So Nico Rosberg has retired from Formula 1 – just 5 days after becoming world champion. It was a shock to most people. And I listened carefully to what he said when he announced it – “I’ve decided to follow my heart and that’s what my heart tells me.”
And… “It just feels right.”
Which is music to the ears of any F**kiteer.
This was Nico Rosberg’s F**k It moment.
We should all try to follow our hearts more, to do what ‘feels right’, shouldn’t we? Well, generally, YES. Against the wisdom of the world – which is to pursue success and riches (and in Rosberg’s case, the next sponsorship deal) – to walk away from it all is brave indeed. Rejecting what the world wants of us, and following our own path, takes a huge ‘F**k It’.
So I am inspired by his move. But… BUT… It was VERY hasty.
Imagine his flood of emotions, at finally winning the World Championship, of achieving the peak of his sport… the elation, the relief after battling for so long, and so hard… To make such a monumental decision in the midst of that. And we don’t know all the background, of course.
But as much as I am inspired by Rosberg’s F**k It moment, it reminds me that we F**kiteers should generally pause for thought before we make the big leaps.
I offer this bit of advice most often in the context of Doing What We Love. It’s tempting to jump out of the job you don’t like with great hopes about where life will take you next. But I will usually say to people ‘don’t give up the day-job, not just yet anyway’.
And Rosberg has just given up his day-job.
Though ‘F**k It’ is my prescription for most situations, I’m a natural pragmatist. And when my heart is screaming something, I bloody well listen. But I also sit down and let the head have its say. And the head is very considered – “Okay, I’m listening, but let’s just give it some time, let’s look at different options, talk to a few people, and let’s see how we feel in a few days eh?”
The considered head, for example, doesn’t tweet slights about China in the middle of the night. But that’s another story.
PS. I found this Puma ad starring Rosberg – the idea is that he’s at home, relaxing, rocking the baby’s cot, sunbathing, and riding his unicycle! How peculiarly prescient that was. Maybe it was his early signal to the world of his intentions.