Deliberate Development

I find it amazing all of the things I was told that I could not do when I was younger. When we are young Airmen and NCOs, we are so filled with passion and motivated to fix things. However, their ideas are shut down before the first step is taken. I know I have re-attacked some of my old ideas now that I am more seasoned and they were shockingly easy. They would have been just as easy when I was an Airman, I just didn’t have people telling me it wasn’t possible now. The next time you have an idea or hear one from a teammate, give it some encouragement. It is better to try and fail than to do nothing.

I completely believe we need to define what it is that makes us successful. For me, making rank is not my measuring stick for success. It is a external symbol. These external symbols of ranks, awards, etc. do not define success, they are the fruits of our labors. However, these are what people look at when they are judging our ability to be successful. When you look back on the last couple of years what are you most proud of? For me, it has been the people I have been able to help or the exciting projects I have been a part of. Work towards what excites you and will make you proud one day.

Many of us are scared to accept ownership for what is going on around us. I learned day one as a SNCO that I am responsible for everything that happened in my workcenter. My boss was held accountable by his boss for the goings-ons of the flightline and he was doing the same to us. Once I understood this, it was freeing. I didn’t have to wait around for a decision, I just made one. Then I had to live with the consequences of that decision. We have that ability to respond as we choose to our surroundings, we just have to be accept accountability for our responses.

Way too often we look at our situations at work or in life and expect everything to change to suit our needs. I have even “stood my ground” on certain situations where I thought my workcenter should alter their policies to fit my needs. “I do all of this stuff, it is the least you could do…” How arrogant are we to expect the world to revolve around us? When injustice is being done, we need to stand up for what is right. However, when it is in the context of our job or environment, we have to adapt. If not, we will find ourselves left behind.

We have all had some sort of victory in our lives or careers. Many of us will let this success go to our head’s. This is normal. It is not a good thing, but it is normal. We work hard to achieve or to accomplish something and then it happens. We did it…we are number one! The problem is that we tend to forget someone else is now working to become number one. If we celebrate for too long, we will not continue to grow or advance.

I have always loved this quote. Most of us do one or the other: we work for tomorrow and refuse to enjoy today. Or we party like rock stars today and pay no attention to the future. The secret is to do both. Figure out where you want to be in a month, year, 10-years… and then take the small steps it takes to get there. The only thing that needs to change is that each step doesn’t have to be terrible. Enjoy the ride. What good is it to reach your 20-year goal and realize it sucked getting there?

We have all seen this one play out on a deployment. You are in the sandbox in a remote area of a developing country with little infrastructure. Mortar rounds are coming over the fence and you have been eating MREs for 60-days straight. Yet, somehow, you and your team make the best of it and find ways to make it fun. We are experts at doing this in crap situations, but suck at it while basking in the comforts of our home units. Seek out a way to make your workcenter fun while you are all working hard…just like you did on that deployment.

I bet if you look back to those tough times in your lives, you will see something that came from it. When we go through a divorce, loss of a loved one, bankruptcy, injury or anything else life-changing, we think our lives are over. In a way, life as we knew it is over, but we found a way to redefine that part of our lives and move forward. Most successful people (if not all) have a pivotal point in their lives where they hit rock-bottom or major adversity and made it through it. If you are going through this pain now, know it is just a season and you will get through it.

My favorite book on the topic is: Resilience by Eric Greitens. I wish our resiliency training was based on this book, it is amazing and a must read for everyone.

Lately, I have been very interested in the topic of failing. Most of us look at a failure as a bad thing. We become paralyzed with fear and afraid to try something new. “What if it fails?” My boss will think I am not talented or my peers will resent me. How many times did the Wright brothers fail before they got it right? We are only failures if we refuse to learn from the experience. We have to stop thinking about “who” failed; rather, we need to look at what went wrong and how to move forward.