Give It A Try

I was part of some conversations recently that stuck with me. The first involved a young lady contemplating her future plans one of which was to consider Nursing as a career. There were many experienced professionals in the room.

I was shocked when she blurted out that she was considering doing the ACCA, chartered accounting exams, because nursing was too long and would take three years.

One person asked her to list how many other qualifications would take less than three years, and then asked what happens if she had to re-take some of the accounting exams considering there are fifteen exams to pass.

She laughed sheepishly and replied that she wouldn’t fail any; she was pressed on the issue and asked what if those exams took three years. She had no response other than to hope it wouldn’t.

I was fascinated and drawn in to the conversation because a friend had lined up the opportunity for this young woman to connect with people who could help guide her career, but her opening line was what would be an easier path to an impressive income.

The two career paths couldn’t be more different – Nursing and Accounting but sadly the only consideration for the young woman appeared to be the path of ‘least resistance’.

The second conversation was a lady lamenting about her grown up nephew who seemed to lack motivation to get a job despite having the skills. She talked about the many times he promised to apply for some jobs and after a hard day’s work, she would come home to find he hadn’t for no reason.

She even offered him a job to do some work on her property and despite having the skills to do the job, it was yet to be done weeks later. An underlying factor was access to government benefits which covered some of his basic needs and seemed to remove any sense of urgency on his part.

Her plan was to apply for jobs on his behalf. I asked her what would happen if he didn’t show up for the interviews since he wasn’t invested from the start.

That was when she realised it might not be the ideal solution but she felt she would have done all she could to help him then.

These conversations reminded me of a poster with the following words:

“It’s impossible,” said Pride. “It’s risky,” said experience. “It’s pointless,” said reason “Give it a try,” whispered the heart. – Unknown

There are many underlying reasons for us not trying hard enough to go after the things we really want or need in life. Both of these people really need the income so why was it so hard for them to make the needed moves?

Sometimes we just don’t want the inconveniences that come with certain decisions, other times fear gets in the way and manifests as self-doubt and self-sabotage.

Past experiences play a role too. Fear of the unknown, fear of failing, fear of others’ perceptions all feed in to actions taken or not taken.

So how can we deal with this?

I wish I had the answers but I don’t because each case is peculiar.

Sometimes these issues happen later in life because many were enabled to have an easy ride and when it’s no longer feasible, they lack the motivation, ability or determination to push through on their own.

The one thing that I do know is the need to figure out the root cause of any hesitations or lack of motivation that we have. It might just surprise us to realise the obvious issues aren’t the real ones.

We can’t help ourselves or others until we know what we are dealing with. Your assignment this week is to peel off the layers and get to the root of your decisions, words and actions or inactions. This can be your own layers or helping someone else to peel off theirs.

Figuring out the real root causes opens us up to the right solutions which is the best place for change to start. Thanks for reading my post. Please share it with others and have a great week.