Improving Yourself at Work and in Your Personal Life

Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am a United States Marine on his lunch break and thought I would share some tips and advice I've picked up during my life. I see a lot of brand new marines, "Boots," as we call them come to the motor pool each week. They tend to do one of two things, neither of which is helpful to anyone. They either run and hide trying not to be noticed; in which case they come back the next day able to contribute nothing more than the day before; or they continuously get in the way of someone trying to do their job. There is healthy in between, however, it seems to be hard for the average person to grasp. Here's a few tips to not only be a better help but to make your day goes as smoothly as possible with the minimum amount of ass-chewings.

My first bit of advice is to accept the fact that you will mess up and embarrass yourself when you start off. Anyone in the military or any job for that matter has been in this position. You are the new guy on the job and have been entrusted with a very small, easily accomplished task. You start calm and collected or maybe a bit nervous, but you have confidence that you will do it right. Somewhere in the process you make a mistake or forget a small detail and before you know, it you're getting called out in front of your peers. This is never a fun moment but there are two ways that it can go from there.

After this kind of situation you can do what is most commonly done and vow to never step up again lest you be embarrassed or you can do the productive thing. Let the embarrassment motivate you to pay more attention and learn how to do things right so you can step back up and prove your worth. Step back for a minute and watch closely as you are taught how to do the job so that you can step up at the next opportunity and redeem yourself. Confidence and resiliency are such important traits not just at work but in life.

Now what if you were improperly shown how to do a job and noticed the mistake? For some it can be extremely hard to find the courage to correct a superior but others would jump at this chance to embarrass a higher up. Again, there is a balance between these two approaches.

When correcting a superior you want to be respectful. Instead of stating their mistake it can be better to use a question to express your correction. For an example, instead of saying; "That socket is the wrong size, it is way to big." Try asking, "Should we try a smaller size socket?" Notice also how I asked "We" instead of "You." This will show that you are engaged with them as a team and that your main goal is accomplishing the task, not singling out their mistake. As most things do, this approach will take practice to perfect but it is crucial to success in the work environment.

Take an interest in the work you do. You may tell me you can't fake interest in something that you don't care about but I would argue that you can train yourself to take an interest in what you are doing. In the mundane task of taking face plates off of tires, me and my buddy would race to pass the time. The last one to take off all their assigned plates would have to buy the other something from the vending machine. This may seem childish or silly but it is quite the opposite. Not only did this little game give us more interest in what we were doing but it made us more efficient at our job. Competition can be a very healthy thing if harnessed in the right manner.

Stay motivated! This may seem like a given but I believe motivation is a very misunderstood concept. I hear coworkers saying that they aren't motivated as if it's a disease or out of their control. This mindset is self-destructive and simply wrong. Being motivated is a choice and it feeds off of itself. The attitude we approach the day with is our choice and starting the day with a positive attitude will build our motivation. There are certain things you can do to help you start off your day in a positive way.

I'm sure you have all heard that waking up with enough time to comfortably get ready for the day is a healthy thing to do. Don't underestimate a good start to your day because I find that the first hour awake sets my mood for the entire day. Take a shower, make a cup of coffee, brush your hair, and get yourself feeling sharp. This will boost your confidence which in return will build your motivation. As I said before, motivation feeds off itself. The more you practice staying motivated the more it will become a part of who you are.

Take good physical care of yourself when you aren't at work. The way you treat yourself after hours has a major effect on how you will preform on the job. I see too many people get off work and go fill themselves with food or alcohol. This will effect your quality of sleep and in return, affect your day. I know when the work day is over all you want to do is sit down. There is nothing wrong with resting after a long day but the amount of rest we actually need is far less than you would think. Too much rest can cause sleeplessness. This will make the next morning extremely difficult thus resulting in a rough day. I find hitting the gym for an hour every evening helps me in more ways than I ever thought it could. It's hands down the best natural stress reliever you can find. All the stress and pressure of the day will be sweat out and you will be left feeling refreshed and good about yourself. The initial couple weeks of going to a gym can be extremely hard but after about three weeks it becomes a habit.

Seek self-improvement. Each day is a chance to be a better person than you were yesterday. Don't let an opportunity like that go to waste. Your improvement doesn't have to be profound but try to learn something new or improve upon what you know each day. This will make you a more efficient worker and help you get noticed for promotion. This will also boost your self-esteem which will positively translate into your personal life. Self-improvement is a constant competition with who you were yesterday and will benefit you on and off the job.

Don't give a f***. Caring is essential to being a successful person but there are many ways in which simply not giving a f*** can be a good thing. When you start applying positive fundamentals to your life you will begin to stand apart. You will often win your superior's favor and be given more responsibility and freedom. These are very good things but will often attract jealousy. When coworkers or even friends begin to talk behind our back we often make it our personal vendetta to set the story straight. Unfortunately, this usually makes the situation worse. Learn to "Let the haters hate," and carry on with your day no f**ks given. This is very challenging but essential to your success. I've seen to many smart individuals brought down by involving themselves into gossip that they wanted to set straight. Sometimes it pays not to give a f*** and just keep doing you no matter others have to say.

Take advice but be careful what exactly you take. I think any human could sit down with any other human and learn something from them if they had an open mind. It may be, "what not to do," but it could still be a valuable lesson. Watch and observe those around you. Find someone who excels in a certain area and then finds what varies between your and their method. Whenever given direct advice from someone look at their track record before taking it to heart. Fools can present lies in a very confident manner. If someone whose marriage was falling apart offered you relationship advice, you probably would not take them very seriously. The same goes for a poor coworkers trying to change the way things are done. If a coworker who is known for sloppy and incorrect work offers you advice, you best double check what they are telling you before you consider changing your ways. Now if an exploratory worker has some wisdom to offer treat it as a gift and be willing to change your ways even if it may be an inconvenience.

I'm sure I could go on for ages about things I've picked up in life. However, I think these are enough to start a person on the right path. If I had to pick a trait that is most important in work and life I would have to say it is motivation. Without motivation you will never have the strength to practice the rest of these ideas. So stay motivated and slay the work week killers!