In the observation of Winston Churchill that success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.
Let’s talk about things not working out, job wise. And I guess things aren’t exactly on the pedestal; not with the government remaining tightfisted when it came to palming out a hike in minimum wage, in their statement for Labour Day just yesterday.
The long and short of it: things will not always work out. And that begs the question; do things really work out or do people work to make things better?
Life is a journey of twists, turns, and surprises. You may have your house in order this moment, and then the next you’re shaken by a bolt from the blue and you lose it. The flip side also happens. You can be in a dark dungeon of hopelessness but then you develop wings and fly out to a better life. That’s the plot of the story called life, and what makes it interesting is that human beings have the power to be the raconteurs and tell it the way they want.
One of the things that keeps employees on pins and needles is job security. In an environment where you feel like a loose tooth, you never really have that grip to work confidently without fear making a horrifying whisper into your ears, to remind you that any second may strike you off the company’s payroll, just like that. In the same vein, the jobless lot is constantly feeling frustrated in the cage called ‘failure to get a job’.
Treating a job like a relationship, then it’s people who make things better and not things that work out on their own. I’ve heard countless people say “I hope our relationship works.” But the truth is that relationships don’t work, but people work to give sense and meaning to the relationship. Therefore, in your ‘relationship’ with your career, don’t just sit and pray that things work out. Change will kick in the door uninvited at any point, and it may be pleasant or throat-choking, but that need not be the end of the road for you.
As long as you have the skill and the self belief, and you are constantly and deliberately improving yourself, no one will ignore you. It may take some time, but ultimately things will bow to the work you put in and doors will open. It could be in a business, or it could be a new job, or a breakthrough in a project.
Whether your job sucks or you are jobless, or nothing is going the way you hoped—learn to remain wrapped in the observation of Winston Churchill that success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.
Don’t lose your enthusiasm; don’t lose your essence however hard you’re shaken and forced to change form. The Tao’s fountain of wisdom advises: be like water. It may change in form or shape but it never loses its essence.
