Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Punxsutawney Phil, I Do Not Need Your Setbacks


By: Maureen Corbett

Our beloved groundhog that we rely on heavily to predict future weather events saw his shadow last week. For all the winter-lovers out there this may be a good thing, but for the rest of us who don’t appreciate the cold this came as bad news. I know we have been experiencing some beautiful “winter” weather the past couple of weeks (if you can even call 50 degrees winter), but now that it has cooled back down it is somewhat of a disappointment to hear that there are still six more weeks of winter left.
This got me to thinking: How do we experience similar situations in school or the workplace? In every job you well ever experience, it is guaranteed that you will encounter setbacks and disappointments. However, the way in which you deal with these setbacks is an outward demonstration of your character and quality as an employee. Since we all get frustrated at some point when life throws us a curve ball, here are three simple ideas to help assist you though the rough patch:

1. Learn Your Lesson
Instead of getting angry at the world and victimizing yourself, take the time to assess the situation. Ask yourself what went wrong, and figure out what you can do in the future to make sure similar setbacks don’t occur.

2. Budget For Setbacks
When you initially start a new project at work, make sure you give yourself a little “wiggle room.” When you understand that unforeseeable problems may arise in the future, then you can budget this into your schedule. Calculate how long it would reasonably take to complete your assignment, and then give yourself some additional time in case of errors. That way, in case setbacks do occur, your project can still be completed in a timely fashion.

 3.  Move On
React as quickly as possible to your setbacks and move to make changes. Don’t dwell on the fact that the setback occurred, focus on how to fix it. If you keep your goal in mind and stay focused, I promise that you can overcome any challenge your job might throw at you. 

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