Question #1

Am I taking things personally?

Have you ever been in a situation where you have worked really hard on your goal or dream, but perhaps you did not get the result that you wanted? I know the feeling!

A good example was after I graduated from University with a degree in Computer Science. In my mind I assumed that getting a job would be easy because everyone always talks about the huge demand for technology skills.

In my case it was not as easy as I had envisioned!

I had 5 months of job applications and interviews with zero success! At this point my frustration started to get the better of me and I began to take my situation very personally.

I convinced myself that employers were overlooking me because of my disability, background and other biases. I became dejected and discouraged.

But if I’m really honest, taking this situation personally gave me an excuse not to try harder because it let me off the hook. It also gave me a readymade reason every time someone asked how my job search was progressing – because I could just say “it’s not my fault!”

We all have moments when things do not go our way. And whilst it is true we cannot always control what happens to us, we can always control our response.

Perhaps you have been blaming your partner for problems in your relationship or blaming the economy for your struggling business.

🚨 NEWSFLASH 🚨 The universe is not conspiring to bring you down – it’s time for you to stop taking things personally!

In my case I had more success when I stopped pointing the finger at external entities and took extreme ownership of my situation.

I decided to get some feedback on my CV and interview technique, to see where I could improve. Finally I was able to land an amazing job with one of the most prestigious organisations in the world!

Score yourself from 1 to 5, with 1 being “not personally at all” and 5 being “very personally”: Am I taking things personally?

And now to the second question I ask myself whenever I’m faced with a big challenge…

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