I used to be a person who would get jealous at others, namely their technical ability. If I thought that the person I was working with were better at math or programming compared to me, it’d cause a drive in me to get better at both of those. I’d pour myself into books on the relevant subjects to try to enhance my ability. I’d work on projects to try to get familiar with these advanced techniques. I’d be lying if I said this didn’t help me become a better programmer or analyst, but I definitely it increased my stress levels more than I needed.
I think I was missing the point the entire time. I lost sight of two factors that hadn’t occurred to me. First, I hadn’t even known that my perspective was incredibly full of worth. Secondly, I had forgotten that the people I was jealous of weren’t even really doing work that I truly wanted to to. Think about that for a moment.
“There will always be people who are better than you at something.” At least that’s what I keep hearing people say when it comes to life, work, and career progress. So, if that’s the case, then how did your boss get hired? Or the CEO of a public company? Couldn’t they have just found someone better than they are to do the job? I’m almost sure of it, but I’m betting it’s not because of raw ability in any particular skill but rather it’s because of the perspective they bring to the table. Your viewpoint is an extremely valuable asset. How you think about a situation or problem is more unique than you think it is and if your boss isn’t using your perspective to enhance his or her own view, both of you are losing out.
On the other point, you have to ask yourself if you’re really doing work that you want to do. Will mastering the skills you’re working on get you to the job that you want. Additionally, I’ve been in situations where a colleague is working on the project that I want to work on. The project. However, every time this has happened, it’s because I never voiced my interest in working on it. And then half the time, the person assigned the work didn’t want to do it nearly as much as I did.
In essence, don’t ever overlook some neglected assets, especially when it comes to sharing how you see the world (and your work) and your unique desire to persue a particular kind of work.