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.