Give yourself mini-challenges
This is a great tool for keeping yourself engaged. Don’t just work to someone else’s benchmarks. Work towards your own. Don’t just work to someone’s deadline — set your own and challenge yourself to hit it.
This works in both the macro and the micro. Anything from “I want to finish this project a day early” to “How many leads can I get through in the next twenty minutes?” goes.
Not only does this keep your brain engaged, but it also challenges you to consistently try to beat your own times and get better, the same way a sprinter tries to beat their own time on the track. It’s a fun and effective tool for self-improvement.
Treat the hard parts as a test of character
People are measured not by their performance when things are easy, but by their performance when things are hard. The hard stuff shows us what we’re made of. They make us stronger.
People are fascinated by tests of character. It’s been explored in culture for centuries, from Homer to Hemingway (for whom it was a favorite theme). Hemingway wrote consistently about people pushing themselves to their limits and testing their character. That’s what Old Man and the Sea is about — a man testing himself against the elements. That’s why he was fascinated by the bullfights.
Treat your work in the same spirit. What are you made of? Do you have what it takes to push through the hard parts? Do you have the grit to stick to something even when you want to quit? Do you have the discipline to make the deadline? Persevering and emerging victorious makes you stronger. The more difficult the situation, the more meaningful the test.
Don’t look outside
The grass is always greener on the other side, and looking at it is one of the fastest ways to breed dissatisfaction. It’s also a false promise. When you get to the other side of the fence, you’ll realize that the grass was just as green where you were before, and your new pasture is equally undesirable, if not more so.
Don’t look at that grass. Develop tunnel vision — focus utterly and completely on what’s right in front of you. There’s nothing besides what it is you’re doing. There are no other pastures. Your only task is mastering the one you’re in. There were others in the past, and there will be others in the future, and there may even be a concrete goal you’re working towards — perhaps you want to be building towards getting a position at another company, or a different position with your own employer. That’s fine and healthy. But don’t look laterally.
When you’re in a job that isn’t your dream job, it’s very easy to speculate about other possibilities. You don’t love your day-to-day work, and you aren’t married to the vision. So you look outside. You’re doing sales at a tech company, but one of your eyes is turned on doing sales at an education company — same type of position, same basic skills being gained and same benefits, but from the outside, it looks so much better.
Don’t even entertain the idea
Be obsessive about mastering what you’re doing now. As long as you’re deriving value from the experience and it’s making you better, and as long as no one is asking you to do anything dangerous or unethical, stick it out. It’s one of the most basic facts of the working world — to do something else, you must first master what you’re doing now.
People will notice that dedication. You’ll open countless doors by just putting your nose to the grindstone and doing your work. People want that on their teams. If you’re focused, you won’t have to chase new opportunities down — people will come to you.
This post was originally published by Praxis, a one-year startup apprenticeship program and career accelerator for young people who want more than college. We combine a 6-month bootcamp with a 6-month apprenticeship where we place you at a high-growth startup working alongside entrepreneurs while also completing our rigorous education experience, which includes one-on-one coaching, self-guided projects, skills training, and more.
Praxis gives young people a more direct path to a fulfilling professional life. We give you the experience, education, and training required for you to become successful now, not in four years. 96% of Praxis participants are fully employed upon graduation with the average starting salary of Praxis graduates being $50k in their first year. Learn more at discoverpraxis.com
