Why the world might not understand your decisions, and why you shouldn't care

I wasn’t going to write another blog for a couple days, but after this happened I felt compelled to do so.

Andrew Luck was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL. The #1 pick in the 2012 draft by the Indianapolis Colts, Luck quickly played himself into the top tier of quarterbacks before injuring his shoulder in the 2015 season. What followed was four years of grueling recovery, including over a season and a half in missed games and trips to Europe to seek any treatment that would help his shoulder. After missing the 2017 season due to his shoulder, he returned to form in 2018, leading the Colts back to the playoffs and winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year.

Then, after injuring his calf and ankle in the 2019 preseason, Luck abruptly retired, citing his injury history and that it robbed him of his love for the game. In response, fans booed him off the field, and some former players like Chris Johnson berated him on Twitter.

If you watch the press conference where he announced his decision, Luck is obviously emotional and struggles to speak about his decision without getting choked up. This isn’t what he wanted, and the Colts know this. They wouldn’t have let him keep $25 million they could’ve gotten back if they didn’t appreciate him and stand by his decision. So, why should you care about this situation, especially if you’ve never heard of Andrew Luck before?

Luck’s retirement demonstrates one of the most important life lessons on the largest possible scale. He made an extremely challenging decision, one he wouldn’t have made if he was healthy, and those closest to him, the ones affected most by his decision, steadfastly stood by him. And those that are further away, such as fans and some former players, ridiculed him, calling him “soft.” Really? A former NFL player is soft? I don’t think so.

Luck’s retirement and its aftermath illustrate that the only people who may truly understand your decisions are the ones closest to you. Or sometimes, the only person who may truly understand your decisions is yourself. And that’s fine. Sometimes, you just need to do you and not care about what other people think. It’s definitely easier said than done, and I’m sure Luck felt terrible getting booed off the field. That was wrong. But as fans heal, they’ll forgive him, and they might even understand his decision. However, Luck shouldn’t care about that. He made the right decision for himself.

I felt pretty similar when I started my blog. I wasn’t sure how it would go over, and I didn’t know if I felt fully comfortable putting myself and my writing out there for people to see. I still don’t know if I’m fully comfortable with it. I’m sure there are some people out there that think it’s dumb, or that my writing isn’t good, or maybe they have some other issue with it.

But I still think I made the right decision, and I’m going to roll with it. If I had this blog idea a year ago, I don’t think I would have done it. But I’ve come a long way in the past year. Because of that, I’m proud of my decision. Andrew Luck should be proud too.