Yahoo News is running this article on Ricky Williams choice to retire from the NFL at age 27. Link. So, what would cause Ricky Williams to give up $3.5 million per year to retire at the age of 27?
I have always considered Ricky Williams to have great superstar potential. As a diehard Nebraska Cornhusker fan I hated it when the Huskers would play Texas. When Ricky would run against Nebraska he would kill them. I thought he had unlimited potential. But, he has some personality issues that I believe made him what I call a "fragile" superstar. And, I believe that these had a big effect on him. CBS Sportsonline has a good article on Rick Williams' decision. Link. One paragraph in particular I appreciate. The article states,
In some ways Williams' decision to retire in his prime was not a surprise, because he was never the stereotypical football player. His passions include shopping and photography, and in 2001 he was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder, a condition contributing to his extreme shyness. While with the Saints, he often conducted interviews while wearing his helmet. He said he felt like a weirdo in New Orleans but professed to be happy during his two seasons with Miami.
Ricky's social anxiety disorder is something I can understand. I have some issues with shyness myself. Let me give you an example: I worked a good job from June 2003 through June 2004. The pay was great, the co-workers were unbelievble (I knew most of them from my military career and never thought I would be considered equal with them in the work environment, so I was flattered to get the job), the job was meaningful, but for some reason that I can't figure out, I wasn't comfortable there. I ended up resigning and moving on to another job that paid 20% less. My co-workers thought I was crazy for quitting. No one could understand why I would go to work for another company for less money, and sometimes I had trouble sorting it out in my head also. All I knew was that I wasn't happy in the old job, and I knew the Lord had something different out there for me and I wanted His best. Not a very rational decision in most people's eyes, but sometimes you just have to go with what you feel deep down inside is right. So, I won't criticize Ricky Williams for leaving Miami to travel, who wouldn't want to do that. To quote another famous Ricky, Ricky Nelson, "You can't please everyone, so you've got to please yourself." Sometimes you just have to do what doesn't make sense to others. Go for it Ricky. Enjoy life! Life is too short to now enjoy what you're doing.
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To start off, here is something that was a big help for me...
I just wanted to share information about something that has been a huge help with my Social Anxiety (has reduced it by 75% for over a year now.)
It's a free network of free support groups for people with Social Phobia and other Social Anxiety problems.
The name of the organization is-- Social Phobics Anonymous
SPAs' web address is:
www.healsocialanxiety.com
.
Social Phobics Anonymous (also called S.P.A.) uses a 12 step recovery approach, adapted from A.A. and O.C.A. to recover from our Social Anxiety Problems.
In addition to the 12 steps, we also use the principles for healing fear developed by Rhonda Britton in her book "Fearless Living".
**S.P.A. is not opposed to other recovery approaches and a good percentage of SPAs members use our approach in combination with other therapies-- like medication, behavior therapy, exposure therapy, ect with good results.
SPAs' phone number(if needed) is (303) 404-3747 (based in USA although SPA provides help to Social Phobics/Social Anxiety sufferers anywhere)
Again-- SPAs support groups are free. SPA is a volunteer run organization.
Please feel free to list this on webpages, share with friends, or print out and pass on.
Many Thanks,
Phil, Social Phobics Anonymous
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