Thinking Of Ourselves As A Business
Lately, I’ve been plagued by bouts of sluggishness and demotivation.
I homed in on work as being the area where I have these feelings of apathy, and largely realize the reasons why. Generally speaking, it’s because the role I have has been changed, and also because I don’t feel like a valued member anymore.
Changes, I am not opposed to; although, it does make me wonder about their intent with my position, especially since the more advanced parts have been divvied up amongst others.
But it is more so I am feeling disregarded and unappreciated. Plus, my old boss retired, and the incoming one just does not have the people skills the outgoing one possessed.
Needless to say, my performance has taken a hit. The deeper I feel that way, the less inclined I am to go above and beyond. The problem is, I take pride in delivering quality work, and since my work has been pretty mediocre lately, it’s been taking an emotional toll on me.
I resolved to work harder. After all, that’s the only thing in my control, right?
Collectively, we are inclined to choose safety and comfort over vagueness or uncertainty when it comes to our careers.
As they say, better the devil you know than the one you don’t. If you love what you do and where you’re at, then that doesn’t apply. It is for those of us who are mildly content, or barely afloat, trying not to make much waves, and just ride the one we’re on to our sunset.
We hope things will eventually get better on their own. Given a long enough time span, coupled with patience and tolerance, it may happen.
By nature, businesses have to evolve, or risk getting pushed out by competitors. If we happen to be in the right position at the right time, things might actually end up falling in our favor. Unless if we’re bound by extenuating circumstances, though, the default choice shouldn’t be someone or something making the decision for us.
We need to think of ourselves as a business, especially if we have any desire to strike out on our own.
We need to evaluate what our core competencies are, our target and niche, how we can differentiate, what we need to invest in and what we can write off as a sunk cost, and firm up our business model of how we are going to reach our best.
In short, if we had to explain ourselves as a product, what would our branding be, how would we design it, and how do we intend to live up to that brand?
Would we be interested in purchasing ourselves? Or collaborating with ourselves? Or recommending our services to friends and family?
If the answer is no to one or more, then we should really think about if our current circumstances should be the status quo for much longer. It doesn’t mean we need to make a dramatic overhaul, but it does mean some changes are imminent. Maybe staying in the same company, but switching departments will do the trick. Or volunteering for stretch projects. Or taking the initiative to learn a skill that’s outside of what is needed for everyday use.
Whatever the case, any small step will feel new and exciting again, and bring awareness of what it is we truly enjoy. The newfound confidence gained will embolden us to take bigger steps, to make bigger waves. Little by little, the far-off dream career starts becoming a bit more visible, a bit more attainable.
One day, we can look back and be amazed at how we got there and all that’s happened. But if we didn’t get to where we wanted to go, all’s not lost. One of the biggest regrets in old age is not taking more chances to pursue the life we wanted.
At the very least, we know we tried, and that in itself is courageous and commendable.
I’ve since decided that while in the short term, my quality of work needs to improve, the long term plan is to join a different company where I feel heard, whilst doing something that lights my soul on fire.
I need to take matters into my own hands and carve my path. Like Surabhi Mathur wrote, I used to offload my power of action onto others and let them decide my fate, hoping they’d have my best interest at heart. But we learned that not only does it rarely happen, we are cheating ourselves of our opportunity to grow.
I know I am capable of more, and will continue to search for something that aligns better with my ambitions and skillset. The time here, while a sunk cost, isn’t a waste. Everywhere we look, we can always find something new to learn.
As it should be for all of us, I reserve the right to experiment, fail, recalibrate, and switch gears.
May we all be grateful to the turning points in our lives that have led us to where we are today, and embrace the ones to come that will lead us to where we want to go.
Happy writing and be sunny :)
***Newsletter content and schedule may change and be sporadic for future***
