EXPERIENCE ACCRUES TO THE DOER - FELLOW MILLENNIALS AND YOUNGER ONES HERE'S MY TWO CENTS

EXPERIENCE ACCRUES TO THE DOER - FELLOW MILLENNIALS & YOUNGER ONES, HERE'S MY TWO CENTS


A very true statement nearly all of us grew up hearing; "experience is the best teacher". No matter how much theory one may gather on a subject of practical application, one
can never fully grasp its essence without putting the theoretical knowledge to test practically and physically executing.

Many a young person complains about being handed the mundane, tiresome and boring tasks at work by their supervisors and managers who are usually a generation or two older, we are often heard saying to our peers "I do all the hard work"

Well guess what dear young person; getting to do "all the hard-work" is a blessing in disguise right there! It's an opportunity to test and prove all the theoretical
learning one may possess and even
formulate new innovative methods
in the process.

Those "mundane", tiresome and "boring" tasks by virtue of being part of approved and benchmarked Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are necessary for the completion of processes which one ought to know and understand well as a professional in one's line of work. Jim Rohn used to say "Repetition is the mother of skill" and there is a lot of truth and substance in that statement to corroborate the point of this discussion.

The more of a task one does over and over the more efficient and experienced one gets at executing that particular task. Because we work under supervision, errors and wrong short cuts get pointed out and eliminated, eventually we become seasoned experts in our line of work just by being interested and embracing those mundane, tiresome and boring tasks.

The beauty of this whole thing as our topic states is that EXPERIENCE ACCRUES TO THE DOER, so even when a supervisor or superior hands us difficult tasks which we may feel overwhelmed by as long as they are consistent with our work and not tantamount to abuse or unfair labour practices let's settle it in our hearts and dig right in because as much as the boss may get the glory for work put in and not pass some of it down our way we still win at the end of the day because the practical experience gained is our personally and no one can take it away from us, we own it and it gets to decorate our CV and self confidence at least work wise.

For those working as groups e.g. interns under one boss where tasks
are divided amongst the interns or trainees as it were, one must be eager and ever ready even to volunteer for those unpopular yet relevant tasks which by the nature of the work involved in doing them other people would shun or shy away from. Learning to take initiative and be courageous will foster a good work ethic and attitude towards work.

Many millennials carry aspirations and dreams of setting up our own businesses and being our own bosses, it is well placed thinking considering the power and contribution of SMMEs to the modern global economy. One might then pause and ask; "if I skirted around and avoided the mundane, tiresome and boring yet necessary tasks under supervision, will I even be able to get round to them as my own boss?"

Applying oneself, going the extra mile and taking initiative as young people at work asking ourselves how we'd behave if the business were ours helps us to shape the frame of mind requisite for entrepreneurship and not onlt owning but running our own businesses well.

When one has given their all in the work set before them and done it well the sense of accomplishment and success is theirs to revel in and cherish. The lessons learnt are one's heritage to look back at with pride when one has been polished to an expert or rock star kind of performer of repute in one's line of work. The successes registered on the job and the difficulties overcome all for one's personal colourful legacy which no one can take away, it accrues to the doer just as the experience that would have come with it.

Hiding in  the shadows and shying away from work or being
picky about tasks sends signals to those with whom we work about one's attitude towards work and most definitely not good signals.

Boldness and drive, initiative and interest will get us that much needed exposure and experience on the job to build our careers and have confidence in our ability to perform without fear. One even learns how to handle and deal with failure and blunders at work because they can be so disheartening and traumatic experiences especially where the standard corrective measures taken seem blind to the fact that people can make  honest mistakes.

However one who has fallen and risen many times in the line of duty will know better how to get up and dust oneself looking forward to do better and smarter next time round, such an individual would also make fewer and fewer mistakes as time goes on because of the work experience acquired.

There is absolutely no substitute for experience in the world of work and life generally, so let us never let
opportunities to gain exposure and experience pass us by or slip through our fingers because they more often than not come disguised as the kind of work  we do not like or enjoy at face value, however digging in as we do the work we certainly learn a thing or two thus adding a feather onto our cap.

Experience always accrues to the doer without fail and without exception, will you let your opportunity slip through your fingers or pass you by today whilst you whine and complain?

THE GOLDEN WORD FOUNTAIN (TGWF)