Faux pas you should forgive yourself for

Rajeev Bhardwaj

We all make mistakes, be it in personal life or professional. In fact, mistakes make a crucial part of our lives' learning curve. An incapable person is not the one who makes mistakes; but the one who fails to learn from them.

There are a number of misjudgments, missteps, or oversights that we might make as we embark on a career. Typically, some of these errors are made in the early years, but in time we must learn to overcome them and move forward. Not being too self-critical is also important to allow yourself to grow and evolve as an individual.

Here are a few career failings, which you must stop thinking and regretting about: 

Taking time to realise your true calling: If you spent several years trying to make a career for yourself in a particular field only to realise that your true calling lay elsewhere, you are not alone. There are many people who take time to understand what they are really passionate about. People around you might belittle you for your "wasted" years, but you must not fret over it. It will be fine as long as you succeed in finding a work that you truly enjoy. It doesn't matter if you arrived there a few years later than your peers.

Not being good enough at the beginning of your career: Unlike in other countries where kids in schools and colleges also spend time working and gaining work experiences, in India most people join work only after completing college. If you found yourself facing flak too often or struggling to meet your targets, do not be too self critical. Yes, you might have done things differently that would have made your initial years more successful as a professional! But, this doesn't warrant self-criticism. You need to learn to forgive yourself.

Being less tactful and too open: Another trait of professionally inexperienced people is that they might be too open and candid with their colleagues and seniors without realising that this might have negative repercussions. Being too open or direct with a senior (even if the latter seems to be seeking a candid opinion) might not be appreciated always. However, tact in dealing with people is something that most of us develop over a period of time. And it is fine to make a few mistakes that will teach you the importance of striking the right balance between diplomacy and assertiveness.

Burning out too soon: This is a mistake that a lot of people make. In their ambition to quickly climb the ladder of success, they end up filling their plate with too much. However, often they are not able to do justice to it and start burning out early in their professional lives. In the end, how much you work doesn't matter as how well you do it. Yet, if you have already made that mistake, learn to adopt a right balance between your ambition and ability to lap up more, but don't be too harsh on yourself for letting yourself burn out early. 

— The writer is VP, HR, Sun Life Financial Asia Service Centre