TO GET THE BEST OF YOU, MAKE THE MOST OF YOU?
Another year is about to end and if you’d be honest with yourself, how would you evaluate yourself at work? Did you feel good about yourself because you are a major contributor to your company or do you feel frustrated that you were not able to give the company the best that you have?
From my experience, there are three reasons for how we performed which basically goes this way: The company (or our boss) set us up to succeed (or fail) , we ourselves were able to set us up to succeed, (or fail) or it’s a mixture of both our company and us that enabled us to succeed (or fail). In either situation I believe it’s incumbent upon us to not just accept whatever situation we are in but to take action and make sure that we’re in a position to be successful. After all, we are solely accountable for our performance and no one else. And since the year is practically over I guess it’s just prudent to relax, stay calm, evaluate what we’ve done this past year, and direct ourselves to becoming the best version of ourselves for 2016. Here are three questions that may help you ….
- What activities did I do at work that made me feel really good about myself?
If we are to distill every single action that we’ve taken this past year (and years before as well), we would discover that the reason certain activities made us feel good and proud were because these activities did either or all of the following for us:
- We were instinctively good at it so that it felt enjoyable
- We were competent at it so it yielded good results
- We received praise and appreciation for it
- We didn’t feel any pressure doing it because we knew we could handle it
Try and go through the past year and write down as many activities that you got yourself involved in and where you felt positive about. Be as specific and detailed as possible on what were these activities and why was it a positive experience for you.
- What activities did not make me feel good about myself?
Similar to the first question but on the flipside, look back and identify what activities affected you negatively. Chances are, the reason for you feeling discouraged could be because of three things:
- You were doing a task you were not really good at so it turned into a major effort and pressure for you
- You may be competent in the particular task assigned to you but it was something you didn’t enjoy doing
- You are doing something that you’re not good at but you enjoy doing. Unfortunately, the results were not what management wanted so your evaluation was not good
Based on the two questions and your responses to these questions, the simple formula for success at work (and in other areas of your life actually) would be this:
How can I make most of my activities at work (or elsewhere) be the ones where I feel good doing?
The things you feel good at are the things where you have the skill, knowledge and talent. When all these are working for you at full throttle, you are at your best and in your zone, which translates to great performance. It’s Kobe Bryant scoring 81 points during his prime, Novak Djokovic winning another Grand Slam, Apple coming out with another revolutionary product and Taylor Swift producing another record-breaking album. Take time out before the year ends, list down the things that you “love” and the things that you “loathe” doing. Plan 2016 by prioritizing the things you love doing into your daily schedule while looking at ways to delegate, if not eliminate the things you loathe doing. If you don’t have the last say in these matters, then talk to the person who has a say and reason out with them. If they’re really after getting the best out of you, then they should be open to hear what you have to offer.