“Destiny
is not a matter of chance; it is a matter of choice. It is not a thing to be
waited for; it is a thing to be achieved.”
-
William Jennings Bryan
In this world, you are like an athlete on
the track – all set for the sprint. You always aspire to remain ahead of others
and win. But if you do not, you do not achieve success in the true sense of the
word. You have to be the Number 1 because it is only then that you will be
regarded as an outstanding performer at work. Staying ahead of others not only
implies acquitting yourself well at work, but also directing your gung-ho
gains.
What should you do
to handle your competitive edge over others? You should be serious about your
career and conduct periodic appraisal to make certain that everything remains
on course. Three things that you should not lose sight of are:
· You must regard your career as big
business: You may not be the owner of the setup
where you work, but you should consider yourself as one. Today, with economic
slowdowns looming on the horizon, retrenchments, reorganizations and
realignments have become quite common in the corporate world. Under such
circumstances, it is you and you alone who should remain in command of your
career. Your company can of course help you to a limited extent. Therefore, it
is essential that you think that you are managing a single man run business or
regard yourself as a self-employed baron. Your designation is of no
consequence; what is important is your contributions at work. Accordingly, you
ought to do some serious introspection and ask yourself questions related to what
precisely you are doing; the eventual outcome that you seek; people who are interested
in your pursuits and achievements; and if you are aware of your skills and
value.
· You must upgrade your
qualifications: How trained are you to take on the
challenges of work? Your name may be towing a line of qualifications, but the
question is, whether they are relevant to your current work or not? To be able
to brace up for the contests that plague workplaces, you need to every so often
check your folder. You should evaluate your position vis-à-vis others in the context
of your qualifications - knowledge and expertise. Such an evaluation therefore,
compulsorily entails concluding if you have improved your skills over the years
so that you can gear up for the daunting future. In case you find that you need
to do something more, put together a plan for the same. You should always dream
and shoot higher than you know you can do. Being content with being better than
others is good, but not adequate; you should try to be better than yourself. It
is all about becoming a better version of you.
· You must promote yourself at work:
Your workplace will continue to change and you will have to adapt yourself to
altered conditions. While the game per se will not change, the rules will. You
will thus be required to be enterprising, remain on the scene and refrain from
any sort of rigidity. Those days are gone when you could remain in your chamber
attending to routine work. Remember that unless you try to do something beyond
what you have already mastered, you will never grow. You will now have to make
additional contributions and also focus on what your boss wants or what your
colleagues do. You will have to make yourself central to all activities,
including decision-making. You will find the results of your endeavours
encouraging which, should be used for the projection of your image.
Assignments that
make you known to all, inter alia include raising a new team and taking it to
excellence; superintendence of a project that involves new expertise; and jobs
that entail developing external contacts and utilizing them for organizational
benefit. To sum up, you have to learn the rules of the game and having done so,
play better than anyone else. Do not impose any restrictions on yourself. There
are many people who do that and fail to go further than what their mind thinks.
Essentially, you have to remain ahead of others.
The crux of the
matter is that you should never limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to
what they think they can do. You can go as far as you mind lets you. Remember
that your own determination to be successful is very important and that
whatever you believe in, you will achieve. Your future is contingent on what you
do today. It is essential that you visualize a picture of a successful outcome
in your mind.
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