JG's Columns
JG's Retro Column: There Goes the Pain - Brock Doesn't Work Here Anymore
By James Guttman
Jun 17, 2006, 23:10

Originally Published: March 13, 2004

In any office there's a number of different personalities. Some people are energetic, some are grumpy, some are disenchanted, and some are just so happy to be there each and every day.

There's been times when each one of us has had a job that we're not happy with. For whatever reason, the passion and drive just isn't there. It doesn't necessarily have to do with success or failure. It's just a general feeling regarding the entire business. You show up each day, wishing you could quit. You would love nothing more than the opportunity to never walk into the front door of the building again.

Not everyone there feels the same way you do. There's people there that just seem to live for everything that happens within the office. They decorate for the holidays. They buy other employees balloons for their birthdays. They go out to lunch with the boss and laugh at his jokes, not because they're kissing up, but because they genuinely enjoy it. It's unfathomable how someone else in the same environment as you can love everything so much when you feel the exact opposite.

Even when you are recognized for your achievements, it's still hollow. Maybe success in the position just comes easy to you. While others struggle to reach your level, you naturally rose to it with little effort. It's just not challenging. Maybe you dream of something more exciting to do with your day. Maybe you don't even know the reason for your unhappiness. All you know is that you are unhappy and there's got to be something better suited for you out there.

The day you finally decide to write that letter of resignation feels like Christmas. You march in to the cold office with a spring in your step that has been missing since you started. You gleefully think of all the people you won't have to see again, all the company gossip you won't have to be a part of, and all the aggravation that never seemed to be worth your time to begin with. Your time is done. You don't know what made you hate the job so much. All you know is that you did and now it's over.

People will talk and former co-workers will scramble for the opportunity to take over your spot. God bless them. Let them have it. It obviously means more to them than it ever meant to you. You have bigger fish to fry and they're well on their way to becoming forgotten names in your memory banks. They can have your spot. They can have your position. You have your freedom and that's all you've wanted for years.

After Sunday, Brock Lesnar is leaving the office. He's achieved everything he's wanted to and now he's done. We can question his determination, heart, and willingness to give back to the business until the proverbial cows come home, but it doesn't matter. People will talk and his former co-workers will scramble for his spot. God bless them. Let them have it. He has his freedom and that's all he's wanted for years.

Good luck at Mania, Brock. Maybe you can share a cab with Goldberg on your way out. I, for one, appreciate everything you've done in the past two years and will remember many moments that you helped create. You've packed up your desk and it's time to move on. Feel free to come back and visit anytime.

But if you ever think about submitting your resume again sometime down the line, know that there'll be someone new in your office.