Habits You Should Get Rid Of For Climbing Your Career Ladder

If you think that the habits you have are ingrained ones and you can not get rid of them, you are deceiving yourself. Especially, if these habits are so toxic that they do not allow you to grow in your career, you should dispense with them forthwith. Maybe your habits are very strong but if you do not break them, they may become harder and it may become more difficult for you to get rid of them.

There is another issue as well. There are people who are emotionally attached to their negative habits. In fact, these people are stuck in these habits because these habits bring them some type of short-term comfort. For example, those who are addicted to apps such as Whatsapp, etc. or to watching the television incessantly may get comfort in the short term but these habits may bring them unimaginably huge losses in the long term. Unfortunately, these folks defend their habits. They do not realize that they are moving away from the process of breaking them. This means that unless they admit their mistakes, they cannot get rid of their toxic habits. Let us now look into those habits that will not allow you to climb your career ladder.

1. Stop daydreaming; Start taking action. 

You may have been working in a particular field for the last several years. But this does not bestow on you the privilege of getting promotions. Remember that it is a dangerous ignorance if you have an expectation based on your bias. The question is: Have you been taking steps to improve yourself? Have you acquired enough knowledge to make your management think that you are fit to be promoted? If you have not acquired enough knowledge and if you keep daydreaming that you will become another Bill Gates, you will continue to remain in the same spot. It is true that nothing can be more delicious than daydreaming. But if you want to climb the career ladder, stop daydreaming and start acquiring more and more knowledge. Develop an innovative mindset and come out with great suggestions that can lift your company's fortunes or that can save a lot for the organization for which you are working. Knowledge and knowledge alone will make your management consider you for higher positions. 

2. Is there any use of whining or worrying?

If you are a person who hits the panic button quite often, you should understand that this can be a big impediment to your career growth. How can you bring out the best output when you whine and worry about anything and everything? Let us assume that your management decides to promote someone else instead of promoting you, though you and everyone else in your organization know that you are more capable and qualified than the other person. You may start whining that you will be working under someone who is less knowledgeable, less capable, and less experienced than you.

There are only two ways to tackle this situation. You can put in your papers and walk out. But you cannot be certain of landing a job that will satisfy you fully. Another way is to accept reality and work so sincerely, of course, without whining or worrying, that the management cannot ignore your ability and the quality of your output. In such a situation, they cannot refuse a promotion to you. 

 

Never forget the fact that things may not work out the way you think. Reality has a strange trait. It may quite often collide with expectations. So, there is no point in worrying or whining. When unpalatable things happen, try and find out how you should get over them instead of crumbling. The wise words written in the book "Consolations of Philosophy," authored by Alain de Botton, are worth remembering. The author writes like this: "Though the terrain of frustration may be vast — from a stubbed toe to an untimely death — at the heart of every frustration lies a basic structure: the collision of a wish with an unyielding reality.

The collisions begin in earliest infancy, with the discovery that the sources of our satisfaction lie beyond our control and that the world does not reliably conform to our desires."

3. Never be pessimistic.

Nothing in life is worthy of assuming that the world is coming to an end. Things may look bad now but they can get better at any time. You may say that they may get worse also. But if you always keep adopting such a doomsday mindset, you will be accelerating the worsening process. You should, therefore, be resilient in your approach and move ahead. When bad things happen, use them as a tremendous opportunity to improve yourself, instead of adopting a pessimistic attitude. 

If you get rid of these toxic habits, you can certainly fast-track your career growth.

Never Underestimate Yourself

That there are a number of people who do not realize their own potential is a bitter fact. You may also belong to this group. Though there may be many reasons for this, the foremost among them is that you are afraid of failure. Ironically, there are people who are afraid of success as well. But regardless of these reasons, the fact remains that you are not able to realize your potential because you do not try anything new and you do not want to take risks. Read this sentence once again. YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO REALIZE YOUR POTENTIAL BECAUSE YOU DO NOT TRY ANYTHING NEW AND DO NOT WANT TO TAKE RISKS. You tread along the same path day in and day out. You are neither willing nor ready to break your stereotyped mindset, effect a change in what you do, how you think, or how you look at things. That is the reason you are not able to spot your potential, not to speak of putting your skills to use optimally. What does this situation lead to? Obviously, the biggest "Catch 22" is you will be underestimating yourself. But how to overcome this attitude of underestimating yourself? Here are a few suggestions.

1. Remember that you have been hired by your employers because you have some of the skills they require. But since you have been using these skills as a routine, you tend to forget that you have them with you. Therefore, while putting your skills to use, do not act like a "robot." Put your heart and soul into the tasks. Try to find if there are smarter ways to work. Provide insights to your peers and supervisors. This is how those with self-confidence act.

2. Read a lot. It is not that you should read whatever you lay hands on. Remember that some of the most successful titans like Warren Buffett and Bill Gates are voracious readers. It is said that Warren Buffett reads 600 plus pages daily and he is choosy about what he reads. He reads only those books that can make him better in his field. This means you should also be more focused while choosing what you read. You must read only those materials and books that are related to your field. This habit alone will make you an expert and boost your confidence. There are two other distinct advantages by developing the habit of reading. In the present-day context, every bit of information is rapidly getting obsolete. By keeping abreast of the latest information in your field, you can defy what is known as the process of being pushed into the "old-timers group." Secondly, reading will expand your horizons and help you in performing better than others. You can run the race with the new generation as well. The result is you will be revered by your employers, supervisors, peers, and subordinates. 

3. Stress and anxiety are two important factors that lower your performance and productivity. This can happen despite your knowledge and expertise in your field. When your performance and productivity dip, you automatically start denigrating yourself. You will slowly begin underestimating your potential. But why will you experience stress and anxiety in spite of your expertise? It is mainly because you try to do all the tasks yourself. You do not delegate. Even if you delegate, you try to micro-manage and hand-hold those to whom you have entrusted the tasks. This approach is certain to increase your stress levels. Further, micro-managing the tasks of others kills their creativity. The only way to overcome this issue is to choose the right people, repose faith in them, and entrust the tasks that can be delegated to them. This will ultimately improve your performance and boost your confidence. 

To summarize, underestimating yourself is certainly an issue that can hamper the process of realizing your potential. You should, therefore, take steps to surmount this issue by pushing boundaries in order to grow in your career and progress in your life.