Being successful in your career doesn’t happen overnight. It can take years. However, eventually, around 10 to 20 percent of people get there. They become widely recognized by their peers for their contribution, ability and skill.
Becoming successful, though, isn’t so much about how other people perceive you. Instead, it has more to do with your own internal state and how you feel. Somebody in a low paid job who loves every day they go to work is arguably more successful than the highly-compensated individual who hates it.
If you’re struggling to feel successful in your career, this post is here to help. In it, we discuss some of the little things that are holding you back from getting to where you want to be, and what you can do about them. Read on to learn more.
You Lack Confidence
If you’re always second-guessing yourself, wondering what you got wrong, it will be almost impossible for you to advance professionally. You need a kind of unconscious, baseline confidence that acts as a friend to you during the working day. If you have a sinking feeling that you’re always doing the wrong thing (even if you’re not), it is a sure sign that confidence is absent.
When you become confident, it rubs off on other people. They are much more likely to take note of your work and appreciate what you do. They’re also more likely to look up to you and see you as a leader, even if you are no more competent than they are.
You Have A Scarcity Mindset
Some people live in what coaches like to call a “scarcity mindset.” It’s the idea that money is always limited and that you can never get to a place of abundance.
Of course, none of that is true. Scarcity is only for people who choose it. For everyone else, there is the possibility of abundance, particularly if you go out into the world and offer other people massive value.
People often get stuck in the same jobs because they don’t believe that there’s anything better for them out there. They think that they’ve peaked and that, now, they’re just holding on for dear life.
Getting out of this way of thinking requires taking a new approach to money. Career success isn’t something that’s capped. It’s potentially limitless, particularly if you can take part ownership of the companies you lead.
You’ve Got A Past
If you have a past you’re not proud of, that can sometimes hold you back from going for the career that you really want. Thanks to your brushes with the law, you believe that certain employers won’t consider your application.
If that sounds like you, then it turns out that there are things you can do about it. One option is to get your record sealed. This effectively closes your case, removes it from the public register and only makes it accessible via court order (something that’s generally quite hard for employers to obtain).
You can also try stepping out and setting up a business yourself. If career options are limited for you, then this can be a great way out of your situation. You’re not asking anyone for employment when you take this approach. Rather, they are coming to you.
You Stay In Your Comfort Zone
Many people don’t progress in their careers, not because they can’t, but because they’re stuck in their comfort zone. They never really push themselves to the next level and, so don’t get the rewards.
One motivation for remaining in the easy place is because it makes life comfortable. However, most people avoid progression because they fear failure. They don’t want to be seen as the person who couldn’t hack it.
You Followed Bad Advice
How many times in your life have you followed somebody else’s advice which later turned out to be wrong? It happens all the time. Perhaps your parents pushed you into taking a particular career path, or maybe a professor encouraged you to stay on at university longer than you’d hoped.
The key here is to stop following bad advice as soon as you realize that you are. If you’re stuck in a job that you don’t like because it is in the wrong industry, start making plans now to escape it. Save up, invest money, create a nest egg, and then use that as a springboard to launch whatever it was that you should have been doing all along.
Your Job Isn’t A Good Fit
Sometimes you need to face facts and admit that your job isn’t a good fit. You liked the idea when you applied, but the reality isn’t what you’d hoped. Most days you’re bored, stressed or both.
If your job isn’t a good fit, go to a career coach and take a test to see what kind of work suits you. The insights you get from these exercises can be a wonderful first step towards a happier, healthier working life.
You Think You Need To Follow Societal Norms
Can you name a single ultra-successful person who followed societal norms? Probably not. That’s because successful people break the mold. They see the deal that society offers them and respond with “no thanks, I think I’ll do it my way.”
Going it alone can be terrifying, and many people don’t make it. However, those that do experience levels of success that are hard for the average person to imagine. They earn millions of dollars per year, own private jets, and can essentially write their own paychecks.
If you don’t want to, don’t feel pressured into following what society tells you to do. You don’t have to go to college, get a family, take out a mortgage or buy a car. You can avoid all those things and just focus on what really matters to you. Almost always, if you’re passionate about it, the universe will reward you in some way.
So, there you have it: some of the annoying little things that are holding you back from getting the success you deserve.
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