Crawford, at 34 the league's oldest player, has yet to sign off on a one-year deal and accepts there are no guarantees from the club about his place in the best 22.
"You have to earn your spot, and that's the great thing about Hawthorn now," he told the Sunday Herald Sun newspaper.
"There was pressure on for spots this year and there will be pressure on for spots next year.
"I see this as another really big challenge, which is great for me when your career is near the end."
Crawford said he would start pre-season training on November 17, expected to play in round one and wanted to have more game time as the knee tendonitis that seriously affected him in 2008 improved.
"Everyone says footballers get old and slow, but my plan is to get older and quicker," he said.
"The whole thing about this is that I have carried a knee injury all year. I managed to play more games than I thought I would, and certainly a lot more than the coaches, the physios and the doctors thought I would.
"It's an injury that I can get right, and that's what I am doing now. If you take that away, I have no other issues.
"I'm 34, I don't have any long-term injuries and I know I can play to a better level than I did this year."
Crawford also revealed his partner Olivia, teammates and other sporting stars, including three-time Olympic champion James Tomkins and former Essendon captain James Hird, urged him to play on for another season.
"I weighed everything up and I suppose the biggest person I was concerned about was Olivia, because we are having another child soon," he said.
"But she was virtually pushing me out the door, saying 'You can't retire, you have to keep playing'. That made me wonder why I was even thinking about retiring."
Crawford said it was now a matter of waiting for Hawthorn and his management to work out the details of a one-year contract.
"I really wanted to know from Clarko (coach Alastair Clarkson) whether he really sees me involved in a big way next year," Crawford said.
"I didn't want to be played for the sake of being played; I wanted to make sure I could earn my spot. We spoke about where the club is at and how he sees me involved. He said that he expected me to earn my spot, which is exactly what I want. As soon I walked out of that meeting, I thought, 'It looks like I'm playing'."
A call from Tomkins, who rowed at the Beijing Olympics this year at 43, also helped convince Crawford that as long as he was confident he could get his body right, he should continue.
"James called me to congratulate me after the grand final and said, 'I don't know where your body is at, but if you think it is fine, you shouldn't finish up'," Crawford said.
"He almost begged me not to retire. He said he had absolutely no regrets in going to Beijing, even though he didn't win a medal."
And Crawford shared a flight with Hird to Hong Kong, prompting him to ask the Bomber champion whether he thought he should play on.
"He just said to me, 'It's a no-brainer, you just have to play on'," Crawford said.
His teammates also played a role, making calls and sending text messages.
"To have teammates saying to me, 'Please don't retire', was great," he said.
"Even when I decided to play next year, I got a text message from Buddy Franklin which said, 'Can't wait to play another year with you'. It means a lot."
