Stop Competing, Start Winning
Why the career advice you got in school is quietly holding you back.
We’ve been taught to come out on top.
Back in school, anything outside first place meant failure. “Why did you not come first?” Your parents probably asked or yelled at you (like mine did).
But should this be the way of life continually? Probably not.
As you get older and enter the workforce, some of this attitude might still be ingrained in you. But you shouldn’t let it stand.
As a professional, you should endeavour to collaborate rather than compete with anyone.
Here is why:
Life is easy when you navigate your own path
The more you compete, the less satisfied you feel. Once you achieve a goal, you quickly want to win again.
This attitude can feel overwhelming and tiring. It makes you focus on others instead of yourself. When this happens, life becomes more difficult than it should be and more complex than it needs to be.
There’s already too much going on around the world. Why add another stress level to your career because you keep competing unnecessarily?
Make your life easy and don’t compete unnecessarily.
You learn better when you collaborate
Competition robs you of learning.
With competition, you will never become the best you can be because you think you know it all. No one knows it all. Nobody.
You need others to get better and learn faster so you can become a better you.
Rather than competing, look for ways to collaborate with others to keep learning and keep growing. You will grow 10x faster if you open your mind to learning from others.
Expand your network and influence
An easy way to expand your network is by collaborating with others.
Yes, when you collaborate rather than compete, your network grows systematically. You will reach more and more people easily, and this strategy could also help you achieve your career goals faster.
Focus on collaboration and not competition.
Brings out the best in you
Collaboration leads to innovation and brings out the best in you.
Rather than focusing on what you don’t have, or what you don’t want others to get from you, focusing on working with others can bring out the best in you.
You will begin to learn the skills you really want to learn, get better at existing skills, and improve on your weak areas.
Opens more opportunities
When you work with others, you open up more career opportunities. I remember landing a role when I really needed one because I helped someone solve a problem.
When I helped this person solve a problem, I wasn’t expecting anything in return. I genuinely wanted to help, and I did. Eventually, this person referred me to a job opportunity when I needed one, and that opportunity has been so helpful in my career.
Closing thoughts
Collaboration is the way to career success, not competition.
When you focus on collaboration, life becomes easier, and you can focus on your own path and grow 10x faster.
Stop competing.
Start working together.
Whenever You Are Ready, Here Are Other Ways I Can Help You Advance Your Career:
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Banji Alo