Every career builder hopes tone day land that great job. The greatness is defined by not just how well it pays, but also the working environment, the experiences generated as well as the prospects for future growth. Unfortunately, this still remains a pipe dream for many people. Why is this the case?
Case in point is that far too many people have the tenacity to stay long enough to wait for the greatness of each job to manifest. They want everything too quick and now. They wake up each day too eager for the ripe fruit that they forget to plant and water the tree meant to bear the fruit. This scenario depicts a sheer lack of persistence in the working spirit of many individuals.
Persistence
The persistent individual does not take things lying down. He or she will seek out for ways to gorge ahead when everyone else agrees the end has come. They will knock imaginary doors when everyone else sees a dark and impossible wall. Such individuals can me amazingly energetic. They will sit down the entire night just to solve a back breaking problem and all this without complaining.
In the old days, it used to be that a professional would be hired at the lowest level. Engineers, Accountants and other similar high level professionals would start as filing clerks, messengers and even cleaners. They would then work their way up the ladder as the management gauges their capacity to develop the right fit within the organization. The objective of this was two-fold. First, management desired that every new employee must spend enough time in each section of department to enable them develop a deeper understanding of the organization. Secondly, this approach that could be viewed as some form of prolonged orientation created a sense of frustration that could either elevate of destroying individuals. Strong willed individuals would generally emerge after this process to take their rightful place in the organization. The weak willed, those that lacked persistence, would most likely fall by the wayside, never to see the light of day in the upper echelons of this very organization
It is absolutely critical for employees to build persistence if they ever wish to see the peak of their careers. The truth of the matter is that lack of persistence is a weakness that cannot be hidden. As such affected individuals tend to fall and fail quite fast. Such individuals become the lessons for other to learn from.
Unfortunately, it is not usually too obvious for the affected individuals to realize their weakness. What are the telltale signs of this weakness? To start with, these individuals are in a hurry. They do not take their time to plan things through, choosing instead to just eye the final outcome. Unfortunately, this failure to plan exposes them to serious bumps that can indeed derail their ultimate performance – results. Other individuals ignore the importance of learning. They make too many assumptions that can be deadly to say the least. For instance, every project manager knows the importance of having several plans directed to the same goal. Having just one plan therefore is a fool handy approach laden with positive assumptions.
Other individuals will disregard the human factor in the success equation. Persistent individuals do not operate in a vacuum. They are aware of the need for similar minded people and the strengths associated with this. As such they take time to establish the right relationships at work. Others will simply not learn from those who came before them. Tonnes of information is available for those willing to explore the history. Persistence is the reason behind many of the products that we take for granted today. As such it pays to read about historical icons and how they make it against odds.
Developing persistence also requires a healthy individual. Ignoring your physical, mental of emotional health will simply make you a weakling. For instance, if your marriage is on the verge of breaking, you are unlikely to persist through a difficult project. The same applies for your physical health. Sickness and fatigue will most likely break your resolve to persist.
In conclusion
We may not finish the list of these telltale signs. However we can focus on the things that one can do to build the necessary muscle for persistence.
- Identify your career fit. Ensure you are in the right bus before embarking on your career journey
- Make a commitment to be there no matter what. Quitting should never be anywhere in your career plan.
- Get all the training and skills you need for your career. Ensure you continuously improve your skills as and when the need arises.
- Keep the main thing the main thing. Remember if you are on a journey, you will pass through many other places that you are not interested in.
- Never lose your cool. Remember that some tests will be thrown your way just to gauge your innate ability to deal with problems. Others will be thrown your way just to get you out of the way.
- Build the right alliances at work. Make it part of your career plan to assemble and keep the right associates to help you sustain the climb to the tip. Remember there will be many battles where your persistence will be tested.
- Become a reader. Never lose out on a n opportunity to learn something from the past. One book a rule every month is a good way to start. Also be on the lookout of seminars and workshops that can help you maintain the necessary strengths to carry on
- Identify and contact a mentor to hold your hand in this journey.
- Never take anything personal. Remember that anything that happens to you could as well be happening to someone else.
- And finally be bold in embracing challenges. Remember the best life stories are those laden with some element of pain and suffering.
- David Kimani
