Welcome to the world of tapping fingers and silent conversations. The current pandemic has deftly demanded an impartial redefinition of sorts in every single business that is in action today. People who once rode the Successful wave, are enthusiastically thinking how to keep riding the wave, as the basic truth as hit us all plain as day - The waters may not always be there, the waves may not always dance . Either the waters may freeze or they may cease to exist. Earlier, driving a successful ship required us to be aware of the capricious nature of the ocean, it taught us to learn the art of maneuvering giant tides , it taught us to not sink to the bottom, it taught us the use of our masts to adjust according to the will of the winds. But, did we ever prepare for a time when there was no water ? Or when the water froze and no possible movement can be achieved by a previously successful running ship? Is it a smart decision to wait for the waters to come, so that we can begin sailing like before, or should we morph into a semi bus-ship that can keep moving , water or not ? On that premise, join me , in this mental sojourn of rethinking the game of surviving the tides , in a time when all of us are holding on to our talent cushions to assure us of our existence. Here is a way ahead , for those who identify themselves with the "Clueless Santa" title.
Who is this Clueless Santa ?
Santa gives gifts. So, basically a Do-Gooder. Someone, who is good at their job. Someone, who communicates well, does nothing but spread goodwill, doesn't gossip, wishes the best for everyone around, prays for their own progress, Does the job assigned and honors the law of the land. Now, you must be wondering, can this kind of a personality be any better and isn't he/she the template candidate for success ? If you find yourself in this position, where, you , by your personal assessment, always feel you should be rewarded for your mere presence, your work and everything about you, but you don't seem to be moving at the pace a few others are sprinting in their career, you better pause and ponder.All of those qualities, over the years have become default expectations. As the defaulters reduced and prudent entrepreneurial thinkers have grown, one can no longer bask in the hopes of a high tide, just being a good Santa. Here is a list of questions, that you can ask yourself, to begin this self evaluation. Who knows, when you honestly answer these, you might develop a whole new perspective of yourself and re-game towards becoming a better professional !
In all honesty --> Ask and Answer yourselves :
- What are your finest qualities, that define that how much of a success material you think you are. Are you very good at what you do? Are you average but you are able to groom yourself with some push ? or you are just lucky and nonchalant ?
- Have you assessed opportunities where you can replay these strengths of yours to constantly be in the game?
- What are the occasions when you did a good job and it was recognized and how often does it repeat ?
- What was the motivation behind this incident - can you tap into this motivation in all contexts, everywhere you go ?
- Do you find others doing the same good things that you do. More, plainly, are you the common talent?
- Do you find people with the same potential, but more successful than you ? or , Everyone is fighting to break the same pattern ? Have you been smart enough to identify and associate yourself with such people who have made a success of themselves, with the same ingredients you possess ?
- What are the occasions when you wished something was not given to you, because of your alleged fear of not performing that task well with/without external aid? What are your "fear zones" ?
- What are the available resources to equip yourselves to come out of those fears? What help is available for you right away to fix those "fear zones" ?
- How have you handled unfair criticism or a shallow feedback that was given to you? Did you stop to analyze, why someone gave a suggestion, which you don't relate to? Why did someone fail to read your strengths - weren't you visible enough?
- Have you groomed yourself to be visible enough to those around, without sounding desperate and bragging ? Do you know people who expose themselves, just the right way, in such a way they get recognized but don't get branded as narcissists ?
- Have you ever stopped what you were doing and bothered to ask what's going on with others, bravely without appearing nosy and gossipy ? (This is a trademark trait in those, who honor personal spaces and avoid gossip, but miss out on updates and latest information because of their fear being misjudged to be a buck-buck person)
- Have you consciously ever asked someone, if you efforts are helping the larger cause, or are you just another working valve in the system that can be replaced?
- Have you voluntarily asked for newer work or you are just sitting tight, waiting for a command , in an effort to not come out of your comfort zone and dig yourself a pit unnecessarily?
- Have you ever helped someone and didn't claim credit, or praise but rather, brim in your own self pride but at the same time have the satisfaction of having helped someone without being a douche?
- Have you ever stood up for yourself, and cleared the air, when you pick up signals that you or your work is being misread, misrepresented or misused ? Did you defend yourself without burning the house down, but simply saved your space ?
- Have you assessed your strengths and check periodically, if the list is stagnant or increasing? No one wants a "one good song cassette". We need more and more good tracks , for a repeat and larger audience!
- Have you ignored your concern areas, in an effort to not fix something until it comes up as a problem? How many pain points have you identified like these, that are latent now, just because it's not a problem yet?
- Have you ever asked for a boost, a praise , a recognition, an acknowledgement, fearlessly ( an euphemistic way of saying shamelessly, but you get the idea : ) ) ? Have you ever sold yourself without feeling inadequate?
- Have you ever asked for help, when you needed it without fearing you might appear weak?
- Do you catch yourself speaking out of turn or raising hands all the time to get noticed , or you find yourself confidently and gauging the right moment to stand up for action ?
- Have you ever asked any of the above questions, answered them honestly, made an effort to fix the pain points, retain and multiply the positive ones and share with others who are also looking for some assistance ?
Now this is where I stop.
Do such mental shakeups, periodically and don't wait for someone to do it for you, thereby giving someone an ammo to cite reasons to make you sit, when you yourself can clean your house and open and close the doors at your will. The more you expedite such kind of assessment and analysis to others, the more others gain impetus to control your movements. It doesn't matter how good you are, the real question is , Does it matter anymore? What else can you do? How well you can reorient yourself towards the limelight? How many self-corrections have you done on yourself without being prompted by others, even when the going was good?
What next !
If by now, you have become restless, it is a success of this piece. T's good. Don't be sitting and smiling all the time, when you have the power to Dance with Joy. Ask yourselves these questions and more, and jerk yourselves out of your positions to see where it has rusted and requires oiling and replacing. In this time of pandemic, when the going gets tough, it is up to us to fix ourselves, build ourselves and those around us, because, you don't want to be the king of a loser crowd. You should care about the winnings of others as well, otherwise, the prize money doesn't go up for no one. Outsmart yourself, outstand yourself, outwit yourself, and spread the Magic all around. Help each other, with your voluntary feedback, inputs, aid everyone around you to save themselves.
