Enjoying the Journey - Advice From LinkedIn’s Influencers
LinkedIn has published a series of articles from their top influencers on the best piece of advice they have received. Each article features different advice, and how it affected the author’s business and personal life. Contributors range from Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief at The Huffington Post Media Group to Pete Cashmore, Founder and CEO of Mashable. The stories they offer range from the typical, ‘lead from the front’ and ‘pay attention to the detail’ to the inspirational ‘let the wheel fly!’ and the hard to hear ‘shut up and listen’. The article that resonated the most with me was from Chester Elton, New York Times Best Selling Author of All In. The best piece of advice he had received was to enjoy the journey. Life can get busy with figuring out the strategy for the future or accomplishing the daily to-do list. But it is not all worth it if you do not stop to look around you, see the successes, and enjoy the place you are in life at that moment.
I am guilty of not enjoying the journey. I have a constant to-do list (and if I’m being honest, I have more than one) and I’m always planning for my future, both professionally and personally. But through some therapy sessions and soul searching, I’ve come to a place where I’m paying attention to the now, and trying not to worry about the future. I have no control over what happens tomorrow or next week, or even in the next ten minutes. All I can control is how I feel in each moment. And you know what? I feel like that revelation has given me a more positive approach to my work, and has allowed me to become a better employee. I’m not always going to agree with a colleague, or want to do a task assigned to me. But if I can isolate the moment and just do the best work that I can, it truly feels like I am enjoying the journey, because I’m not wallowing in anger, frustration or stress. I’m taking it day-by-day, moment-by-moment.
Of course I still plan my schedule, but I know that those plans are fluid, and can change in a second, and a key to being a great employee is being adaptable. I know I still have work to do on this front, and that there is something to be said for being steadfast, but if being flexible will make me a better person and a better employee, well then that’s my goal.
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