Why You Can’t Get Ahead

Have you ever come across people who don’t know what they’re doing? And yet, they easily navigate through life, get promotions, and everyone believes they’re doing an amazing job when, in reality, they don’t do any of the work themselves.

So – how are they able to fool so many and get ahead?

In all honesty, there are certain actions I can see others do that I would never be able to do myself, out of sheer principle. For example, I have noticed that people who get far in life on little skill tend to adapt their personality based on who they’re speaking with. They use an over-the-top attitude whenever around outgoing people and pretend to be very close friends with the not-so-outgoing ones. They will gossip behind everyone’s backs, their target varying depending on who they’re speaking to. And while some people (excuse my language) can smell the bullshit from miles away, others very unexpectedly eat it up.

However, perhaps other attitudes can be taken as an example of what to do. Here are some of the points I believe actually help you feel better about your career or your life in general.

• Stop complaining. Believe me, if you’re always complaining about everything all the time, it is not them that are wrong, it’s you. At some point, you’re either unhappy and need to change in your life, or you need to realise that your attitude isn’t the right one. If someone’s asking you to do something you don’t want to do, figure out why and express it in objective thoughts that prove your point. Don’t make it all about you not wanting to do something, but rather on why you believe that isn’t the best way to proceed.
• Find solutions. Rather than always leading with “No”, think of a better solution to a problem so that you can present the problem and the solution right away. Not only are you making sure that people notice your efforts and that you want to help rather than come up with problems all the time, but you’re also keeping yourself from having to participate in 3 meetings trying to reach a solution as a group.
• Be happy about the work you produce. Everyone has the same issue: you’re happy about what you’ve done, until someone comes back to you with feedback that leads you to change it into something you’re definitely not very happy with. Well, much like the above, you have a solution: instead of complaining once again and seeing their feedback as a problem, try to find a better way of presenting your previous work while keeping their feedback in mind. This will make sure that both you and your client/boss are happy with the outcome, a win-win situation.

There are many more points we have to focus on to ensure others see us, however the above ones are the main points I notice and think everyone should work on.

Do you have others? Let me know below 😊