As Theodore Roosevelt once said: “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.†Many successful people who are envied and admired have gone through some amount of sacrifice, pain, and ultimate struggle to get to where they are.
There are many other quotes to support that greatness and success go hand in hand with overcoming struggle. It is an essential part of growth in life, and in your career. Steven Snyder, a managing director of a consulting firm dedicated to cultivating leadership, describes in a special post for CNN the benefits of struggle for career advancement. Here is what he recommends for career growth.
Seek challenging assignments and difficult goals. Choose to grow beyond what you find easy. Look for opportunities to take on new challenges that push you beyond your comfort zone. Once you have overcome and mastered the task you will add to your skill set.
Treat negative feedback as a gift. Any feedback is an opportunity for growth. It allows you to fix something that you have previously been doing wrong and gives you a chance to get it right. Although it will be hard to hear try to keep an open mind for a positive outcome.
Learn how to remain grounded and centered. With all of the challenges that will undoubtedly present themselves it will be important to have a place of peace to fall back on. Something or somewhere you can go to unwind and refocus your energy for the tasks ahead.