Are you simply going along for the ride or are you driving the car? Which choice will take you where you want to go? Last week on Episode 68 we spoke about “Turning a Negative Into a Positive” and we are going to continue speaking about this, in this week’s episode “Deal With It”.
In the construction trade we work ourselves out of a job. If you haven’t been laid off it may very well happen in the future; because this is just the nature of our job. Should we slow down our work to make the job last longer? No, because then the boss will not be making any money and if he isn’t making any money he will not be able to keep us working, so we have the same result. We should always be planning our future so that we can deal with the unexpected turns in life.
We talk about safety on the job all the time; be alert, be prepared, look around and know what’s going on around you. We need to do this in our careers also. We have to always be looking for that opportunity. When working in the Trades you need to understand the game of the construction field. There are those around you that are at different levels in their careers:
There are those who are new to the profession that may not even realize that there is a game. But there is, and they can help themselves by learning the rules of the game. When you don’t know the game sometimes you just need to sit back, listen and watch and learn the rules. In this way, they are preparing for what they will need to do in the future.
There are those that have been around for awhile and want to make their mark on the construction field. Some of these want to be noticed and will tear down others just so that they can move up the ladder. But this becomes known and then their reputation is ruined and they leave a wake of damage behind them.
There are also those that are seasoned in the trades and have self confidence based on experience. But some of these do not know how to relate to those under them. They feel that they had to work hard to get to the place they are at so they are not going to show a younger tradesman how to do it.
There are also those who no matter what stage they are at, continue to grow and learn new things so that when an opportunity comes they are ready.
And then there is everyone in-between.
Challenge yourself to learn 2 or 3 new things every week or better yet learn something new everyday. You never want to reach the point that you think you have arrived. You always want to be learning how to play the game of “life” so that you are ready for whatever comes your way. If you lose your job, you will have enough skills and self-confidence to see this as an opportunity to get a better job. You hear about glass half full or half empty attitudes, but these are just feel statements, with no real action. You need to take action so that you can fill the cup up to the brim not only half full or empty. When your cup starts getting down go do something: listen to a podcast, go learn something new, take a course on the internet. Many courses are on the Surging Forward website.
Learn what you can control in your life and what you can’t. What you can control in your life is things that you do; what you can’t control in your life is things that other people do. If you can control it and things are not going well, then take action to change it. If you are a foreman and there are problems on the job then change it. Don’t let the problems continue. Fix it. If you don’t know how to fix it then go read a book or even easier “Goggle” it.
If you are in a situation and someone does something you don’t agree with and you have no control over it, then you just need to accept that fact and “deal with it”. If a boss makes a decision you don’t like; you can go and talk to him and offer a suggestion. If he insists that this is the way it is to be done, then you need to do it his way or quit. This is where your self-confidence comes into play. If you can not abide by the bosses changes then you need to work on what you can control and start improving your skills so that you can move on to another job.
You should always be keeping your glass full and even overflowing because as your cup overflows, the water overflows around you and then you are making a difference in the lives of the people around you. You will be influencing them in a positive way. Don’t allow circumstances or other people to influence you in a negative way. You can’t make choices for someone else. You can only decide to make a choice for yourself. You can’t make another person do anything. You can only choose what you want to do. You can choose to always be learning and taking advantage of as much training as possible so that when tough times come you are ready and can take advantage of the opportunity.
Look at the stock market. When it starts going down some people panic and start selling their stocks, but whenever you sell a stock someone has to be willing to buy it. They are taking advantage of this opportunity that others saw as a negative. Remember to always be planning for your future so that you can take a negative and turn it into a positive and keep “Surging Forward”.
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