Career Lessons You Can Learn From Your Family Situations

Most of us humans assume that we are a glorified creation though, in reality, we are similar to Raccoons that are associated mainly with characteristics such as mystery and secrecy. The reason behind this assertion is that we chase only shiny and exciting things and mysteriously, do not recognize what is immediately available to us. This is perhaps the reason why we do not learn from the non-shiny sources very much around us. One such source from which we and more particularly, career seekers and those who desire to climb the rungs of their career ladder fast can learn a lot is our family situations. In fact, the lessons we can learn from our family situations can help us surmount the labyrinth of complex issues we may face during the course of executing our career-related tasks efficiently. Let us find out more on this. 

Are you happy at your workplace?

Not all employees are happy at their workplace. If you are an employee working for a company, do an honest introspection to know if you are happy with your workplace. A survey of employees of various companies has revealed that some of them do not like their bosses, a few others are not happy with their peers or those who work under them, and of course, there are employees who hate the ambiance of their workplace. In short, it seems that to find a workplace that is perfect in all respects is almost impossible. In this context, experts say that you can learn a few lessons from your family situations so that you can have peace of mind despite all the negatives at your workplace. 

What should you do if you do not like your boss, peers, or some of those who work under you? You cannot adopt the "Nazi method" as E.M. Forster puts it. If you adopt this method and kill them, you may have to face criminal proceedings. What should you do then? Just put up with them or tolerate them. Of course, you have the option of quitting the company and joining a new company. But can you be sure that you will not face the same issues in the new company as well? In other words, you must be wary while making such big decisions.

How can family situations help you learn your career-related lessons?

1. Prior to your marriage, you might have nurtured several dreams. But not all your dreams come true. To put this differently, you integrate your dreams with your family life. Bluntly put, you choose only a few among a host of your dreams because they are only accomplishable in your life. 

In the same manner, you must be ready to integrate your career goals with the goals of your company. Such a synergy alone will help you climb the rungs of your career ladder. Never forget the fact that the top brass of your company is focused only on the company's goals and not on your ambitions. Also remember that you are not indispensable. If you quit the company or if the management shows you the exit, there may be others who may fill the void. In fact, your exit may not create any void at all. So, integrating your goals with those of the company is very important. This is analogous to how you focus on the welfare of your family and not on your personal welfare alone.

2. Next, tolerance plays a major role in leading a peaceful family life. Similarly, you should embrace the virtue of tolerance in your workplace as well. There may be people whom you dislike but you have no other option except to tolerate them and work along with them. Mistakes are bound to happen, misunderstandings are likely to arise, and there may be disagreements at every stage. You should learn to adopt a middle path to avoid confrontations. 

Of course, it is not always possible to make consensual decisions. In such situations, a give-and-take approach will do a world of good. It may even be necessary to adopt a give-and-give approach also. But what is important is the company's growth and so, you should be ready for embracing such an approach as well. Of course, such an approach is quite common in family life also because you have to adopt a pragmatic stance to have domestic peace.

In summary, integrating your ambitions with the company's growth goals and embracing the doctrine of tolerance are the keys that can act as an open-sesame to the gateway that opens the path to your career objectives.

How to Become a High-Performing Employee?

Do you know a journey that never comes to an end? Yes. There is a journey that never comes to an end and it is the journey to high performance in your workplace. In fact, "high performance" is a subjective term. Further, there is always ample scope for improvement. But the skill of performing to the best of one's capability and that too, on a consistent basis is acquirable. Unfortunately, not all employees give a thought about their performance. They consider carrying out their official tasks as a boring ritual. Of course, they like the remuneration their employment gets them. Employees must realize that they can derive a number of advantages by being a high-performing employee on a consistent basis. If you become a high-performing employee, you can climb the rungs of your career ladder faster when compared to your peers. Your remuneration will keep moving northwards rapidly. You will have plenty of other opportunities in the job market as well.

The question now is how you can become a high-performing employee. According to experts, if you focus on three areas, you can certainly improve your performance significantly.

Daily actions.

High performance needs daily efforts. While making these efforts, you should particularly concentrate on your physical and mental fitness, being well-prepared and punctual for meetings, fulfilling your commitments, and so on. More importantly, you should ensure that your actions are perfectly in alignment with the targets of your company. You should embrace the dictum of accountability as well which means you should not shirk your responsibilities. 

Self-Reflection and Introspection.

You have to carry out the "self-'reflection" exercise daily. At the end of every day, try to recollect all that you did at your workplace during the course of your day. This includes how you have carried out the tasks, how you communicated with others, your behaviors, actions, and the mistakes, if any, you might have committed. This exercise provides you with excellent insights as to how you can improve your performance.

Similarly, you have to introspect at least once a week to know your shortcomings as well as strengths. While you can make optimum use of your strengths, you can overcome your shortcomings by taking appropriate steps. Consulting an expert in your areas of weakness is the best way to surmount them.

Learn, Learn, and Keep learning.

This is the most important step you should not ignore if you want to become a high-performing employee. You have to keep expanding your knowledge not only in the area in which you work but in other areas as well. Never forget the fact that the top brass of the present day companies are bullish over recognizing and rewarding employees with complementary skills. By expanding your knowledge in various fields including marketing, finance, HR, and Administration, you will be able to have a macro-level perspective encompassing all the areas. This helps you come out with unimaginably appropriate solutions for any situation. 

These are a few tips to become a high-performing employee. Embrace these tips and catapult yourself to a top position in your company.

How to become laser-focused and achieve your career goals?

Experts have conducted innumerable researches related to the process of achieving goals. Though there are differences in how they approach the topic, almost everyone agrees on one particular point. The point is that the foremost ingredient that can get you success is FOCUS. Unfortunately, all of us keep several items on our platter and so, focusing has become tremendously difficult. Thanks to our susceptibility to get diverted, we are either not able to achieve the goals we have set or there is an inordinate delay in reaching the destination. The question is how we can become laser-focused in life and more particularly, in achieving our career goals. 

A study of the science of how our brains work reveals that we can train it suitably and make it efficient enough to quickly process even the difficult task of focusing. You have to get this right because it opens a vista of endless possibilities in your life.

The human brain is a wonderful machine and psychologists have done extensive studies about its neuro-plasticity. According to them, it is the malleability of the brain that helps us in embracing changes. For training the mind and enhancing its efficiency, you must make sincere efforts for 21 days. Of course, even after this period, you have to ensure that your brain perpetually retains this efficiency.

Once you have trained your brain and improved its efficiency, you can move on to the next step of developing a laser-like focus. Let us find how you should go about this.

Don't succumb to this temptation.

Let us assume that you have achieved a small goal. So, you may have a natural temptation to set several goals. You should avoid this temptation because this grave mistake drastically dilutes your focus. It is not that you should not have several goals. But you should prioritize and choose the biggest and the most important among them. Why is it important to zero in on the biggest goal? Because it will change your career trajectory itself. 

What next after you zero in on your life-changing goal?

Once you zero in on the biggest goal, you should list out the top 3 action steps you should take that can lead you towards the goal. You should fix a reasonable deadline for completing these action steps. The steps you plan should be purposeful and should completely align with your goal. 

After completing these three steps, you will find yourself prettily marching ahead towards your goal. You can then plan the next three action steps and so on until you reach your goal.

In summary, the best way to become laser-focused to achieve your career goal is to avoid having and trying to pursue several goals simultaneously. Choosing the most important goal and pursuing it relentlessly is undoubtedly the best way.

How Can You Accelerate Your Performance?

No one will deny the fact that if they are able to accelerate their performance, they can climb the rungs of their career ladder quickly, or if they are entrepreneurs, they can completely transform their business, achieve big surges in sales and profits, and move to the next levels faster. How can you accelerate your performance? Before knowing this, you should understand what acceleration of performance is and why you must continuously strive to do so. 

Performance acceleration is nothing but increasing the speed at which you carry out your related activities, of course without compromising the quality of your work. Not taking the right steps to accelerate your performance on a continuous basis will result in the asphyxiation of your goals, however great or noble they may be, or however strong-willed you are. Experts have repeatedly been emphasizing that if you adopt a few specific methods, you can certainly see a visible and positive impact on your performance. Though these methods may differ from one person to another, there are a few that are common to everyone. Let us delve a little deep into these common methods.

1. Try to work to your full potential.

Not everyone is working to their fullest potential. You may also not work to your full potential. You may be in denial of this fact, though, in the heart of your hearts, you are aware of it. But why are you not able to work to your full potential? The reason is that almost every one of us gets overwhelmed by trivial things in life. Due to this, we lose our focus. How can you focus on your life or career goal when you get diverted by unimportant matters or activities? If you are an entrepreneur and if you allow your efficient hours to slip through your fingers by focusing on not-so-urgent and not-so-important matters, you will lose several smackeroos of sales. You may lose customers as well. 

Let us look at an analogous situation on your domestic front. Let us assume that you have bought an appliance for use at your home. According to the reviews you have perused before your purchase, the appliance is a high-powered one and is supposed to work to its full potential. But what will be your reaction if you find that the performance of the appliance is not to your satisfaction? You should have the same feeling if you do not carry out your activities with all your efficiency, sincerity, and potential.

Therefore, you should make conscious efforts to perform optimally regardless of the activity you undertake.

2. Change your mindset.

What is the major difference between high performers and those who come out with mediocre performances? The difference lies in their mindset. While the former group possesses an "I can" attitude, those who belong to the latter group are habituated to uttering phrases such as "we cannot do this," "this sucks," "this is not possible at all," and so on. 

High performers, with their positive mindset, are able to step up their efforts even when challenging situations confront them. On the other hand, those who possess a negative attitude struggle and even wilt under pressure. If you belong to this latter group, it is high time you take immediate steps to change your mindset. The point is that if you approach any situation, however challenging it may be, with an "I can" attitude, you will amazingly find that innumerable possibilities are clearly "visible" to you. Of course, the process of changing your attitude needs persistence and consistent practice. 

Self-talk is one of the best tools that can help you change your mindset. Of course, you have to assess your improvement on a daily basis. But once you achieve small successes with your changed attitude, you will get motivated to a great extent.

In short, you have to make conscious efforts to accelerate your performance. Even if the speed of your activities increases by 50%, it will get you mammoth results.

Get Rid of Your Mind Trash If You Want to Succeed in Your Career Or Life

We all have various types of fears and among them, the fear of not having enough money when it is needed the most ranks high. Perhaps, we have developed this money fear during our childhood. Our parents or other elders who might have been oblivious of our presence might have discussed the bills they had to pay and the wide gaps between their incomes and their domestic expenditure. We need not dig into the aspect of how this money fear has sneaked into our minds. But we have to worry about the offshoots of this fear.

Some of the offshoots of this money fear are: "We do not deserve education from Ivy schools, cannot become entrepreneurs, or cannot land jobs that require high qualifications." To put this differently, thoughts such as "these things are only for the affluent" and "we cannot afford them" get etched in our subconscious minds. The fact is that these thoughts belong to a category known as "mind trash" and they are worth getting rid of. But how do you get rid of them? Experts suggest a few ways using which we can erase these thoughts from our minds and implant a "we deserve them also" attitude in their place. The following are the steps that need to be followed.

1. You cannot change your past and so, accept it.

Can you change your past? The answer is a big "No." Of course, had we had good backgrounds, it might have been easy for us to pursue our passion or lead the lifestyles of the affluent folks. But at the same time, it is wrong to think that you do not deserve them or you cannot achieve them since you do not have such backgrounds. You should accept this in order to move to the next step. If you keep clinging to your past, the limitations and fears that have been haunting you will not leave you.

2. Stop comparing your situations with those of people with good backgrounds.

Comparing your present circumstances or your past with others is futile. Further, these comparisons will upset you so much that you will start doubting your abilities. Such doubts will add to your mind trash.

3. Focus on your aspirations and choose only those that can take you ahead. 

This step will help you jettison those aspirations that shackle you and do not allow you to move ahead.

4. Identify the patterns that distract you from the chosen aspirations.

Do an introspection and find out the habit patterns that place hurdles along your path. For example, if you have to master a particular subject and if you waste your time on social networking sites instead of studying, you are allowing distractions to overpower you. Remember that even if you take incremental steps, you will come out of the habit completely sooner than expected.

5. Build the edifice of "you," steadily, and consistently.

Building a personality is analogous to building an edifice. So, building the edifice of "you" needs steady and consistent practice. But the edifice will be strong only if you use bricks made of "positive thoughts" about your abilities. So, cultivate the habit of thinking positively about your abilities. Once you succeed in building a strong personality that does not succumb to distractions or negatives, you can easily get rid of the mind trash that has accumulated in your mind. Then, success in your career or life will become low-hanging fruit.

Know What Prevents Your Personal Or Career Growth

You may believe that you have all the skills required for your personal growth or for climbing up the rungs of the career ladder. Quite often, you may have proved that you are astute and a high performer. In addition, you may possess an optimistic attitude as well. But despite these things and your bloated ego, if you find yourself in the unenviable situation of having stagnated in a particular position or not being considered for elevation to the next level, you may wonder why it should be like that, why luck has been tyrannical towards you, and what mistake you have committed that is putting a brake on your growth journey.

Unfortunately, you, like several other people, may refuse to accept if someone points out the mistake you are committing. Perhaps, the intoxication of the small successes you have achieved may be blinding you and not allowing you to explore "within" yourself and find the mistake. Refusing to acknowledge that there is some problem with your approach or mindset is the foremost deterrent that is obstructing you from correcting your mistake. If you continue with the same behavior, you may descend into what is known as the sinkhole of mediocrity. This will make you more miserable and frustrated. 

The point you should remember is that you may not be committing this mistake consciously. The mistake may have got embedded in your subconscious mind and you may be committing it without your intention. Perhaps, this is yet another reason for your refusal to acknowledge that you have this problem. But regardless of the fact that you are committing the mistake subconsciously, you can be certain that it will weigh you down.

So, what is the mistake you are committing that has caused stagnation in your personal and career growth? The mistake is you have become euphoric over your small successes and got complacent. Complacency is capable of killing ambitions. So, how can you fight this flaw and emerge victoriously? How can you remove the cobweb of "complacency" from your mind and unleash your fullest potential? Unless you do this, you can't lift yourself out of the quagmire of stagnation and be once again on the path of personal or career growth.

There are a few steps you should take to get rid of "complacency." They are:

1. You must check if your goals are clear and specific. There should not be any ambiguity in this. Even if there is a trace of ambiguity in your goals, you are vulnerable to getting confused and committing mistakes such as getting complacent. 

2. You should be clear about the deadlines within which you should achieve your goals as well. Deadlines help you in being true to yourself and your actions. If you do not put in place deadlines, you cannot plan your journey towards the goals. Experts advise that you must split your big goals into subgoals and be specific with the dates before which you desire to achieve your sub-goals.

3. Thirdly and most importantly, you must acquire what is known as the "burn-the-boats" attitude. With such an attitude alone, you can tune your mind to work relentlessly and with a laser-like focus. 

The above are proven steps and so, you should necessarily embrace them if you want to get rid of complacency. Once you succeed in this, your growth will no longer be some pie-in-the-sky. 

"Feel The Fears" to Achieve Success in Your Career

You may be holding a reasonably good position in an organization and earning well. But there may be times you may have an insecure feeling, and thanks to this feeling, you may at times think of quitting your job. Can you make this decision all of a sudden? Issues such as taking good care of your family, educating your children, and paying your bills regularly and on time may be preventing you from making this drastic decision. If you do not have a regular income, you cannot fulfill these obligations. 

Especially, if you feel that the ambiance in your organization is not conducive or if you think that your performances are time and again ignored, you may be a frustrated employee. But will quitting your present job solve these problems? What is the guarantee that you will get a job in which you will have satisfaction? Can you be certain that the ambiance in a new company will be better than what you experience in the present organization? The following tips may help you overcome your frustrating thoughts so that you can focus on your growth and achieve a big success in your career. 

1. The frustration you experience is overwhelming. But how to overcome it?

It is true that the frustration you experience is unbearable and overwhelming. That is the reason you feel like quitting your present job. But your decision comes with several what-ifs that you cannot ignore at all. So, you will keep on thinking alternatively between quitting your job and the uncertainties that come along with it. This situation can be paralyzing. If this situation continues indefinitely, you will experience increased frustration that may again feed the what-ifs. Ironically, frustration, if unchecked, can get stronger and stronger on its own. You need not take any specific steps for strengthening it.

So, what is the way out? Experts advise that you should feel the fears but at the same time, you must take action. For example, if you think that your performances are not being recognized and you are not getting the elevations you think you deserve, you must take action by taking immediate steps to improve yourself by enriching your knowledge and acquiring new skills. You should become a fountain of knowledge that supplies innovative ideas to your organization. You should take this step even if the fears and what-ifs are haunting you. Action alone is the antidote for fears and uncertainties. Simply put, instead of allowing your fears to paralyze you, you should turn them into inspiration tools.

2. How to go about this?

As Zig Ziglar says, "You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great." Start small and keep acquiring small skills. Get into the reading habit. But you should read only those books and materials that can enrich your knowledge in your field. Once you go to the top position, you may have ample time to read other books or materials. 

Even if you make small improvements to your knowledge and skill levels, it will do a world of good for improving your confidence. Remember the quote of Michelangelo who once said, "Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it."

To conclude, if you take action, you can achieve success in your career even if the present situation seems to be unfavorable and despite the fact that fears are haunting you.