Finding Peace in Your Work

This week, I am addressing the all too common illness of career progression pressures. You know, the stress that comes with the expectation that if you aren’t “moving up”, then you are not the cream of crop.?

I do firmly believe that if you are not growing, you’re dying, but that adage doesn’t apply to promotion. You can absolutely continue your growth, regardless of whether or not a subjective panel of individuals “choose” you.?

I do firmly believe that if you are not growing, you’re dying, but that adage doesn’t apply to promotion.

Speaking strictly from a military perspective here, there has been a subset of institutionalization in the promotion space. One where you are convinced that moving up is the correct path. I have felt this my entire career, and only now have found a way at peace.

I’d be calling the kettle black if I didn’t acknowledge that this is easy for me to say. I am one of those fortunate to have seen a lot of success in my career, making it to the top 1% of the enlisted field. I’ve made rank very quickly , which I? greatly attribute to the fantastic leaders , supervisors and teammates that took the time to believe in me.

However, there are things that were out of my control as well.?

Who you work for, where you work, what the person in charge of you thinks about you, the timing, the competition at that time and political prowess are a few of the things that people who promote don’t really talk about much. As if their promotion was implied from the start, they omit this when accepting the next grade. Not all, but some.?

Fact is, just because I was promoted over others, doesn’t mean I am any better. I know many who I’d be proud to watch promote over me. Most of us understand this to be true, but what weight is applied when thinking about the “other” factors mentioned above??

As you promote through the system, the carrot always seems to move —and your "peace" never has a chance to settle.?

You’re always having to reach for the next thing , hoping the train will slow down so you can depart with the satisfaction that you arrived at the station to where you find happiness.?

In our world, the first place someone looks when greeting or responding to you is your rank.

As if it holds the weight of believability, the rank you wear gives you street cred and intellectual certainties you may or may not have even earned.?

I remember talking to a guy who was a E-3, a known “low man on the totem pole” rank. I immediately put him in a basket, the basket where I concluded he probably doesn’t know too much about what he is about to say. Why would I do that?

It turned out that he had a whole life of experiences prior to the military and had joined much later in life in order to take care of his growing family. He had many skills and was older and more mature than many of his superiors. I hated that his rank shaped my judgement.?

I wrote about how rank has everything to do with nothing before , so I will get back on topic here.?

How can you find peace when the system makes you believe that you have to “move up or out”??

Before you judge an E-9, let me explain how the pyramid continues to be seen on the horizon.?

Once you make E-9, the highest enlisted rank, you unknowingly embark on a whole other journey where you are indeed, the low man on the totem pole, pressured to continue the move up. Where your position fits in the grand scheme of our modular structure is your billboard as to whether you are actually successful or not. Worse, the pay never moves, even with many levels of street cred above you.?

Stepping off the soapbox, I do want to say:?

Moving up is a good thing and so is promoting—if that’s what you and your family wants.?

If you don’t, you shouldn’t be pressured, you should be able to become an absolute master of your craft; training others, getting the mission done and finding inner peace through an admirable work-life balance.?

Finding peace may sound easy, but like many, I am driven to always want more, to continue to seek the acceptance and desires of others, and to be influential to many.?

Finding peace in your work will require you to understand that promoting is simply a byproduct of your dedication to the organization and your character. If you’re stressing about promotion to the point of exhaustion, I’d encourage you to look at how it may be affecting your family, your mental health and your team.?

Further, why exactly are you so stressed about it?

Is it because you really are in love with the next position or because the institution has made you feel like you are a little less successful if you don’t continue the upward movement??

There’s something to be said about the peace I am feeling now. It has allowed me to deepen my relationships, focus all my energy on my team and provide quality work that matters. The peace, which has been a battle to find has allowed me to complete my peers rather than compete with them, further developing healthy, nurturing relationships where there are no political agendas.?

Make no mistake, there are many rungs left to pursue, I just don’t feel the NEED to purposely pursue them. If it happens, it happens. I don’t really care because I have an awesome job and an awesome team here and now.?

I’ll end with this: if you are great, then you are great.?

Promotion and success will come to you the way it is supposed to. Your rank doesn’t define you as this is all temporary anyway.?

There will be other chapters ahead.?

Do what’s best for you and those you love, and don’t get sucked into what others think of you nor their perceptions on your abilities. Just be authentically you.?

Peacefully,?

Aj Kehl?