What’s the best way to approach a new job that feels beyond your capabilities?
New positions are always challenging. But how should we approach a new job that seems way more complex than what we have today? Dr. Jordan Peterson gives us some light on this topic.
Imagine you’ve stayed at your current job position for some time.
You know each person, problem, and challenge so well that you have little motivation or growth perspective. So, you decide to leave that role and go somewhere where your skills are adequately recognized. Then, you create your CV and go to interviews until a company hires you for a position a few steps above your current one.
At that moment, doubts start to break your mind, and you are unsure whether that new job is right for you.
How far are you stretching out?
Our insecurities will differ depending on how far our new role is from our current one.
All that boredom and self-confidence we experience in our under-recognized jobs mutate into insecurities when facing new challenges. Although a new job always means moving out of our comfort zone, the fear increases when we feel we are taking a big step.
The first fact you should accept is that the discomfort of your new position is proportional to the size of your step toward your goals.
Get your act together with integrity
In the following 80 seconds, Dr. Jordan Peterson explains that the best you can do in such situations is to “Get your act together” by assuming and embracing your new position with responsibility and authenticity.
However, mixing ambition, hard work, confidence, humility, transparency, patience, and happiness is always challenging.
Therefore, I prepared some examples of how you can apply the principles he mentions in your new position. I also allowed myself to add an extra principle (in the end, this is my article).
Lift your aim upward
Focus on becoming the person you should be to occupy your new role comfortably.
Playing safe and shrinking yourself is natural to avoid criticism when you don’t fit in. Although walking on solid ground is good at first, you should also assume the position you are in and unleash your creativity. Learn from your colleagues, bring new ideas, and move closer toward your aspiration every day.
Instead of waiting to figure everything out, set your goal, act, err, learn, and adjust.
Tell the truth
Face your shortcomings with honesty, showing your confidence and willingness to progress.
You will often make mistakes and feel disoriented in your new role. In such cases, ask, show curiosity, and don’t pretend to know everything. Your colleagues will receive much better someone who assumes their limitations and works hard on overcoming them.
Admitting failures and showing humility transmits confidence and respect for our colleagues.
Live a meaningful life
Stick to your values and be honest with yourself.
When arriving at a new place, trying to fit in is common. Although this is good because it will lead you to grow in different directions, the risk is to betray your principles or fail to yourself or your family. Some examples could be doing things you disapprove of, working excessive hours, or using inadequate strategies to succeed.
Being authentic may cause short-term problems, but it’s the best way to find fulfillment.
Do difficult things
You are already aiming upward. Put it into practice.
It’s expected to feel insecure with your new responsibilities, but the only way to master them is by facing and doing them. Take the required time, set goals, and tackle new activities. You will probably make some mistakes, but that’s the price you (and your employer) need to pay.
Document what you learn so you don’t make the same mistake twice. Consider that the more you practice, the easier those activities will seem in the future.
Enjoy the journey
Most of us sacrifice a lot for our objectives but don’t reap the benefits.
When we feel the pain of not being where we want to be, we set goals. The problem with that is that we are so focused on the end line that we miss the beauty of the road. To make things worse, when we reach there, we don’t stop to appreciate our achievements, but we set a new goal, living with the sensation that we are always chasing something we don’t have.
There is no recipe for enjoying the journey other than being aware and reflecting every day about your little gains, learnings, and happy moments.
Conclusion
One of my math professors at university taught us a lesson that helps me when going through that feeling.
There are 2 stages when you face a new problem:
- First, you don’t understand it and feel you will never do.
- But then, you manage to get it. And now you don’t understand how you didn’t understand it in the first place.
That simple concept helps me calm down when things seem out of my knowledge.
The more comfortable you are in this uncomfortable situation, the better your experience will be.