It’s the week of Super Bowl LIII and the week of Tom Brady’s ninth career Super Bowl appearance. Whether you’re a fan or a hater, he has been the talk of the National Football League since his first Super Bowl appearance back in the 2001 season. Tom Brady has defied all odds during his career and has exceeded expectations season after season. Tom Brady may have one of the hardest jobs in the world to get. As the starting quarterback for a championship franchise, he has to work hard every day to stay where he is. That hard work can easily translate to anything in your life, and it can translate to your career just as much as it relates to TB12’s.
It can be hard to take responsibility for our own mistakes and failures, but blaming others won’t help us grow and learn from our mistakes. On top of that, if you are unhappy with your current situation it is only up to you to make the necessary changes. Whether you schedule a meeting to discuss your role with your boss in an attempt to make your situation better, or starting a job search and looking for a new opportunity, you are the only person that can spark the change to give your career the boost it may need. Your career can seem stagnant and unfulfilling at times, but take a step back and see how you can make a change. If you don’t know where to start, ask someone who may have been in your shoes. The simple act of asking for help can be the spark you need.
This one can be take a little bit more literal. “Trust the Process” has been a viral sensation amongmillenialsin terms of exercise and athleticism, but can be brought into your career. Some careers do require working your way up the ladder, and as long as you can fully say you are working hard to get where you want to be, you have to let the process work with you, not against you. Take becoming a pharmacist manager for example. In order to become a Pharmacist in the first place you need to receive an undergraduate degree and most likely go on to receive your masters and doctorate degrees. In order to work as a manager, you would have to have previous experience working in a pharmacy as a licensed pharmacist. You can’t just wake up one day as a Pharmacy Manager with no prior experience or education.
Having fun while you’re working helps make work more enjoyable and alleviates stress in your life. You don’t have to make your actual tasks fun, but try and have fun with your coworkers. Listen to music or a funny podcast if you’re allowed, use a fun colored pen, or decorate your desk. Know when it’s okay to be a little silly and know when you need to be more serious by following the social cues of your coworkers and supervisors. To all the managers and supervisors reading, there is adirect correlationto increase in production and fun rewards. From leaving work early to play a game of volleyball to a catered lunch, employees tend to work harder when there’s aso calledreward at the end of the tunnel.
Unfortunately, not every career has the hard stats that football has, but there’s something to be said about setting goals and benchmarks for yourself. How can you know if you’re succeeding if there’s no bench mark for your success? Sit down with your supervisor and set goals for the quarter or the year. At the end of the allotted time, go back through your goals and benchmarks and see where you succeed and where you may have failed. Then check and see why you failed. Were the goals too high? Did you miss a step in the process? What can you improve on for next time?
Nothing will happen on its own. You have to be willing to inspire change within yourself in order to change your circumstances around it. You can’t always make a change, but you absolutely can’t cause change by sitting around and doing nothing.