GOLF
the people you meet and they are by far the highlight of working abroad. I now consider several places home that I can return to whenever and feel part of the community. It’s a lot of fun… when I look at things that I
have experienced that would have never happened, had I not packed my bags aged eighteen. I’ve partied in several European cities, attended many leading sports events and eaten a whole array of different foods. Everywhere I have lived, I now have the opportunity to experience them totally as a tourist or as a local.
And, what about in the workplace; how do you find that?
Greenkeeping teams are similar the world over. People work hard, they are committed to the job but also find time to get plenty of enjoyment out of the day.
The language can be entertaining, non- more so than when I started in Ireland, working with a guy from Drogheda. Yes, he spoke English, but I’d say it took me a week to understand a word that was said. The language barrier brings about some very entertaining moments, certain words can be mis-translated quite easily with several strange looks. One tip coming to The Netherlands, “Neuken in de keuken” does not mean “How are you?”.
You’ve spoken about both good and bad parts of moving abroad and looking after both your body and mind when you have certain emotions, earlier you told us about leaving your role in consultancy? How did that come about?
Looking back at that period in my career, brings up different thoughts now to what I had eighteen months ago. I'm grateful that I was given the opportunity to achieve a
28 PC December/January 2021
career goal much earlier than expected. I’ve accepted that actually not everything works out as planned and that’s okay. Working in consultancy, and I’m sure the same can be said for other technical roles within the industry, it’s certainly not for everyone. Experiencing these roles from the inside has given me the upmost respect for the individuals that work within the commercial side of our industry. Ultimately, the combination of an isolated job and living away from homes (I consider both Sheffield and Dublin to be home now) just wasn’t right for me. As the dynamic of the company and the role changed, I recognised the effects on my life that the role was having. I made a decision to walk away from my dream because it wasn’t working for me and I’m happy with my decision.
I learnt a lot with STRI technically from my colleagues and clients, and also a lot about myself. My dad always said to me “you only regret what you don’t do because there are always positive lessons to learn from doing things, even when it doesn’t work out” and it is so true. I’m happy I experienced it and found it not be the right path.
How did you come to the decision to walk away from STRI and the industry, when you were in what you thought was a dream job, with a mortgage to pay?
I have to be conscious that everybody reading this will be in totally different situations in their lives. Yes, I had a mortgage to pay, but my situation was helpful; I was single with no dependants. People have said to me “that’s easy for you” but I believe, by making the decision that was right for me, it has had a positive impact on my relationships with the important
people around me. I suppose, to some degree, you can be inspired to action or you can get to such a desperate position you have to take action. So that change was from one of a desperate position. I’m thankful to the people that offered support to me through that time. When we listen to our hearts, it tells us how we truly feel. By finding my quiet space (mine happens to be with my trainers on running), it allows us to clear the head and listen to the gut instinct in the heart. It’s only when the head comes back in that it will give us a hundred reason why not to do something. Follow the heart.
What happened during the time of resigning from STRI to now with you here in The Netherlands?
My change wasn’t made the moment I left the role, it was made when I realised it wasn’t the right path. In my limited spare time, I did education in different avenues, one being property. That way, when I finished work, I had something to support myself, I was invested in a property renovation. A change doesn’t start when you make the action, it starts when you change your mindset.
My break had begun and well, I needed it. I spent a lot of time evaluating my life, I leant on some of my learnings to guide the process. I continued to read numerous mindset/psychology books, something I’ve tried to do since I was younger, and pick out things that were relevant to me. One task I found beneficial was looking back at your younger self and asking are you being true to what 10-year-old me wanted? I was a child who loved playing team sports - cricket, football, rounders - you name it, I probably tried it.
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