When You Find Yourself on the IR

In football, players who have been injured, and are likely not to return for the season can be placed on injured reserve (IR). Generally the player on injured reserve is still paid his salary, is part of the team and by placing the injured player on the IR, the organization is basically saying they still want this player on their team. A player might find himself on the IR due to a number of different factors. Some are "other-induced" such as Tom Brady's 2008 season ending injury and others are "self-induced" like NFL kicker Bill Gramatica's torn ACL after his celebration leap. Either way, the last place you want to find yourself is on the IR.

As a young PR Pro, I am finding myself on the professional IR. Just like football players find themselves on the IR because of a number of different factors, I too find myself on the IR because of a number of different factors. Some are self-induced and some are other-induced...I find myself asking, "how does someone who is on the IR make sure they don't end-up on the inactive list?"

Learn from past mistakes. I bet we won't see another celebratory leap from Gramatica anytime soon. And, then again, we might...sometimes people don't learn the first time and it takes them being on the IR a few times before it sinks in. Some people are just passionate (over one point) or just plain stupid.

AND

Stay motivated to work on your game while on the IR. Find ways to work around your injury and advance other aspects of your game so when you find yourself on the active list, you are a better player (person) than you were pre-IR.

For now, those are the two things I am keeping in mind while I am on the IR. There are days I feel like Tom Brady and days I feel like Gramatica. Neither are fun, but both are important to who I am now and who I plan to be in the future!  What do you do when you find yourself on the IR?

(Okay so that wasn't really a football/PR post, but it was important for me to get those words in writing for my mental sanity).

Pic: Jamie Squire/Getty Images retrieved from fannation.com