What work is Vs What I thought

When growing up I viewed work as a means of earning a living and so for me to earn I had to work. Work to me was a give and take, an exchange of labor and money. My greatest fear about work became fear of failure or rather failure to perform and many times when I saw an advert I could quickly go through the Job descriptions just to see if I can do the tasks. I could quickly ask my self one question " what if I pass the interview and get hired but fail to perform as per the expectations of the employer? It means I will get fired" This stayed with me for so long since failure to perform has always been my greatest fear when it comes to work.

Here comes my liberator from this perception and fear about work. During our last 2 sessions in LAPID Leaders Africa under lead Marketplace pillar when we were taken through a profound discussion on Career Planning by Ms Esther Mwaniki, I came to understand the following about work:

• Work is away of glorifying God. When I approach my when based on this definition I do my work without thinking about the Extrinsic motivation(payment) rather based on intrinsic motivation( Customer Satisfaction)
• Work is not a punishment but away in which I can help solve societal problems. My value proposition is what will help me stand out and this calls for self awareness and learning/growth mindset.

Self leadership is a set of skills and strategies that individuals can use to take control of their work and careers and also to achieve goals and aspirations.

I have also learnt that in order to escape the ergophobia which is caused by lack of confidence, anxiety disorders, negative work experience, cultural and societal pressures, fear of failure and perfectionism one need to manage self by doing the following.

• Having a ,learning mindset while at work.
• Making peace with the situation. First accept the situation
• Developing a learning mindset.
• Appreciate that what you have is good for now and not forever.

This session made me appreciate that where I am today is only good for now and by developing a learning mindset I can move to better levels with time. I can now appreciate that work entails not only extrinsic but more importantly intrinsic motivation. We need to engage in our areas of interests if we truely want to enjoy work and grow.