New year, new goals, right? If you’ve entered the New Year feeling a little dissatisfied with your current work life, there’s good news. You can transform these difficulties into career success! In fact, people who experience career challenges can actually outgrow and outperform those who don’t. The key is in how you react to these obstacles. Research indicates that several types of approaches to professional challenges can make the difference between further disappointment and continual growth and success.
Types of Career Complications
The difficulties we face at work range from general to more specific and include things like:
- Missing out on a promotion or a raise
- Not getting assigned to a critical project
- Getting bored by a monotonous workload
- Being told you lack a specific skill for a job
- Struggling with the demands of your role
- Not meeting goals at work
But these setbacks can become stepping stones toward unprecedented success with the right mindset and strategies.
Your Career is a Journey
Research across disciplines indicates that the best way to think about your career is as a path with many curves and detours — and to consider that unexpected changes may actually benefit you. Treating challenges at work as an opportunity to reframe your perspective can lead to the most success in the long term. That might mean reevaluating your priorities or looking outside your comfort zone for new positions. If you’re unhappy with work or feel overlooked, try one of these approaches to launch your career’s next chapter.
Does Your Idea of Success Align With Your Current Goals?
If your feeling dissatisfied, it may be time to reflect on whether your original career ambitions match your current priorities and values. You have grown since you first decided what success meant, and it may be time to redefine your goals. For instance, if you missed out on a promotion, perhaps it’s time to reflect on what it was about that new job you desired, and if it was right for you — or you were right for it — after all. You may find you need to redefine the kinds of roles you want. It’s this kind of reframing that determines your future success — and in that way, the setback is actually a boon.
Have You Considered Unconventional Career Paths?
When we’re in the middle of our day-to-day worklife, it may seem that there’s only one, conventional way forward — climbing the vertical corporate ladder. But most career paths aren’t linear. Use your dissatisfaction as a springboard to consider opportunities you may not have otherwise. For instance, if you’re constantly feeling disinterested in your job, you may want to reconsider your professional objectives. Perhaps a similar role that requires more creativity might fit you better, even if it might require additional education or training. Ultimately, your happiness and satisfaction may be found outside of the path you thought you were on.
Could You Develop a Continual Growth Mindset?
People who cultivate habits that lead to ongoing learning have the most success at work. Treat your career difficulties as an opportunity to find ways you can expand your capabilities in hard and soft ways. For instance, if you’ve failed to meet your end-of-year targets, you can ask a mentor to provide career guidance and point you towards potential skills to help you improve for the future. Don’t just treat this as a one-and-done activity. Those actions you take now can define habits that will last you a lifetime — only making you happier and more effective at work.
As we step into the New Year, you may feel like career success has been elusive. But setbacks, regardless of the career path, can serve as transformative moments. By reassessing goals, exploring unconventional opportunities, and fostering a growth mindset, individuals can turn dissatisfaction into a catalyst for ongoing success.
Ready to expand your opportunities in the New Year? Reach out and let’s talk!
