Best Advice: Grow Through Taking Challenges

In this series, professionals share the words of wisdom that made all the difference in their lives. Follow the stories here and write your own (please include the hashtag #BestAdvice in the body of your post).

My post on this highly interesting monthly theme of #BestAdvice focuses on primarily those who are starting their careers but by no means does not really lose its applicable.

In my life thus far I have learned that to personally and professionally grow, you should consistently take challenges. These challenges should always be out of your comfort zone and if you do ever find that you are in a comfort zone, then ask yourself if you could be doing something different. Then pursue it and make it a challenge. Whether that be in your personal life, professional life or educational/experience life. Some examples that I can relate to from my experience which form some of my ‘best advice’ are as follows:

Don’t Be Afraid to Engage: Many people have an issue about engaging with individuals who are above their pay-grade. I look back on my time on the graduate scheme at HP and one instance of a conversation with the (at the time) Managing Director of the UK&I stands out relating to this. I e-mailed him asking for a chat about career advice and within half and hour he responded asking for a call. How this helped me to develop was that the advice he gave essentially became the foundations to where my career is today. I learnt a lot from him, particularly about the relatively open culture at HP. Best Advice: Don’t be afraid to engage, most leaders LOVE to tell their story and offer advice.

If You Don’t Like It, Change it: Being employed on the graduate scheme at HP saw me provide technical support to one of our leading accounts. I quickly realized that I did not want to have a career in technical support so sought one in Management Consulting in a different area of HP. How this helped me to develop was that a new career within the same company was able to be carved out. A career which I knew I would enjoy. Best Advice: If you aren't necessarily enjoying something, speak to people and look to leverage your network. Chances are someone can help to shake it up.

Enter An Event: A year after starting running a friend suggested we entered the Edinburgh Marathon. Initially laughing it off, a couple of days later we were both booked in and defining our training plans. How this helped me to develop was that it brought a focus on to my training and a love for running. It taught me to be stricter when it came to diet and nutrition and look after myself more. Best Advice: Don’t just settle for the norm. Throw yourself out of your comfort zone!

Expand Your Education: Four years after vowing never to return to University again I found myself signed up with Manchester Business School on their global MBA. How this helped me to develop was that it taught me about elements of business which I had never considered, it gave me confidence to engage with individuals in much higher corporate positions than me and it brought about a new-found entrepreneurial mindset. Best Advice: Do what you believe in and think is right. Chances are, it will help you to develop

Do Something Massively Beyond Your Perceived Limits: After slacking off in my running/cycling I knew I need to do something to get moving. In February 2014 I entered a Half-Ironman with a view to providing a new found motivation for training. How this helped me to develop was that it didn’t in a physical way. I still barely trained until a couple of months before the event. But what it did teach me was that sometimes it is OK to wing it… I finished in 6:17 (1.6km swim; 90km bike, 13.1m run) which was pretty good given the lack of training. Best Advice: However much you plan and best intentions you have sometimes things just simply do not work out… in those instances, you tried. So wing it!

The above are five challenges and experiences I have endured which have resulted in improvements in both my personal and professional life. Some examples which you may wish to cover are below:

1. Conquer a Fear (Sky-Diving, Heights, Public Speaking)
2. Challenge Your Body (Enter a Race, Join a Sports Club)
3. Expand Your Network (Attend Conferences, Engage with Old Friends)
4. Seek a Mentor (Build Relations with People, Expand Your Presence)
5. Educate Yourself (Complete a Degree, Learn to Code, Study NLP)
6. Make Life Easier (Learn to Drive, Hire Help)
7. Improve Family Life (Spend Time at Home, Have Date Nights, Organise a Party)
8. Expand Friendships (Make an Effort, Organise a Getaway, Have a Beer Night)

Feel free to add your own views to the above of how you have challenged yourself to improve both your personal and professional life. I’d be interested in reading your thoughts

Interested in hearing more about this and related topics? Follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter (@_Baines & @BeTranquilLed), and Instagram (@BeTranquilLed) where I regularly post insights relating to Health, Wellness, Mindfulness, Leadership & Innovation. Note that all views are my own. Also check-out www.tranquilled.com for plenty of resources in this space

Note: Credit for images goes out to Pinterest, DenisCummins.com and DiabetesWellness