I embarked on a captivating mental expedition the other day.
Trying to summarize my thirty years of doing business in Corporate America in three bullet points.
Here’s what I came up with.
#1 – Achievements we can be proud of— yet many were “unplanned.”
#2 – Much stress for all—most of it generated by a skewed sense of what success had to look like.
#3 – A nagging feeling of wasted energy and talent—we could have done so much better collectively had we aligned the potential of our individuals.
You might have noticed I haven’t mentioned happiness at work. I don’t think I’ve ever been “happy” at work, per se. At best, there were times of contentment, and I savored them.
Yet, interestingly, my journey in the corporate world was a catalyst for my personal growth and happiness.
Here are three fundamentals I learned from work that I keep applying to all aspects of my life.
1. I’m far from perfect, but I trust myself
In the beginning, working in Corporate was a lot about self-doubt, trying to know what others might think about me and how to influence them best. I didn’t realize then that people weren’t paying as much attention as I thought. They, too, were self-absorbed in their considerations!
Once I understood I was probably my toughest judge, I stopped beating myself up and gradually gained self-trust. It allowed me to no longer divide outcomes into failure or success. Instead, I’ve learned to adapt to virtually any situation, running on experimentation and continuous learning.
2. My path to success is unique – I just had to discover it
When trying to solve complex problems, I realized there wasn’t one blueprint to follow. I had to pave the way and build plans incorporating who we were, our unique strengths and weaknesses, and why we were even on that journey.
It doesn’t mean I haven’t taken advice from others. Still, there’s a significant nuance between experimenting with someone’s advice and following someone else’s blueprint. The key has been constant curiosity and testing until I found what made me feel successful.
3. I’ve constantly pushed boundaries – but others didn’t necessarily have to
I’ve always been a discomfort seeker. I need to take giant leaps of faith to feel meaningful progress. That’s how I placed major bets at work and got myself out of my most extreme running adventures.
But it’s not the only way to move forward decisively. I’ve known leaders who stayed in their relative comfort zones and accomplished fantastic things. They understood that comfort zones are not binary and could expand them naturally while cultivating their self-trust.
I’m glad I could bring my authentic self, experiment – a lot, and push the boundaries.
These three fundamentals have helped me become a well-rounded and happier person. But this mindset shift didn’t happen overnight. It took years to become effective and positively impact my life.
If you’re unsure where to start, remember that small daily victories matter. Begin with the foundation: self-trust.
Find a small thing you’ve been worried about trying because you didn’t think you were good enough.
Just do it!
If it goes well, you’ve increased your self-trust, so move on to the next thing or the next level.
If it doesn’t, reflect on it, stick to the facts, adjust your expectations, repeat, and rinse! In other words, experiment, and you’ll grow an appreciation of how good you indeed are.
So, discover your inner self, always be curious, and pave your path to a happier life!