What do roads have in common with your career? EVERYTHING!
Patience and an open attitude help you navigate to the appropriate path.
Do you ever notice how the lane next to you always moves faster? But the minute you manage to wiggle your way into that lane, your previous lane picks up, and this lane comes to a stand-still.
I was driving the other day in peak traffic (hard to believe that until recently, the roads were barely filled with any vehicles due to COVID), trying to navigate my way to the lane that was moving the fastest. After making multiple lane changes with no results, I started thinking about how we behave on the road is so similar to how we deal with our careers.
Although they seem parallel and equal, each lane works differently. Many factors and variables define the movement. The others in front of you define your pace. If there is a slow-moving car, it slows every car behind it. There is no way you can overtake that car unless you change lanes.
There is a career ladder defined for your job most of the time. However, if a leader does not encourage and get visibility for your team or promote their reports, there is no way anyone on your team can progress. In that case, it is best to explore other roles within the same organization and pursue your ambition. If the existing organization does not support your long-term goals, it is wise to look at other options and organizations. Good leaders always make sure that they show multiple options to their team members to pursue, learn, and succeed in their careers and lives. Good leaders are great mentors who take a personal interest in their team's success.
If there is a traffic jam, apps like Waze ask you to take the exit and re-route to a local road so that you can keep moving and reach your destination faster instead of being stuck in traffic and getting frustrated. Similarly, it’s good to take a break or take a totally different role to avoid feeling stuck in your current situation. We spend almost one-third of our lives working, so if it does not give you happiness and does not provide the outlet for your creativity and knowledge, it is not worth wasting time and effort on.
Sitting in your car looking at all the clogged-up lanes, you have the option to either get frustrated about the situation or look for alternatives. Every lane on the highway does not move at the same pace or even get you to where you need to be. There are multiple forks in the path, and you have to choose the right one to get to your destination. The path may be filled with detours, lane closures, or even a slow-moving tractor. Patience and an open attitude will help you navigate to the appropriate path.
Great thinking often happens doing the most mundane chores
It is strange to get so philosophical about driving a car, but everything in life is related. Great thinking often happens doing the most mundane chores, whether Einstein sitting in a bathtub filled with water or Newton sitting under an apple tree. So don’t stop thinking just because you’re doing something routine.
I would be very interested to know if you have had any “Ahaa moments” in your life when doing a routine chore.