“You Cannot Be Friends
with Everyone” and Other Lessons from 2016
A work setting can teach you much about yourself and your
life. In my current role at a company I am very fond of, I have had the
opportunity to experience many growth opportunities which has ultimately
allowed me to learn more about business and also about myself. Here are a few lessons gained which, oddly
enough, aren’t new and yet still seem to resurface time and time again
especially after a period of transition.
1) You cannot be friends
with everyone. This was a tough
lesson especially for the ‘people pleasing nature’ that I have carried
throughout my life. Shared goals and
individual goals can conflict, causing behaviours to change in potentially
negative ways. Sometimes friends can
become destructive critics….and that’s…..okay! Your real friends wouldn’t change and would
challenge you to grow…know who these folks are and invest your time with them.
2)
Diplomacy has a
limit! Being altruistic is noble…..but
challenging. Yes, most times, especially
in a work setting, conflict should be used as fuel to seek a better solution. Yet, there will also be individuals where a
diplomatic approach will prove to be useless and perhaps a more direct approach
may be necessary. **note, still trying
to figure this one out**
3)
Taking care of
yourself is a way of taking care of the work that you do. As busy a year as it has been, I have made a
conscious effort to invest in my health and be active as much as possible. I have also made a bigger effort to create
positive memories for my family and feed my heart this way (morning tantrums
being the exception). By investing in health
and family, we are essentially investing in our quality of work. The other way I have also been investing in
myself is by journaling to capture the lessons and blessings of each day.
4)
Bad Days come
and go. Find a group of friends who
you can safely vent with, breathe, go for a walk, workout, whatever you do…..try to get rid of that
negative load. Realize that we all have down days..
The Stranger: “How have things been going?”
Dude: “Oh, you know, strikes and gutters, ups and downs.”
Dude: “Oh, you know, strikes and gutters, ups and downs.”
(Big Lebowski)
Hope you have found this helpful and please understand, though my journey is very different than yours, we all do experience similar opportunities for growth. Make a conscious effort to seek the lessons from the day (ahem….like this post) and create a better day tomorrow!
#OnwardForward
Gautam
