Tag: success
We Didn’t Get Here From Hard Work Alone
It’s easy to attribute hard work to any kind of career success we have.
“I worked hard in high school; that’s why I got into this prestigious university.”
“I worked hard in college; that’s why I was hired at this great job.”
“I worked hard on this project; that’s why I got a promotion.”
OK, so we did our homework and studied for tests. We carefully completed the applications and were scrupulous with our resumes. We figured out what our managers wanted and delivered it.
It was hard work.
But.
That hard work is often the effort used to capitalize on our fortunate circumstances. We can convince ourselves that we deserve our success, that we earned it, because we put a lot of time and focus into achieving it.
Hard work is honorable. Working towards a career goal is admirable.
Yet.
Hard work alone did not earn us our achievements.
Someone read and accepted our college application. Someone permitted us to interview for the job and someone made the decision to hire us. Someone favored us with the promotion or raise or award.
Someone decided we were qualified, acceptable, and perhaps more worthy than others aspiring to the same position.
Because they are human, those someones have their own ways of evaluating us. Their experiences and their environment influence their perspectives. They may be aware of their ingrained biases and work to overcome them. Or they may unaware of unconscious biases, or disbelieve that they exist.
Unconscious bias does exist.
Overt bias also exists in plenty of people who believe certain people are inferior, threatening, or sinful.
If we are a combination of any of these factors, we have benefited from other people’s biases regardless of whether it was intentional:
· White
· Heterosexual and cis
· Male
· Tall (unless you’re a jockey)
· Body and face considered normal and attractive by societal standards
· Attended decent primary and secondary schools
· Wealthy parents
If we have some of these characteristics – and I do – we have benefited from them.
If we don’t admit our undeserved advantages, we get to believe we earned our slot by working hard. We also get to believe that other people should work harder if they want what we have and it’s their own fault if they don’t. We can then support this line of thinking by pointing to people who achieved great success despite the odds.
It’s very American to hail the underdog achievers and the rags-to-riches stories. However, these examples stand out precisely because they are not the norm.
When we’re surrounded by other privileged people and the exceptional outliers, it’s easy to assume everyone else’s lack of success is due to a lack of effort. We might even believe that if our advantages had been stripped away, we would still be accomplished.
Believing it doesn’t mean it’s true.
I acknowledge my privilege and the role it plays in my education and career opportunities.
The Success Stories We Don’t Read About
My friend sent me this link to a Malcolm Gladwell article that discussed the differences between early geniuses and late bloomers. It is nice to see a nod to the people who have worked hard at their professions for many years, and finally attain the level of success they dreamed of.
I liked this article. I also think that the media’s love of the big success stories leaves out a lot of inspiring people.
There are other ways of looking at career success beyond the young genius and the older achiever. Some people might be successful in multiple parts of their work life from youth to old age.
That success might be in the form of earning millions of dollars, or by introducing a product or service that positively impacts a large group of people. The success might be satisfaction from achieving a high level of skill in topics they are passionate about. Maybe it is pride in taking a career risk that improved the quality of their lives. It might be a feeling of contentment from diligently pursuing work that allows them to support family members.
I would like to read inspiring news stories that feature the success of people who do well but aren’t famous and didn’t generate top hits in their fields.
Thinking about success more broadly leaves room for people that have patchwork careers or successive careers in different areas. Without a single-minded focus they probably won’t be among the highest level of experts in a field and may or may not have a lot of earnings, but they amass a breadth of knowledge and skills and may be successful in many other ways.
So here’s a shout out to all the people who work hard to achieve their own definition of success. Cheers to your achievements!
Recent Comments