Carrying the “Football”

Carrying the “Football”

Did you know that since Dwight Eisenhower was in office that an aide has carried a briefcase called the “football” with the President anywhere he goes? The meaning of this briefcase changed to its current context during the Cuban missile crisis and continues to be used to this day as a national security measure. Inside the briefcase, which is handcuffed to the military handler, are the locations of top secret nuclear missile sites, retaliation procedures, and the nuclear codes. 

 A key thing to note here is that the President isn’t carrying the football (and the aides who carry it rotate). I have a “football”, too, and while it’s much less serious in nature, it serves a similar purpose. I carry my backpack with me wherever I go. With its contents I can run all of my businesses from employee communication, administrative reporting and tracking, payroll, and beyond from anywhere in the world.

While the gravity of my work is silly in comparison, the “football” is a symbolic burden of responsibility that I only really notice when I leave the football behind. It’s rare that I muster the courage to intentionally leave the “football” at home or in the car because I feel connected to my work responsibilities. The amount of freedom I feel when I’m without this symbol of work is remarkable, and serves as a healthy reminder for creating space for leisure in my life.

While you don’t have a briefcase with nuclear codes and maybe a backpack isn’t your style for work, but I’d bet you have your own symbol of burden that you carry with you literally or figuratively. What can you leave behind for thirty minutes, an hour, or a weekend? Is your cell phone your “football”? Is it a mentality that you ought to set down for a while?

Try it.

Logan Gelbrich

@functionalcoach