Are you clear on your values? respect them

“Lasting change is a series of compromises. And compromise is all right, as long your values don’t change.” – Jane Goodall (1934 – ), English Anthropologist

As a coach, I often hear clients complaining about how things are not working for them and they get stressed. Many times in one’s career and in life we go through a feeling of disgust, frustration at something which is not in tune with our core values. It could be a bad boss or a toxic company culture.We then get into the blame game but we do not understand the real reason for this frustration.

Considering that we spend many hours at work, it becomes very important that the core values of the organization match with our personal core values. If it does not, then we will always be in a frustrated state of mind. You may do the job, but it would not be for the love of doing work, but the money that comes with it. The same is true if your values are in direct conflict with those of your boss. This causes stress and all the related symptoms that go with stress.

Conflict of values

" It’s not hard to make decisions when you know what your values are.” – Roy Disney (1893 – 1971), Walt Disney’s Elder Brother and the Financier of his Effort

An example of how hard it is to have corporate values embraced is a personal one. In one of my jobs, I experienced the biggest conflict of values which left me completely stressed. The organization that I worked with had signed up for a major transformation program with one of its clients. This particular client had the most complex technology platforms for which my organization had no skills and therefore was struggling to meet the client’s expectations. The conflict of values came when I realized that my boss and his superiors have been making all false promises to the client. There was absolutely no honesty in their dealings neither with the client nor the internal teams. My values for honesty and transparent behavior felt completely violated.
I decided it was time for me to look for more meaningful work elsewhere.

Are you living your core values or are you fulfilling someone else’s values?

We are familiar with work-related stress. It is often referred to as a part and parcel of having a career. But if you think deeper and look at what is causing you the stress, it may be because of the disconnect between your core values and the values of the company that you are working for. If money is the greatest motivator for you, then probably you do not have a choice but to continue working under stress. You are then working towards fulfilling someone else’s values.
Marshall Goldsmith in his book ” Mojo” explains how some people do nothing to change the status quo. They prefer to remain miserable rather than be happy.
Having your personal values persistently ignored is not good for any individual.

Respect your values.

“Ideas are a dime a dozen. People who put them into action are priceless.” – Author unknown

Focus on your core values to be more effective in life and career.
Identify your passion and purpose in life. Ask yourself what is more important to you. Once you know what your passion is and what is your purpose in life, you will launch yourself on the path to success. Your values will provide you the required drive to work and be satisfied. It is very important that you respect your values and be true to your values. This may at times be difficult because your passion and dream may drive you to achieve something which is not always acceptable to everyone around you. But if you are true to your self, then this may not be a bigger hurdle to cross.

Shifting from apathy to being happy is completely in your control. It may look difficult at first, but there are several real inspiring stories which narrate how people have done it.
Hire a coach who can help you navigate the turbulence, challenge your thinking, provide you with different perspectives. Take control of your life and career and up your Mojo.

Marshall Goldsmith in his book ” Mojo” says the following
“It is your life. If your Mojo is suffering, no one can make the “you vs. it” decision for you. My only suggestion is that you become clear on your own values and make a thoughtful decision”

Are you clear on your own values? Ask yourself the following to identify your personal values
1. What is most important to you in your life?
2. What do you need in your life?
3. What motivates you in life?

Your insights may surprise you!

Override your emotions to respond

Photo by Amy Humphries on Unsplash

Most of you would have heard the cockroach story. If you haven’t , let me repeat it for you.

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming and jumping out of fear. After few desperate attempts, she finally managed to push the cockroach away, but it landed on another lady in the group.Now, it was the turn of this another lady to break into a dance and continue the drama.

While this was going on, the waiter enters the scene and rushes forward to their rescue. The cockroach next falls upon the waiter. The waiter was composed . He observed the cockroach that sat on his shirt, grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant. 

 While the cockroach was responsible for creating panic, it was the inability of the ladies in the room to manage the panic that made them React. The waiter was more composed , and he therefore Responded.

 Isn’t this something which happens to most of us. An unpleasant news, unexpected behavior from a colleague/friend/children or anyone close to us ,sends us into a reactive mode.

 In the office, you are all set to make a terrific presentation and midway you lose your cool because people start pointing errors, ask difficult questions or don’t agree with your ideas. Such reactions many a time snowball into bigger issues that get out of control.

Reaction is the root cause for distress, unclear thinking ,  creating a toxic environment , but when you respond , it would be more rounded , controlled and confident you, responding to a situation. 

Responding to a situation , however, bad or good ,allows you  to think and be in control. It also increases the confidence of those that work with you.

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space.  In that space is our power to choose our response.  In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”   -Victor Frankl