Get up, pick up your belongings and Go!
Knowing when to stay on and knowing when to leave is a rare gift. Everyone battles with this question at one point in life. The answer to this crucial question however is determined by many variables which I summarise in one point; What if? This is the answer we give knowingly or unknowingly, to the positive or negative. In essence, your answer determines your move. If your answer to the question is; ‘what if things don’t work out?’ then no matter the decision you make, you will still have to battle with convincing yourself with that mindset. If however your answer is; ‘what if things work?’ then the only thing left for you to battle with is the realisation of the idea that it is possible. This positive answer puts you in motion. It makes you ready to Get Up and Get Out!
Most people are still hanging-on in places where they know they need to Get Out. This could be in various places including relationships which I will not get into today. Lets focus on one area that majority of what I call “cliff hangers” are dying to Get out of but wont; Our Jobs. A research done by Forbes found that 70% of employees hate their jobs while another 80% of those in Linkedin do not like what they do. In other words, people want Out! Many employers have tried to create a conducive working environment to make neutralise this situation but it has been met with equal measure of resistance. Somebody has been quoted saying “if you do not want your employees to use your wifi to look for jobs from the comfort of your office, treat them nice” but does this change anything?
Here are some signs that you need to Get Up and Get Out!
- Resistance in implementing the ideas that would benefit the organisation – whenever you raise ideas in a meeting and they are never acted upon despite approval by authorities, Get Out!
- Lack of new challenges – whenever you find yourself so accustomed to work in such a way that you can almost do it blindfolded, Get Out! Do not confuse this with experience.
- Lack of personal growth – When a potted plant outgrows the small vase, it is moved to a bigger pot otherwise one of the two happens; either the vase cracks or the plant dies. When you realise you have exhausted your “usefulness” in an organisation, Get Out!
- Lifelessness – A dying baobab tree may look healthy on the outside but hollow on the inside. The birds on it may not realise until it comes tumbling down. Some people cling onto organisations knowing very well that its only a matter of time before it comes down. And unlike the ignorant birds on the dead baobab tree, all signs are clear that the giant is falling. Just like in the case of Nakumatt, I remember walking past empty shelf and deserted isles but could still see attendants albeit with faces of hopelessness and worry still trying to look busy. These people may have their reasons for staying on but if they keenly follow their guts, they would Get Out!
- Sign of resigned contentment – Allow me to make a highly contradictory statement; The payslip is the worst thing that ever happened to some people. You know an eagle is finished when it enjoys hanging out with chicken because the environment is conducive and because of the fame among the chicken. The simple fact that you can afford your current ‘life’ should not be a replacement of your initial goals and ambitions. The organisation you work for might have given you everything; car, medical, housing, kids schooling et al which makes you comfortable hence throwing away your initial plans. Please don’t get me wrong, who wouldn’t want to work in such a place? Usually the great awakening comes when rumours hit you of the changes in the organisation or when your productivity is under review. This is when people look for their plans, the ones they threw under the but 10 years ago. Why wait? Get Out!
HOW DO I GET OUT?
This is a good question that requires an equally good answer. I wish I had an answer that many have been waiting for. Sadly, the answer remains the same as it has always been; Just Get Out!
Believe me, the what ifs will surely happen! What if I don’t succeed? believe me, you will not. At least not in the first instance. Get over it and Get Out! Even those that have gotten themselves too deep into a “Cannot Get Out of This’ situation can actually do it.
Strategise, plan but remember you will never be 100% ready to jump into uncertain waters. The question; “are you sure?” cannot be asked at this point. The analogy – ‘if you don’t like where you are move, you are not a tree’ is easier said than done.
How about this; What if you actually make it? what if you start small, fail but try again and do so well? What if you Get Out and realise that all you have been afraid of isn’t that bad? Not as bad as where you were? What if you realise that you should have Got Out earlier? What if you realise that you can dream more, do more, achieve more than where you were?
