How do you become your best self at work? The first step is to tune into how you navigate your career. Are you someone who dwells in the past or do you keep an open mind when a new opportunity comes your way? Do you find regrets are preventing you from building a future?
Small steps can be very effective in the journey towards change. Which is why “Those Woulda-Coulda-Shouldas/All Ran Away And Hid/From One Little Did” in the Shel Silverstein poem.
Take our quiz to find out whether you’re a Woulda-Coulda-Shoulda or the one who just goes out and makes things happen.
- When you get a great idea, you:
A. Immediately think back on all the other great ideas that you’ve had
B. Don’t act
C. Ask yourself why you didn’t think of it a month or two earlier
D. Make it happen
2. Discussing your career with co-workers, the conversation is usually about:
A. All the mistakes you have made that derailed your professional growth
B. How unhappy you are in your current job and how desperate you are for a change
C. Giving up on your dream career for a financially stable career
D. Encouraging them to take action and see possibilities that they may not be able to see by themselves
3. How much importance do you see in doing versus talking?
A. None at all
B. A little bit
C. Enough to feel sorry you didn’t take action sooner
D. You place a lot of importance in doing what you say you are going to do
4. You hear of a job opening in a company you’ve dreamt of working for. You:
A. Think about how it’s never worked out for you before
B. Feel you don’t deserve it, so you put off applying for the job
C. Conjure up all of the “what ifs” that your mind will allow as you watch the opportunity slip by
D. Don’t put it off or wait another second. Get it done!
5. When you make a commitment, do you always keep it?
A. No, because in your experience, people don’t really keep promises
B. You start with good intentions, but then, things happen, you know?
C. You realise you shouldn’t have done it, and are experiencing a mix of guilt, inadequacy, panic and fear.
D. 100% always
6. How much of your to-do list do you accomplish?
A. Nothing, since making lists has never been your jam
B. Very little, because it appears enormous and overwhelming
C. You’ve ploughed through half but are filled with self-reproach that you haven’t done it all
D. Almost all the boxes are ticked off
7. You’re mid-way through a project when things start to fail. Your first reaction is:
A. To blame situations and people.
B. ‘I’ll deal with it later’.
C. ‘I never should have signed up for this task’.
D. To focus on action you can take that will move the project forward.
8. When you find out that you’ve been passed over for a promotion, you:
A. Wonder why these things always happen to you
B. Feel disheartened, but make no attempt to understand what went wrong.
C. Think you should have worked harder to achieve it.
D. Try and understand where you went wrong and work on changing it.
9. When you talk about the last great idea you had, your friends react by:
A. Mimicking your words, since this isn’t the first time you’ve walked them down memory lane
B. Roll their eyes, because they know you’re just rambling
C. They listen half-heartedly because they know the story ends with disappointment.
D. You believe talking about your plans is a waste of time. You just action them.
10. Which of these slogans best describes you:
A. ‘One of the best ways to make yourself happy in the present is to recall happy times from the past.’
B. ‘If it weren’t for the last minute, nothing would get done.’
C. ‘Regrets are idle; yet history is one long regret. Everything might have turned out so differently.’
D. ‘Just #GoOutAndBe’
So how did you score? If you’re:
Mostly A’s – You’re a WOULDA
You seem to be a person who likes to dwell on the past. And although our experiences do help us grow and become stronger, focusing your energies on memories of the past instead of living in the present could actually be keeping you from success. It’s time you learn how to let go and focus on the here and now—you’ll be surprised at what you can achieve when you pursue your goals without the distraction of nostalgia.
Mostly B’s – You’re a COULDA
Whether you’re overwhelmed or striving for perfection, you’re someone with a tendency to procrastinate. And while there is a school of thought that believes procrastination might actually be good for you, the fact remains that it has more bad influences on a person’s life than good. So what’s the best way to break the habit? Identify the specific areas where you are procrastinating and map out the steps required to achieve your goal.
Mostly C’s – You’re a SHOULDA
Regret is probably a looming presence your life—either because something did or did not go your way. Today, you’re replaying the scenarios over and over in your head—and want to be able to rewind time and get a do-over.
But consistently looking behind and wishing for the impossible could be keeping you from noticing what is right in front of you and making the most of impending opportunities. So ask yourself what you need to do to support yourself in moving forward.
Mostly D’s – You’re an ACTION person!
We should all aspire to be this type of person who will #GoOutAndBe. You live completely in the here and now and make informed decisions from one moment to the next. You don’t brood over consequences for long; you quickly grasp all the relevant facts, make a pragmatic decision and enforce that decision vigorously. You keep a clear head even in difficult situations.
It’s time to #GoOutAndBe for A’s, B’s and C’s. Millions of Jobs. Find Yours. Upload your resume to Find Better.
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