Just Because You Can, Doesn't Mean You Should

Earlier this year, I was attending a conference at NSW Parliament House when someone suggested I consider standing for Parliament at the next state election.

I was flattered, of course.

I have been involved in politics before, and I enjoy it. I have campaigned in local, state and federal elections and was elected to local government in 2011 for a six year term. There is something about the debate and the chance to influence decisions that affect people's lives that I find energising, so it was not an opportunity I dismissed lightly.

Over the following weeks, I spoke with a few people whose judgement I respect. One offered some advice that stayed with me.

"The bus is going past. If you want to get on, get on, because it probably won't come past again."

But I found myself asking a different question. Not whether I could do the job. Whether I wanted the life that came with it.

Read the rest at The Next Third, where I now publish my weekly writing on leadership, purpose and what comes next.

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