More Personal Aphorisms on Work

“Advice is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, Part 1)

• I recently made peace with this realisation: In life and work, it is okay if you cannot show up for others as much as you would like. Sometimes, the tow truck needs a tow truck.
• Need to learn a new skill or start a new programme? Does it feel daunting? That’s completely normal. Starting can be the hardest part, but sometimes it becomes more bearable along the way. Just start.
• You do not have to go from point 1 to point 50 in one leap. You can do it incrementally. Maybe you can make huge strides, but make sure you do not lose your legs in the process.
• Instead of asking, “What did I learn?” or “What will I do differently next time?” ask: “How can the experience make me a better person?” It’s a little different, but it unusually changes your perspective. Credit: Admired Leadership Newsletter.
• It’s wrong to think that good leadership is the only predictor of success for organisations. There are so many factors that work hand-in-hand to guarantee business success. Credit to RigoArcher.
• When you see high-performing colleagues who have had little growth in an organisation, do not be quick to equate their stagnancy and poor growth to self-ignorance or slam the tag of “poor environment for growth” on the organisation. It is rarely simple, and I wish you good luck trying to get all the answers.
• Stand up for a colleague when you can, irrespective of their career status, contract type, economic state, or even performance class. It is called being kind; you should try it sometimes.
• Before you yell at work, ask yourself, “Is it worth it?” If the answer is yes, ask yourself a second and a third time.
• Teach others! Teach others! Teach others! You were taught what you know in some form or manner. Pass that knowledge along!
• Pick a random conversation with a colleague at work. What’s the worst that can happen? They aren’t in the mood, and you get ignored? Or you could finally find a fellow otaku at work. (PS: Otaku is a Japanese word that describes people with consuming interests, particularly in anime, manga, video games, or computers.)
• Know anyone who you feel deserves better or is worth more? Try to check if your opinion is needed or if you need to mind your own business.
• How about we normalise regularly saying that it’s not cool to take sexual advantage of our colleagues?
• When you take on a role, strive to leave it better than you inherited it. If you ever choose to resign, be the type of person they’ll tell, “If you ever want to come back, our doors are open.”
• Reward high performers with acceptable means of appreciation. Don’t start whining like a 2-year-old when they hand in a resignation letter about how great and expendable they are while spitting, “You are the future of the firm blah blah blah.”
• “I will go from point A to point B, then I’ll move to point C and then to point D.” LOL! Ask around; the journey is rarely straightforward.
• Do not fall prey to the bandwagon effect. Are you doing it because you want to or because everyone else is doing it?
• It’s a nice thing to consult others. But sometimes, let’s face the fact that consultations can be tiring. That which is supposed to help becomes crippling.
• I still struggle with this: stop saying, “I have never taken time off work” or “Even when I am sick, I still push myself to get work done.” Isn’t it time we stopped promoting near-death experiences at work?
• Have you considered the fact that your workplace might not be as toxic as you think? Have you thought it could be because of your lack of competence and because your colleagues are tired of you constantly dropping the ball? I could be wrong; who knows?
• Dear highly conscientious and driven comrade, it’s okay to say, “I can’t handle this” or “I need time off.” It is not a sign of inefficiency. You don’t get medals for being burned out.
• I don’t know who needs to hear this. Feedback is NOT an attack! Credit: Reward Davies.
• This is quite sensitive, and I recently came to this realisation: sometimes, to preserve your humanity, you might have to walk away from a terrible job without a replacement offer. Before you do this, ask yourself, “How much of my humanity am I willing to sacrifice?”
• Practice peace in chaos. There are some issues you cannot handle. Remember, even Jesus Christ slept during a storm (Matthew 8:24). Credit to Emmanuel Iren.
• Cultivating a passion for your craft is the first step towards mastery. Remember, work not only defines what we do but often who we are. Embrace every challenge as an opportunity for growth, and never lose sight of the balance between labour and leisure. In every task, seek purpose, and in every endeavour, strive for fulfilment. Credit: Christian Ignacio.
• The best new ideas always have unanticipated benefits. So it’s stupid to require people who want to do new things to enumerate the benefits beforehand. Big Daddy Corporate might disagree, but oh well.
• Maintain a margin of safety. Always be stronger than you need to be. Leave room for the unexpected, because it will come, sweetheart. Credit: 3–2–1 Thursday.
• Talk less and think before you open your mouth. Instead of making a statement, try asking an honest question. Instead of saying, “I don’t think this plan will work,” ask, “What is the exact outcome we are looking for?” Instead of saying, “That doesn’t make any sense,” ask, “Can you explain it again?” Instead of saying, “This is dumb,” try asking, “Are you sure this is the right way to move forward?” Credit: Jocko Willink.
• This isn’t a silver bullet, but ask yourself, “If I woke up in 10 years and everything was broken, what went wrong?” This pre-mortem exercise is a useful self-check to avoid obvious mishaps along the way. Think and recalibrate! Credit: Curiosity Chronicle.
• At a lower level (career, financial status, etc.), strive to identify your blind spots and Achilles heel. I don’t know; ask people, take a personality test, or even pray about it. Whatever works man! They say that the higher the monkey climbs on the pole, the more you can see its ass.
• As you grind, beware of the Arrival Fallacy trap. It is the false assumption that achieving a big goal will create lasting happiness in our lives. Once that big break comes — a new job or that fat paycheck — dissatisfaction will creep in sooner than you think. The reality is that achievement is not a lasting source of happiness. But there’s a bright side: you will feel empty with a fatter paycheck. Selah!