A poor attitude is like a flat tyre, you can’t go anywhere till you change it.
My week was hectic, facilitating a strategy session had me speaking and standing for 2 straight days. One of the issues of contention was attitude to work, a major concern affecting both employer and employees.
I remember my first day at work in a consulting firm, I was immediately thrown into a client project. My induction was to work overnight. The next morning on my way home, I was reminded to bring my toothbrush when I came back in the afternoon. I remember certain periods working 7 days a week. It honestly just seemed like an adventure to me. I guess that’s why it is important to be aligned with the values of the type of job you do.
I tell the anyone that cares to listen, when you are under 35, your focus should be on building competence through your work, nothing else.
Yet, I see young people seeking work life balance above all else?
What are you balancing so early in life ?
Your youth is the time you should immerse yourself in work and yes, literally eat, drink and sleep your work. If you don’t do it in your 20s and 30s when do you want to work hard, in your 40s? Or never? Not if you want to afford life’s little luxuries.
Focus on your building professional competence and balance later. Remove the real distractions such as social media, side hustles, office gossip and face your work in your youth.
Develop a great work ethic. Your behaviour at work is your personal brand whether you are building it consciously or not, that is what you will be known for.
Ensure you are building professional level competence. Ask yourself, is your work of high standards? Are you reliable? Do you go the extra mile? Are you a team player?
You are what you consistently do, so pay attention to the message you are communicating by your actions and your attitude to work.
Poor attitudes are holding many people back.
Growing egos have their own role to play. Big egos are easily bruised and resignations quickly follow any perceived attack to self esteem. Indeed, no one deserves to be disrespected, however, the society we live in is gravely flawed and the chances of being spoken to unkindly are quite high.
When the need for self esteem and respect appears to supersede basic human needs of food, shelter and clothing, priorities have indeed changed. Maslow’s theory on hierarchy of needs will need revisiting to recognise the reordering of priorities. My concern is that these priorities may be misplaced, especially in a society where poverty is rife.
I would say the ego can be a huge distraction. Your ego serves little purpose especially when it stands in the way of you achieving a goal. Work gives people a purpose and direction in life. Lack of meaningful work is a major source of depression and mental health issues. Unemployment wrecks people and societies. Youth unemployment and underemployment are currenly 55% and rising. I leave people to judge whether or not their choices are serving them, afterall, we all know our unique circumstances better.
As I write, I am currently paying for the services of 2 lousy vendors. Both are rude and have no sense of customer service. I just need to get my work done till I find their replacements. Infact, I started calling them Sir and Ma to hasten things. I choose not to let my ego get in the way of achieving my goals.
Drop your ego. Focus on your goals.
I tell people that it’s easy to stand out in Nigeria, very easy. Just choose a good attitude, be a professional and deliver value as promised. Sounds simple but many people don’t do it. Instead, everyday people make the choice to follow the crowd, the crowd of poor mindsets that is killing us as a country.
Rather than exonerate yourself of responsibility, quit complaining, take ownership of your own behaviour.
You can choose your attitude You can choose to be positive. You can choose to work hard. You can choose to focus on your goals.
Your attitude is indeed your altitude. You can only go as high as you choose to. You really can.
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