ContinentalRef
New Member
Hi! I'd like to ask for your advice on quitting.
Here's a little background: I've been a referee for 17 years which has been a childhood dream for me. Now, I've reached a plateau in my career, having been a third division referee in my country for more than five years—which I think is not bad, but nothing exceptional. It seems that at 33, I won't be achieving the goals I set for myself when I started. I'm quite okay with this, and refereeing at this level still gives me the adrenaline rush I guess we're all addicted to. However, since I've slowly let go of my long-term goals, I've come to realize that I was able to tolerate the negative aspects of refereeing because I was aiming for a very optimistic, distant goal. If I remove that from the equation, putting up with the time and energy spent on training, packing, driving on the highway for hours, and dealing with the circumstances—not to mention how hard it is to recover after a challenging Sunday—seems much less worth it. I know I could still do it; I just don't want to be the guy whose performance and dedication start to decline and who doesn't realize he's becoming the parody of his former self as a referee. On the other hand, as great as free weekends seem right now, I'm worried about how I'll be able to fill the void. It's just hard to let go of something I've done for more than half of my life. I'm very interested in your opinions, especially if you've ever faced such issues, how you coped with burnout or retirement, and how you decided whether it was time to say goodbye.
Here's a little background: I've been a referee for 17 years which has been a childhood dream for me. Now, I've reached a plateau in my career, having been a third division referee in my country for more than five years—which I think is not bad, but nothing exceptional. It seems that at 33, I won't be achieving the goals I set for myself when I started. I'm quite okay with this, and refereeing at this level still gives me the adrenaline rush I guess we're all addicted to. However, since I've slowly let go of my long-term goals, I've come to realize that I was able to tolerate the negative aspects of refereeing because I was aiming for a very optimistic, distant goal. If I remove that from the equation, putting up with the time and energy spent on training, packing, driving on the highway for hours, and dealing with the circumstances—not to mention how hard it is to recover after a challenging Sunday—seems much less worth it. I know I could still do it; I just don't want to be the guy whose performance and dedication start to decline and who doesn't realize he's becoming the parody of his former self as a referee. On the other hand, as great as free weekends seem right now, I'm worried about how I'll be able to fill the void. It's just hard to let go of something I've done for more than half of my life. I'm very interested in your opinions, especially if you've ever faced such issues, how you coped with burnout or retirement, and how you decided whether it was time to say goodbye.