Thursday, March 8, 2007

It's All About Making A Difference!

How do you feel about your work? Do you like every minute you spend working? Do you feel you’re doing your best? Are you motivated to do even better?

It turns out that many of us don’t really like our jobs. People find no interest in their daily activities; they simply arrive in the morning to drink a cup of coffee and somehow spend the time till lunch. After lunch, it usually is much easier cause there’s only few hours left before going back home. And day by day, it’s the same routine applied all over again. There’s a paycheck we get on certain days and that makes us think the justice has been served - we’ve gone through so many dull days of nothingness, and now at last we get paid for all the trouble.

In my opinion, this approach will get us nowhere. I am an optimistic person myself but I can recall a few cases of such misery and lack of significance. Luckily, I’ve learned how to overcome these depressions. The key is about making a difference. What you have to do is to stop a few things from happening. If you feel like doing something good, don’t ever concentrate on the material outcome. Trust me; well being is not only about being wealthy. It’s about being happy and content, it’s about being fulfilled, and it’s about being significant enough for you.

At work, don’t think of the promotion you’re going to get right after you get a project completed. Don’t! Because what happens is that while working on the project, you keep reiterating some of your thoughts. Inescapably you’ll start thinking of the promotion more and more, and soon enough you’ll naturally feel that the promotion is something you’re definitely going to get once you complete the task. It’s just an example here, but I’d like to use it for explaining why it’s wrong to expect too much.
Instead, motivate every task of yours, no matter how big or complex, with personal feelings. Think of how much relief you get for knocking something off your to-do list! Think of how proud you’ll be that you’ve completed something which took so many resources and time of yours! Try and vividly imagine the smile on your face once you finish some task. Treat everything as way to develop personally and to become happier with yourself.

If you fail to deliver the project on time - it still must have been a good learning experience. Try your best to finish it off as soon as possible, set yourself another deadline and think of how proud you’ll be when you meet it. Think of how much better you’ll become in project management or in a particular tasks you’ve been given after you successfully accomplish it.

The important thing is that there are no failures. There are easy and hard ways of self-growth. No matter what you do and how and when you accomplish it, it’s still a personal growth. And that’s what you have to focus on. Later, possibly few months or even years later, you’ll feel very happy with yourself looking back.

One more thing: concentrating on personal growth also ensures you always get something out of any task. You’ll never feel disappointed again, because you’re always going to be a personal winner of yourself. And believe me, being a winner is just the kind of motivation you’ll like!

It takes time to change your point of view and start working on anything in the way I’ve just told you about, but its well worth it. Once you concentrate on personal success, even negative sides of the tasks you’re given start having far less negative impact on your thinking and your actions - they will not seem to be as bad anymore. What this means is that you won’t be as stressed about them, and this will boost your productivity yet again.

After this, it’s only a matter of time before you become successful in anything you do. Just stick to the rules I’ve outlined, and see what happens!

The last argument I’d like to bring up today is about making the difference. Don’t ask yourself if you’re going to make any difference. Don’t hesitate for even a second that your actions may go unnoticed. DO THEM! Do them the best you can, and remember they’ll make huge difference to you. That’s the most important thing! Once you concentrate on this, try and forget all the worries about all the rest. People DO notice what you’re doing, and sooner or later you’ll find that it’s not someone else, but you are in the spotlight! Give it some time and practice, and no bonus or promotion will escape you.

When looking at some complex tasks I always think: Boy, that’s a hell of a work to do. Is this going to be hard? Definitely. Is this going to be rewarding? Absolutely! The harder the task, the more personal growth it will trigger for me. If somebody else could make the difference in this situation, why should I think I can’t?

So no matter how dull your work may seem on rare days, always stick to the plan. Make a difference. It’s all about it. Make a difference to yourself. Don’t listen to what people say, even when they’re trying really hard to discourage you. As long as the task matters to you, it’s worth a shot and it stands a pretty good chance of success. So even if it seems that you’re doing something really small and of no importance, keep on working - and you’ll be amazed how quickly you’ll become a success.