Do you feel as if you’re lagging behind? Perhaps it took you
a while to complete school or get a job while your mates seem far ahead. Maybe
you don’t even have a job yet. This is not the time to mull over where you
could have been if everything worked out right. Rather, this is the time to
work hard to make that dream come true in the nearby future.
If you’re a job seeker, this is the time to send in those
applications no matter how frustrating writing those cover emails are or how
annoying it is to receive rejection letters. Don’t give up! This is also the
time to think about your preferred career path. Figure out your strengths and
weaknesses. Hone your networking and interviewing skills because there is
nothing worse than missing a good opportunity due to ill-preparedness. This is
the time to go through those lecture notes or textbooks you used in school to
remind you of your subject area. I know some people are rolling their eyes but
it will help you speak confidently when asked questions related to your degree
program.
If you just got a job, this is the time to understand the
company’s business, especially the work assigned to your department. Avoid the
comparison trap; don’t be turned off by the fact that your boss is younger than
you even if he has a bad attitude. Learn the ins and outs of your department;
the professional terms and slangs, hierarchy and culture, roles and
responsibilities, so that anytime you’re called upon to do someone else’s work,
you can do it without stress. Keep cool and try to maintain a good working
relationship with everyone. Remember what Zig Ziglar said about attitude?
Because there are many skilled people who fail to reach their potential because
of a bad attitude. He said, “Your attitude, not your aptitude will determine
your altitude”. Don’t let your attitude get in the way!
If you just started a business, this is the time of hard work
so you can achieve the desired growth. Don’t be discouraged by competitors; devise
sustainable ways of attracting and retaining new customers. Please believe in
your work because that is probably the only thing that will keep you going when
things get tough, and they will get tough at some point in time.
To be honest, I am somewhat inexperienced in life but i do know
that nothing good comes from comparing ourselves to others. Avoid the
comparison trap at all costs! It erodes one’s confidence in themselves to be
their best. Even if you’ve had bad experiences, call it a “lesson learned” and
apply it to future situations. In fact, research has found that people who
refused to dwell on their bad experiences but rather learn from them became
successful. Remember Ben Carson, the kid from a single parent home with poor
grades in school who later became a renowned neurosurgeon and the first to successfully
separate conjoined twins at the head? Your starting point in life shouldn’t
affect your future.
All you need do now is stop thinking about how others appear
to be more successful than you are; develop yourself in whatever way you can
and work hard. Seek help if you need it and if you’re patient enough, you’ll
find it.
I’ll leave you with my favourite quote by Henry Wadsworth
Longfellow; “The heights by which great men reached and kept were not attained by
sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upwards in
the night”. (Thanks to a former commandant in Secondary school who made
us recite this during the morning assembly. It is my motivation).
The best time is now...
P.S.
Please let us learn to support others that are lagging behind,
instead of deriding them. At the end, it will do us good if we are all comfortable.
Many social evils result from a feeling of neglect. Let us fight poverty!
