I finally have figured out the best way to survive and thrive in any large company environment. You HAVE to embrace change and be prepared to bend with it. Depending on the company you find yourself in, there will always be change – sometimes little changes, and other times, large earth-moving changes that really send you reeling. You can’t always worry about what happens to others you work around, as sometimes it’s due to things they may or may not bring upon themselves. As long as you’re doing what you’re doing to the best of your ability, you will make it further, higher, and longer than those who constantly fight the system and any rules that go along with it.
I’ve had jobs in the past where I ended up hating what I was doing, fought with my bosses, and tried to make my own rules…..but in the end, I had to realize that they were the ones who held the reigns, and if I wanted to remain on the ferry/bandwagon, I had to be willing to be flexible to those who made the decisions.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the grumblings and discontentment of any place of employment, and invariably it’ll end up dragging you down along with it, but if you find out the real story to anything that is going on, then it helps you see it in a larger perspective. As has been said in Babylon 5, there are three sides to a story – one side, the other side, and the truth. It’s up to us to decide which way to weigh the evidence. Yes, there have been times I have just up and quit, gone my way, and found something else, but if you’re not single and mobile, then it’s quite a bit harder to do.
I’m tired of starting over – I really am. Most people have firmly established themselves in a career by the time they are 30 – I’m a fair piece past that, so it’s hit me a bit hard in the reality check department. I’m in the career I am now, and it’s up to me to make the best of the situation and try to excel in it. I owe this to my family, my friends, and most of all, to myself. I think I’m doing a good thing now, and I’m finally happy with the decision I made to stick it out here.
Being in a career is a choice – a choice to not like what you do and move on, or enjoy what you do, do your best in the environment you’re in, and rise upwards. If you don’t enjoy what you do, then move on to something you DO enjoy doing. Don’t let it drag you down. There are options out there. It’s not always easy to get where you want to go, but it’s worth working towards.
I’m celebrating 3 years in 9 days on my current career, and pretty proud of it too! 🙂