work Archives - Pragmatic Compendium

When you are talented in some area and doing a job you are overqualified for, it may seem like you don’t need to work as hard to be half as good as everyone else involved in the job.

put another way,
When you are really good at something and you are working with people whose skills are average or less, it may be tempting to coast.

but what if you didn’t?
What if, instead, you did your absolute BEST work?

What if you put forth the kind of effort required when you are in a situation where YOU are the one working with people who have more skills and experience and you are striving to keep up?

In that situation, if you were the person with less talent and YOU worked harder than someone with more talent,

who would be seen as the person with the strongest work ethic?
would you be given more responsibility?
more opportunity?
more respect?

would your pursuit of excellence inspire others to also give their best, leading to increased morale and an elevation of the entire project?

When you are the person with less talent and YOU work harder than the person with more talent, does that make YOU their greatest competition?

Back to the original scenario, if YOU are the person on a team who has the greatest talent, the strongest skillset and the most experience and YOU pursue EXCELLENCE when a lesser effort would still contribute more than…everyone else combined,

would you be seen as the person with the strongest work ethic?
would you confirm to everyone involved that you deserve more responsibility and opportunity?
would the respect others have for you increase?
would YOUR pursuit of excellence not only inspire others to give their best but also lead to CONTAGIOUS increase of morale and EXPONENTIAL elevation of the entire project?

Consider: If you are the person with the greatest talent and someone works harder than you, they are your greatest competition.

If you are a person of faith,
~ diligently pray that the Holy Spirit would equip your for the work and then lean on God’s power to accomplish in you what you can’t accomplish on your own.
~ ask God to make you aware of what He wants you to attend to and who He might want you to help and encourage or even mentor.
~ ask God to help you be a strong witness for His love and grace.

#DoYourBestEvenWhenYouDontNeedTo
Be a #GoodSteward of the talents you’ve been blessed with.
Keep your focus on #AudienceofOne

I haven’t exactly been sad. But I’ll admit. For the last few weeks, I’ve been discouraged. I found myself in the middle of a new work group dynamic and the results have been . . . discouraging. Actually, it’s an old dynamic that I allowed to resurface. I should have known better.

I can’t be discouraged anymore. It doesn’t work for me.

I’m not going to hold back my best anymore to try and accommodate someone who is uncomfortable with my strength. It’s been like breathing through a pillow.

I can’t intentionally incorporate their work product into my work anymore. The addition is eroding the quality of my finished product and my peace of mind. If they can add to the finished product, that’s great, but I can’t continue modifying my work to include inconsistent contribution and incompatible components.

I’m not going to be less because they aren’t more. It hasn’t helped them be more. Affirming them hasn’t made them stronger, it’s just wiped me out. Giving them attention doesn’t satiate their need for attention, it just feeds it. It’s never enough.

Like feeding Seymour.

I’m going to go back to what I was doing before I allowed this situation to get out of hand again. I’m going to pray for them. And for me – That God will either change the situation or change my heart.

CLICK HERE to see other posts I’ve written about dealing with emotional bullies, narcissists and passive-aggressive people.