Goals setting – Journey with Damian

How to be effective at work and do meaningful work?

Guts and gungho-ness.

Of course, it is important to have the right understanding and principles in order to do good work.

However, fear paralyses and unwillingness to make a call or have critical assessment of a particular matter will only hamper progress at work.

Having said that, guts and gungho-ness have its drawbacks. If coupled with the wrong understanding, the work done may be incorrect. And without the right principles, the guts and gungho-ness may just be seen as arrogance.

Thus, if you believe that you have reaonsably understood the big picture and have a right set of principles, do not let fear paralyse you. Move ahead and execute. Be gutsy and gungho.

If things are done with honest intention and careful consideration, it would be great work or a good lesson for your career.

Indecision and inaction only encourages poor habits at work.

This style of work is not the usual please-your-bosses-and-suck-up-to-them. This style of work may not be a crowd favourite because in wanting to get work done, sometimes, you will have plough through the politics. But if you want to do real work, you gotta cut the BS out of work and focus on work itself.

We are not employed to please our co-workers and bosses. Respect will be given to those who are genuine at work. Basic respects to management. And that’s about it.

And for me, to do meaningful work and to have meaning at work are very important to me. That’s the reason why I left my last place of work and went to drive a taxi while I look for new opportunities. I will never be a slave to an organisation that do not appreciate value.

Be encouraged. Even during this CB period, we will never be slave to our companies. We must endeavour to give our best and similarly, we will judge our companies by their efforts in doing their best for us. Never let the fear of losing your job stop you from providing genuine value at work. And never find excuses for yourself.

Genuine hard workers will never die hungry. We may have a more humble lifestyle but that is a life that I am happy to have, rather than to be in fake place pleasing others and doing pointless work.

Be gutsy, be gungho, do good work and be true to yourself.

Do you remember the moment sometime last year where we felt hopeful and inspired to start afresh in 2019? We then proceeded to jot down our goals for the year and went into the year feeling that 2019 will be a defining year.

Fast forward to the end of 2019, I guess it felt like de jevu, all over again, back to reviewing the past year, goal setting and encouraging ourselves that the new year will bring new changes.

Some of our goals will be achieved while others will seem like a “failure”. Personally, I did achieve some of mine but I remind myself not to put myself down for not achieving the rest.

There is a fine line in making sure that we are accountable to our commitments and goals and bashing ourselves and making it more than it should be, thus demoralising our own spirit.

So this post is just a quick reminder on the importance of goals, an honest reflection and the way forward.

1. Goals

As the name suggests, they define our goal posts, areas for us to score, so that we know we have achieved something. Without them, we would be aimless. Thus, to have a successful year, we have to be clear with what we want to achieve.

2. Reflection

Reflecting on our past years help us identify bumps on the roads that caused us to not reach our target and goals. Reflecting gives us perspectives and at times, takes away the subconscious guilt that we do place on ourselves for not achieving something. Reflection (honest one) gives us knowledge and power to set us up for probable success in the new year ahead.

3. Way Forward

The simplest way would be to list a new sets of goals for the new year. However, a more effective way and efficient one would be to use the information gathered from our reflections (point 2) and implement strategies to help us cope and ensure the rate of success in achieving our goals rises.

Every “failure” and moments of work are great learning experiences. While many of us (in this perfectionist and well informed society) may not like the trial and error process, great inventions and moment of brilliance in life were still products of this timeless strategy. We should never let lack of information or the need for a perfect strategy stop us from moving forward.

I guess the best way to look at 2020 is to head into it with renewed hope, an improved strategy, and the guts and tenacity to do our best to make it better than 2019.

Tag: Goals setting

How to be effective at work and do meaningful work

An Honest Review for 2019