This Helen Keller quote is a guiding force towards paving your path to career achievement. Helen Keller is a renowned speaker and author of ‘The Story of My Life’ (1903)‎. She was an advocate for people with disabilities and several other social causes. She travelled across the globe giving motivational speeches about challenges faced by deaf people.

Career Growth is an ongoing endeavour and one should keep working on it. But there are certain steps which will ensure that you remain happy with ‘What You Have’ during the journey of having ‘What You Want’. So, let’s look at the steps which will make your career growth process more enjoyable, productive and satisfying.

The Gratitude Factor. When we acknowledge the things that we already have a privilege, we are able to value that privilege and feel blessed for those accomplishments. And, when our heart is filled with gratitude, our emotional development allows us to do much more. We have manifolds than what we need to fulfil our needs; what is not fulfilled is the desire for more.

Face Challenges with Courage. You already have several things to cherish in the present moment. Now, to expand and enhance your learning and growth, challenges are the opportunities to unlock your true strengths. So, to step up and climb the success ladder of your career from the current level, take courageous decisions and face the challenges.  

Self-assessment and Self-appraisal. We have high expectations from ourselves and others in every sphere of life. But when it comes to the workplace, we have much higher expectations from others, especially our superiors, and feel that we have been underrated for our efforts. Quite reasonable? Huhh! Let’s take it up as a challenge and do a quick self-assessment of what I was expecting, What I did and delivered, and most importantly, identify what are those actions which I could take but didn’t. This self-assessment will lead you to pride moments of self-appraisal and keep you at the top corner of your career growth roadmap at all times.

The Reskilling and Upskilling Spirit. You are already good at what you are doing. And you are successful in your career. But you desire for more and are eager to grow. Reskilling and upskilling are not just fads; these are ways to ensure and carve your roadmap to success. This also saves your waiting time till you get the right opportunity for your existing skill set. When you upskill yourself, you are suitable and more adept to perform a higher role and grab more lucrative growth opportunities.

Stay away from Comparison. No two human beings can be identical; but more importantly, you are valued for your uniqueness. Comparison puts your confidence and motivation level at stake. Instead of comparing yourself with others, compare yourself with your previous version and focus on being your best upgraded version. Keep your eyes focused on what you want to accomplish and assess your actions on how it will take you closer to be successful in future.

Appreciate good in others. We may not approve of everything about the people who surround us. But each person has some good traits in their personality. Researches have revealed that positive feedback or a small appreciation note elevates mood of both parties involved. This will not only keep your relationships strong and enthusiastic; it will also make you people’s person with a positive mindset. Very soon, you will be a popular face who is always on the quest of finding something positive in people around. What you focus and perceive, you inculcate and become that positive trait yourself.

Good Relationships make you Cherish Success. A research study revealed that the privilege can not be measured in terms of accomplishments like name, fame, wealth etc. This study was made on two groups of different social status for over 80 years – the Harvard students group and the boys of Boston’s poor neighbourhood. The boys from underprivileged families were as happy as the privileged ones.  Hence, it is important to value the accomplishments and strive for higher ones rather than waiting for the accomplishments to feel happy. It also brought focus on good relationships as one of the key sources for happiness and joy.

Let the rollercoaster of life inspire you to be determined to achieve all that you want to. May your journey of having ‘What You Want’ steer you towards your destination with the best version of your good self. It’s one short life to cherish all of ‘What You Have’ with you already.