Personal Development : Turning Personal Challenges into Growth Opportunities
WORDS BY ANTONINA JOSON
One of the most common pieces of advice is to strictly separate your personal life from your professional life . As the saying implies , once the workday is done , one needs to turn off their work headspace as soon as that computer is shut down . However , there are times when separating these personas is difficult to do .
Sometimes , life events outside your work can impact your performance , both negatively and positively . It ’ s difficult to cleanly separate your work and personal life when one becomes too overwhelming to handle . Furthermore , personal and professional lives reflect each other at the end of the day .
Frustrations and victories felt in one affect your behaviour in the other . A personal challenge can deplete your motivation and increase irritability , making it difficult to be mindful at work as well . Being less mentally present at work can take you and your fleet off-track . You could be prone to careless mistakes or misjudgements .
This is the point where it becomes confusing for most managers . If one life affects the other and difficulties in either are unavoidable , how do you manage yourself without mismanaging your business ?
TURNING POINTS
In psychology , there is a concept called a “ turning point .” Turning points refer to an event or a series of events that ultimately change one ’ s outlook or perspective on life . A turning point can be negative or positive , depending on the events that took place .
It should be noted that while turning points take place , you ’ re not entirely powerless . A turning point can happen because the person experiencing them took their circumstances in their own hands and turned things around for themselves . This is not to blame the individual themselves for everything that ’ s happened to them . This is simply a reminder that no matter how many lemons life gives you , you can always turn them into lemonade .
Let ’ s do away with the lemon metaphor and think back to our school days . Was there ever a time you failed a test or struggled through a subject ? When you were learning how to ride a bike , how many times did you fall over only to get back up and try again ? When you experienced these setbacks , was there a handful of drive left in you that pushed you to keep trying ?
When one pushes through fear , frustration , and anxiety , they can come out of the other side fulfilled , or even triumphant . Everybody can do
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