The current times have changed the way we work, I decided to blog some simple reminders I use to help me stay motivated whilst working from home.
We will always come across challenges in life, but that saying:
When life gives you Lemons, make Lemonade.
This really holds true, you can either complain about getting lemons or you can embrace that life just gave you free lemons!
Challenges are opportunities to learn
Mindset and how you deal with things is very important. Especially for your own motivation. There’s obvious benefits of having a positive mindset but I don’t actually like to label it as a positive mindset but when you encounter challenges in life, how you react or handle them will determine how successful you are in life.
Just remember that it’s fine to openly say you don’t know or that you need help, as there is always support that can find along the way, you can reach out to your managers, colleagues or even friends and family. There’s always someone there to help.
If you approach every challenge with an open mind, you can use it as an opportunity to learn something new. It’s OK to fail, just try not to fail big! Don’t put yourself down if you fail a task, just take them as learnings. That is the the whole point of learning and self development. Just take note, as this now becomes experience for another day.
Ensure you get enough rest
When I have terrible sleep, I have less patience, my focus is terrible and just everything doesn’t work well. So try and form good habits with rest and sleep, come up with a sleep routine and regular habits to try and program your body clock. Incorporate exercise, meditation or just digital downtime to help clear your mind.
Having a healthy mind is just as important as having a healthy body.
Practice gratitude
Just be grateful in the position that you’re in and everything you have available to you. With everything going on at the moment, there’s people that don’t have jobs, people potentially having a tough time than yourself. So just be appreciative of where you are right now and the opportunities that you can create. I feel like being grateful for those things in life will allow you to appreciate them more. Just to add to this, you should try and support your local small businesses or even buy forward a coffee for an anonymous person. Any gesture of kindness is a good one.
Give thanks for a little and you will find a lot.” — Hansa Proverb
Speak up and contribute
Don’t be afraid to speak up, I feel that people don’t want to speak up because they feel that they will be judged, made fun or potentially, they just lack confidence to speak their opinions. If you don’t speak up, your frustration’s may build-up or you might lose the opportunity to contribute to your team’s initiatives. No one is smarter than anyone else, I feel that everyone has a different way of learning and everyone can contribute to the cause.
Avoid complaining
Complaining doesn’t really get you anywhere. Learn to move on and make Lemonade, as there’s always going to be things that you you won’t like or someone will have a different way of working to you.
Try and not take things personally because a lot of the time, people are just speaking their mind, they are generally not trying to attack you. Communication is always a challenge and not everyone is self aware, so just be mindful, and that people generally have the right intentions.
If you receive feedback (I feel that the term “constructive feedback” adds a negative connotation), try and view it as someone has a different view that you may not have considered. Take it as an opportunity that maybe what you are doing can be done better?
Help people in need
I feel that if you have experienced something new or overcame a challenge, it’s always good to share your knowledge and experience. If you have the opportunity to empower others, with the experience and knowledge you have gained, that will give them a chance to thrive and succeed. Just remember everyone learns differently and at the end of the day, just be a good human and I feel like things will always circle around.
Thank you
And this is my first Medium post on my new series Confessions of a Cloud Engineer. Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and I hope these simple reminders will help you crush the day!
