Why we Need to Take Risks
One of the most common frustrations I hear from people is that they don't feel like there are enough opportunities for them to truly go out on a limb and stretch themselves to their full potential. They might as well be reading this blog post and nodding their heads in agreement.
It's one thing if you're not feeling like you're achieving all that you can, but it's even worse when there doesn't seem to be an opportunity in sight. Take my word for it, there are plenty of chances out there, but they require stepping outside your comfort zone and risking failure (yuck). Here are some tips on how you can navigate the risks to get to where you want to be:
1. Think long-term instead of short-term. If you're really at a crossroads in your career it's easy to look at that decision as one that will set your career path for the next year or two (assuming it goes well), but you have to think about the bigger picture. When looking for a new job or making a big decision, think about "do I want this job/opportunity enough that I'm willing to take a gamble?" Yes, of course, but don't forget about what happens after (or even more important, sometime in the middle).
2. Make sure you're not committing to something that might lead to problems later on. A huge example of this is when you decide to take a job, even if it's temporary, that has similar roles as your current position at another organization. This can often lead to problems and FOMO (fear of missing out) for both the employee and the company they work for. Let's say you really love working at ABC Company but you want a change since there are new job opportunities available elsewhere. If you decide to accept this temporary position instead of taking the permanent job offer at ABC Company, you might run into problems down the road and be stuck in that position until the offer is rescinded or a time comes when your skills and experience are outdated.
3. If it's temporary, do it for the sake of learning something (and don't overthink it too much). A situation that I've seen over and over again is when people decide to take a temporary or part-time gig when they have another full-time job or internship. When an individual has more than one job available, they often say "I'll take whatever comes along. Either way, I'm not going to overthink things and get myself into a bad situation." A lot of people have this mentality and they don't take the time to figure out what's really going to make them happy long-term instead of just hopping from one thing to the next.
4. Think about where you want to be in five years (or every year). One of my favorite ways to think about it is that if I want a certain job or career in five years, then that means I need to consider making some trade-offs today. It's a catch-22 when trying to get more confidence in your own abilities, but it's one that we have no other choice but to deal with. If you're not where you want to be in terms of your career, then make a conscious effort to take the risk and do what it takes to get there.
5. Be willing to sacrifice something that's important now for something better later (kind of). There are certain parts of your life that are always going to be difficult or inconvenient no matter what, no matter how much you try to avoid them. If you have a job and school then you'll have work-related stressors, and if you have school then there is the stress of dealing with schoolwork and projects (unless you're doing this as a hobby). However, what you can do is decide which is more important to you and make sure that you're not doing too much at once. For example, if school is more important to me then I'm going to put less effort into my job (or possibly quit) in order to focus more on schoolwork. In the end, you might be sacrificing something now for a better opportunity later on.
6. Make sacrifices and hard decisions when necessary. Sometimes you just need to bite the bullet and do what's best for what you hope to achieve in your life or career long-term. If you're planning on applying for a job after college, then don't hold out on sending your resume because you want to make sure that you can make enough money to sustain yourself in the future. If you've been at the same job for a while and want new opportunities, then it might be time to move on if there are other company's that will pay more or acquire you faster. It doesn't mean that something bad happened during your position to make this decision, it just means that it wasn't working out as well as you'd hoped in terms of both career progression and financial rewards.
7. Apply for positions without knowing all the details (even if they seem great). Often times when an individual is at a crossroads in their career there is that big, obvious option that everyone points to. I'm talking about the job that you'd take in a heartbeat, even if it's something you're not totally qualified for or don't completely understand. A lot of people will say "you know what, I'd be crazy to pass this up because I'm 100% sure it's going to be great for me." This can often lead to the other way around where someone says "well, this job isn't exactly what I wanted but it seems like a good opportunity and it will still help me out eventually. I'll give it a shot and see what happens." The biggest problem with this line of thinking is that it's almost always a bad idea to make decisions without knowing all the details.
8. Learn from previous failures and move on from them. This applies to any situation, not just professional ones. It could be a romantic relationship, career or just friendships, but if you're making the same mistakes over and over again then you're never going to get better or move forward in your life. I've said before that fear of taking action is usually only as bad as the regret we have after doing nothing.
Conclusion
I hope this article was useful to you in some way and that you learned something new. What are other things that you try to remind yourself of when making decisions about life or career? What are your thoughts on the points I made throughout this article? Let me know in the comments below! If you enjoyed this post, please share it with your friends and let me know via social media (Facebook, Twitter, & Reddit)! Thanks for reading!
This blog post was originally written by my boyfriend Nick as part of his coursework for UNC Charlotte's one- semester practicum class called Globalization: Culture & Communication. By subscribing to his blog (which is located at http://www.nickslifecoachingblog.