Are you competing in the wrong events?
I found my MBA pretty difficult.
What took many of my classmates minutes to get would take me hours of reviewing to learn. I went to all the office hours to feel comfortable with the material.
It was hard being in an environment where everyone seemed to understand and apply the teachings faster than me.
I felt pretty down on myself most of the year.
I burned out and had to take the summer off instead of interning.
Towards the end of the program, I took a design-thinking class where the focus was to use design principles to solve business challenges.
In one of the first classes, the professor showed us a piece of paper that had been cut and folded in a specific way. He asked us each to recreate it.
It took me less than a minute to recreate his design.
It took most of my classmates 5 minutes plus.
Many people never got it.
Aha!
Here was a type of thinking and problem-solving that came to me naturally.
In a year of uphill battles, finally, this was a class that felt fun and energizing.
I realized, I had been swimming in the wrong lane all year.
I’d been competing in a stroke that didn’t suit me.
No wonder I was exhausted.
It’s easy to get caught up mapping yourself onto the tried and tested formulas for success. The ones that appear in your social circles or the ones you read about in the news.
And while you can work hard at it for a while, ultimately if those environments don’t suit you, you will only get so far OR you will feel empty and lost at work.
Instead, you want to look at how you’re naturally designed.
What comes easily to you?
What does your brain like thinking about?
When you embrace your unique design and use that to direct your career,
You create the environment for yourself to thrive
You create the environment for yourself to thrive
You create a unique brand that sets you apart
You don’t waste energy mustering up motivation to do your work
You channel your energy into impact and big goals
Don’t compete in other people’s arenas. Create your own.
PS. I help my clients embrace their unique brand and use that to direct their career. It’s about learning to trust your gut, anyone can do it. If you want to learn more about the process and how it would work for you and where you are in your career and life, schedule a Career Strategy Session.
