Life is a journey as one of my former managers said. In this festive season, I thought it would be best to highlight some lessons I have learnt and the wisdom passed on by others in both my professional and private life. I see the following as wake up calls, harsh lessons, reality checks and even motivational thoughts. So in no particular order, here they are:
- Things get worse before they get better
- Bad news tends to come together at the same time
- Opportunities can jump at you when you least expect them to
- Your gut instinct is always almost right
- You may not always get what you ask for
- You may have to settle for your second choice: you probably won’t get your first choice
- Bear in mind that you may have to take small, baby steps to make big advances
- Don’t look for quick fixes: be prepared to being excruciatingly patient
- Stay the course before making a final decision
- Don’t be afraid to ask advice from others
- If something isn’t working out, don’t be scared and shy of admitting defeat: bail before you get washed out
- Don’t be afraid of experimenting, taking risks
- Don’t always look to be in your comfort zone: accept that you need to push yourself to get better at doing what you do
- Accept that some things will never be perfect
- Don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo
- Punch above your own weight
- See boring, uninspiring tasks as challenges as you never know where they might lead you
- When it comes to jobs and companies, it invariably comes down to cultural fit so don’t beat yourself up if you don’t manage to secure an offer
- Try avoiding people who have detrimental impact on your life
- All things being equal, the simplest explanation normally tend to be the right one
- A degree doesn’t make you intelligent but it gives you an edge
- Not everybody is capable of maintaining a professional approach to work
- It is easy to be a micro – manager but far harder to be an inspirational, likeable manager
- You don’t need to sweat to prove a point and nor does it make you more authoritative
- Don’t take things seriously and more importantly, don’t take yourself seriously
- Accept that you won’t always get things right the first time
- It may take people a while to understand what you are all about
- Extract happiness from the smallest things in life
- There will inevitably come a time in life, when you will run into the wrong people who will have a detrimental impact on your life
Most importantly though, ‘be certain to learn life’s lessons and move on’.
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