What Holds you Back from Advancing Faster at Work

I had a lot of dreams about what my dope, awesome career in Advertising would look like. Basically, I would be a mix of modern day Mad Woman and Carrie Bradshaw, wearing cool clothes and being all creative and awesome.

Much of that energy landed me my first job in NYC. Cool. 

And then I started working. I was entry-level and I was doing entry-level work and I became jaded. Not cool.

Almost immediately, I began thinking things like “Um, helloooo everyone, I’m a lot smarter than figuring out expenses and billing.” Or “This client is lame and I’m way better than writing these pitches.” (Side note: sincere apology to my former bosses, and thanks for not firing me) 

There’s a small caveat that usually gets most of us tripped up. The truth: I actually AM smarter than the work I was doing, and my potential was higher than the entry-level work. 

AND, when you’re at work and the whole time you’re thinking “this is bullshit and lame and I shouldn’t have to do this dumb work,” it’s pretty easy to guess the quality of my work and how well I was focusing. 

That first year, I averaged about 11 hours of work per day. Seems interesting that work that was so simple and dumb took me that long…

So, I completely whiffed on understanding how the thoughts in my head affected how I did my work, and how I presented myself at work. And I spent years wondering why and being frustrated that I wasn’t advancing faster. The problem wasn’t about believing in my ability, but about how I applied my ability to the work that was right in front of me.

On the flip side, just for fun, what if I came to work everyday and thought “Maybe this isn’t perfect, but I have so much to learn here,” or “I don’t know how this will apply someday, but the amount that I can learn is endless.” That woman likely would’ve found tons of ways to contribute and add value, and might have surprised herself at how quickly she advanced. 

If you’re frustrated by your work or feel stuck in your role, send me a message on the “Contact page” to set up a free consultation call to discover what thought patterns might be blocking you and why, so you can become the leader you were meant to be.