3:12 PM

The meeting ended seven minutes early.

That almost never happened.

He closed the Teams window and stared at his desktop. Someone had just asked whether he would take over the regional portfolio.

It was a good opportunity.

More responsibility. Better visibility. Probably more money.

Five years ago, he would have said yes before the meeting ended.

Today, his first thought was:

Oh god.

He caught himself.

There was nothing wrong with the opportunity. There was nothing wrong with the company. There was nothing particularly wrong with his life.

He was good at what he did.

Very good, actually.

That was part of the problem.

He knew exactly what accepting would mean.

More meetings. More decisions. More people bringing him things they couldn't solve. More problems he knew he could solve.

He opened LinkedIn.

Someone he used to work with had started a company.

Another person had announced a sabbatical.

Someone else had written a long post about reinventing himself at fifty.

He rolled his eyes at the post.

Then read the whole thing.

A Teams notification appeared.

He closed LinkedIn and went back to work.

But the thought stayed.

Given who I actually am, what makes sense from here?