. You are choosing your station in life, and I do not want you to lose your passion. Do not let the toxicity of the current atmosphere prevent you from your capabilities.
And it’s easy to say, “Oh, this really sucks, and I just need to quit.” But you need to weigh out all the choices. And my advice to all is this, in the morning, check your gauge. But at the end of the day, check your gauge again. The most important thing is, when you are with your loved ones or trying to enjoy time off, if the misery gauge is still pegged, it may be time. I do not want anybody to jeopardize your financial stability in these current perilous financial times. But, also find that your mental health and well-being is just as much of an investment. A healthy atmosphere for you and your family is also far, far more important. So, when you start your day, buckle up, but check your gauges.
William L. Harvey | Chief
William L. "Bill" Harvey is a U.S. Army Military Police Corps veteran. He has a BA in criminology from St. Leo University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville (103rd AOC). Harvey served for over 23 years with the Savannah (GA) Police Department in field operations, investigations and completed his career as the director of training. Served as the chief of police of the Lebanon City Police Dept (PA) for over seven years and then ten years as Chief of Police for the Ephrata Police Dept (PA). In retirement he continues to publish for professional periodicals and train.
