Sometimes we do all the right things: exceed in our current jobs, continue our education or take a class to learn a new skill, but despite our best efforts, things still don’t go our way. Here are a few things to think about when you’re doing everything “right” but things are still going very “wrong.”
1. You can be everything you’re supposed to be but not everything you want to be:
Hopefully while you were growing up someone told you that you could be anything you wanted to be. Although very encouraging, this is, unfortunately, not true. I want to sing like the late Whitney Houston but no matter how hard I try that will never happen. We each need to spend time discovering what natural skills and abilities we were given and find ways to cultivate them and use them in how we work and what we do. Sometimes you may be pursuing something that you’re just not meant to do or be.
2. It’s time for you to do your own thing:
Many successful businesses are started by people who were once unemployed or unable to find the ideal job for them - so they created their own.
Everyone has a “lotto” business idea i.e., the type of company or business they’d love to have if money was not a factor. What’s yours? Often there is never a perfect opportunity to start an entrepreneurial venture. Sometimes that thing that you’re supposed to do falls into place when you create a plan, believe in yourself and just take the leap of faith.
3. You need to work smarter - not harder:
You’re inability to advance in your line of work or change careers may have less to do with what you’re doing and more to do with how you’re approaching things. For example, you might be spending two hours a day posting your resume to job boards like
when you should be spending six hours every day reaching out everyone you know (and everyone they know) to expand your professional contacts and find job leads. Remember that about approximately 80% of workers get hired or selected for opportunities because of a personal contact or reference.
4. Life isn’t fair - but the universe is:
Sometimes we are more qualified, more capable and more talented than the person who gets the job. Learning to accept what we can’t change is a continuous life lesson that we all have to learn. Remind yourself that no one ever achieved anything great with negative thoughts and energy. Forget excessive time wondering why someone got something that may have been rightfully yours and instead focus on what you can do and what else the universe has planned for you.
5. You need to hone your craft:
There are many reasons why you might not be hired for your dream job, but there’s no reason for you to lack experience in the field/area in which you want to work. Expand your experience by working for free, helping others with their new business ideas, taking a class, and doing just about anything and everything to get your side hustle on! Everyone, especially those looking to make a career transition, needs a side venture or hustle – so start yours today.
6. You think you are ready but you’re really not:
When it comes to career, your skill sets and are not the only things you need to master. Sometimes what’s holding us back is ourselves. Spend time each week honing your judgement or your ability to “read” people and situations, and even how to play office politics.
7. Something better awaits you:
Things might not be working out the way you would like because something better is waiting for you. What you think is your “dream job” could actually be “peanuts” in comparison to the perfect opportunity that you are meant to have. Some things in life and career are simply a matter of timing. Be patient and make the most of the time spent waiting for that bigger and brighter opportunity to appear.
The first line in the classic M. Scott Peck book, The Road Less Traveled is “Life is Difficult.” Life however can become at bit easier to navigate when you accept this reality and learn to take inventory in what you really enjoy and were born to do. This week take a second look at something that recently did not work out the way you would have liked – and consider these seven ideas to work on moving forward with a fresh perspective.