You & your career

People tend to misunderstand you when you talk about your career vision. They may even fail to comprehend what you say. Some may comprehend what you say alright, but knowingly or unknowingly discourage you. The fact is that most people will never appreciate your career dreams. On the contrary, they may dampen your spirits by advising you to stay put wherever you are and not take any risks.

You may be convinced in your mind about what you intend to do in life and feel confident that you will be able to do well. But there may not be any encouragement from any quarter.  If this happens to be a fact, then how do you go about? The solution can be found if you:

· Do not seek endorsements:  Everybody feels that his perspective of career perspective is correct; if this could be true, things would be superb. But unfortunately, this is not so. When people contest your viewpoints, it is not that they are in disagreement with you; on the contrary, they relate themselves with you. It is quite likely that disappointments suffered by them in their careers prompt them to do so. They may not wish likewise for you, but believe that you could also meet with the same fate. The fact is that other than you, nobody else can comprehend the finer points of your life. You will encounter immense problems if you pay attention to what worrywarts tell you; in fact, you should take cues from winners and victors. Remember that a single pessimistic remark by a wet blanket puts positive comments by others in doubt. Hence, you should guard against all supposed spoilsports. What will eventually matter in your life are you and your vision and opinion. Appreciation from others will seldom be instantaneous and though you may like to seek endorsements, it is you alone who has to approve whatever you do.

· Make a schematic plan:  You may be plagued with apprehensions with regard to your plans and line of actions. However, unless you attempt to do something, these apprehensions will be baseless. Since nobody sits inside your head to understand the nuances of various ideas that you may have, you need to be clear about them. The best way is to record in writing all your thoughts. You should query yourself on what you intend to seek, related knowledge about it that you possess, the pros and cons of it and how you can go about, including additional qualifications that you should acquire. If you have to really move forward in your career, you should make a schematic plan and prioritize your actions. Remember that you will not be able to execute and realize anything unless you have a practical acquaintance with them. Therefore, you need to experience things and hence make efforts towards such realistic encounters.

· Proceed slowly and steadily:  The famous Aesop’s fable about the hare and the tortoise is well-known. Anything done deliberately, that is, slowly and steadily will always bear fruit. You cannot achieve all your objectives in one go; they can be attained in a phased manner. One small success will boost your confidence and serve to exhort you. And as you move ahead with feathers in your cap being added progressively, your final objective will be in sight. Remember that the world always sides with winners and hence your increased confidence level will bring about an increased confidence amongst those in and around you. They will look upon you in high esteem and place their trust in you. That is precisely the reason that you should not be put off by discouraging comments by others. To take off, you need not have external endorsements and hence should not unnecessarily attempt to seek them.

      It has been proven that the difference between a successful person and one who is not is not based on better abilities or ideas but the courage to bet and more importantly act on them. Remember that the beginning is the most important part of any work and the journey of a thousand miles begins with small steps.