As we start a new, uncertain, year my thoughts are with those facing change and upheaval. Although I recently had to say goodbye to a job and a group of workmates I loved, I was lucky.
It didn’t come as a surprise, in fact my contract was extended due to the pandemic and I had an exit plan and something new to walk into.
Not everyone has that luxury and I’m hearing about more and more people who are suddenly out of work or whose businesses are under strain.
If there is one thing I have learned during my time as a professional sportsman, the best thing to do in testing times like these is to talk.
As players, we would often have concerns and worries whether that was down to not being selected, poor performances or new signings challenging your place.
Because we were all so close, it came naturally for us to unload … or equally importantly, just listen.
You may not have a social circle of 50 mates you can lean on but nevertheless, there is support out there often independent and free. Use it.
I’d also encourage anyone finding themselves starting afresh in 2021 to set targets. Think about how you’d like your life to look in six and 12 months time and how you will get there.
You wouldn’t set out on a journey to a part of the country or world you didn’t know without looking at a map, and your life is the same.
Once you have set those goals, start thinking about the changes you need to make to get there and, again, who can help you along the way.
Visualise that brighter future and imagine yourself looking back at what you have achieved. Success stories are often born out of difficult circumstances. There is light at the end of the tunnel.
I am personally visualising a future when we can go back to playing rugby and welcome crowds back into Blackmore Field.
As unlikely as it seems at the moment, that day will come and the experience will be all the more rich because of what we have been through.
And to be honest, after retirement followed so soon by Christmas, I really could do with some game time.
Thank goodness my current employers don’t insert a GPS fitness monitor into the back of my shirt when I clock in!