Briggs: I'm ending my run as IndyStar columnist
After seven wonderful years at IndyStar, this is my last week.
That sentence would be incomprehensible to any past version of myself. I have wanted to be a journalist since I was in middle school — specifically, I wanted to be a columnist. IndyStar has given me my dream job, the best one I’ve ever had, working with some of the most talented people in my industry.
I’m fortunate to say I’m leaving on my own. No one is yanking me off stage, although, in this business, a cane is ever at hand. That’s what we sign up for. Not just in newspapers, but in all media.
I could write a long list of reasons why I’ve decided to move on. What’s more interesting to me, though, and what I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on, is the status quo bias that made the choice so hard, so emotional, to follow through on.
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Here’s what I’ve learned: A good job is a tremendous gift. It can also be an impediment if you let it define you. I've struggled with that throughout my career.
As Annie Duke writes in her recent book, “Quit,” the hardest thing to let go of is your identity. I see that all the time from my vantage point. That’s why politicians sacrifice principles to win elections; why partisans suppress their sense of right and wrong to support the team; why business leaders persist down doomed paths even as the universe shouts that it’s over.
Our identities, our tribes, guide us to irrational places.
Well, that, and also our egos.
The simple part for me was determining it was time to do something else. But my childhood desire to become a newspaper columnist, and career-long pursuit of that goal, has been a profound barrier to change. I’ve heard the voice inside reminding me of how long I’ve worked to get to this point and how rare and wonderful this job is.
It is indeed wonderful. I’m fortunate to have a special connection with many of you, whether you enjoy my work or hate-read it. I hear from people in both camps and appreciate it all the same.
I have one of the best journalism jobs in America. It is tempting to dig in and cling to it forever, or at least however long forever lasts under the forces that exist outside my control. That line of thinking supposes permanence is attainable.
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That’s the ego talking. No one, not even the legends of any field, are permanent. Consider the most famous people to work in my business. The highest honor awarded to journalists is named after Joseph Pulitzer, a man whose achievements are buried underneath a Google search. The best-known journalist today is Bob Woodward. Who will remember what he did in 100 years? Two hundred years?
“This is going to sound grim,” Conan O’Brien once said in a New York Times interview, “but eventually all of our graves go unattended.”
O’Brien, who realized his dream of hosting “The Tonight Show” for fewer than eight months, did not actually view that idea as grim and neither do I. For the vast majority of us, our choices will not ripple into posterity no matter how much good work we do. That means each of us can blow up our self-concept over and over again with lower stakes than we might imagine.
O’Brien’s vision of untended graves offers freedom to focus on family, faith and personal growth over fears of missing out on some narrow potential. That doesn’t mean everyone should indiscriminately change course. It just means we can do something different even if present circumstances are satisfying and change feels unsettling.
This is unsettling.
I am going to miss IndyStar. I’ve loved doing this job, especially during the past three years as a columnist. I’ve loved covering Indianapolis, which will remain my home. I’ve worked for too many outstanding, supportive editors to name and you're reading these words because of them. I’ve benefited from working alongside insanely smart and talented colleagues who I know will continue to amaze me after I’m gone.
More than anything, I’ve loved the feedback and even the criticism from you. Many of you have reached out to tell me my work has helped make your subscription worth the money. There is no higher honor to me. I hope you will continue to support IndyStar’s work.
This run feels all too short. That might not be a bad thing. An underrated skill among content producers is to wrap up before jumping the shark. That’s an objective even my younger self could appreciate.
Contact IndyStar metro columnist James Briggs at 317-444-6307. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesEBriggs.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Columnist James Briggs to leave IndyStar
