Some people like to say that they just “don’t feel like doing it” today. They would wake up early in the morning, feeling demotivated to do anything but sleep. Some would call in sick, and some would go to office in the famous ‘zombie mode’.

Unfortunately, work is work. You can feel demotivated and you can have that typical “I don’t feel like doing it” attitude, but your bosses, your customers, your competitors and the market in general are not going to wait for you. They demand you to deliver your work, whether you have the ‘mood’ to do it or not.

That’s the reality everyone of us needs to face every single day. And it’s a reality that none of us can escape from.

So rather than forcing yourself to do something or trying to escape from it, it’s way better to find other alternatives which can help you to get back in the ‘mood’. For example:

• You can try to find other source of inspiration. Sometimes, all you need is a little bit of inspiration from someone, something, somewhere. Try to read more books, blogs, talk to different people, etc. It might make you feel better with whatever you’re doing now.
• Take a break. Sometimes, taking a break from a hectic schedule prevents you from getting too exhausted. And when you feel exhausted, you won’t feel like doing anything but rest.
• Find other smaller stuff to do, but only for a short while. Never start something big when your main task has yet to be completed. And finding other smaller stuff helps you to introduce some varieties to your life. Our brain loves varieties (but not risks).

Unfortunately, time and tide wait for no one. In such a competitive world, if we don’t continue to work/study hard, we’ll be left out. Our feeling of “I don’t feel like doing it…”, is nothing but our own. The world cares nothing about this. I know it’s harsh, but it IS a reality.

Don’t get me wrong. I always stress the importance of getting enough rest and also taking a break from our work or job. But to constantly give excuses such as “I don’t feel like doing it…” just to avoid ourselves from doing something….is not very healthy. Such negative thoughts should be minimized especially when you’re starting your day in the morning.

And seriously, if you keep on having such an issue, perhaps it’s really time to find a new adventure in your life. Break this boring patterns of “I don’t feel like doing it”.

No matter how much we hope we are perfect, the fact is nobody is perfect. And no matter how often we like to think we are geniuses like Einstein and Edison, we’re not. But fortunately, the good news is we’re not alone. Most people in this world are just like us – full of weaknesses.

And yet, some of them have been very successful in their life. It’s like they do not have much weaknesses to begin with. Oh, and what about those that have shortcomings or are less fortunate than a lot of us – learning difficulties, deaf, handicapped, mute, etc. Time and time again, people who are less fortunate have proved to us that they can be as successful (if not more) as well.

So what actually enables them to be so successful? What are the secrets/factors behind it? For me, there are only 3 main secrets or factors.

Luck – this is something outside our control but it is also something that we should be aware of. Just don’t pay too much attention to it.

Belief – this is very important because it helps to push you forward. Without having something that you truly believe it, you can’t go far.

Perseverance – never give up. Yes, sometimes it does pay off to give up but if there’s something that you truly believe in, you should not give up. Push on. If it fails, think of a different approach. Remember that Rome was not built in a day. It took a lot of hard work to build the entire city.

The last 2 points are very important and they go hand-in-hand with one another. If you do not have something that you really believe in, then just believe in yourself. Believe that you can accomplish the task at hand. Believe that you can achieve your ambitions. Believe in yourself because if all things failed you, you still have yourself.

And never give up. If you are not a genius or if you can’t learn things as fast as some other smarter people can, then work harder. If it takes other people just 8 hours to learn something, then you should work harder …maybe 10 or 12 hours to learn it up.

Also, bear in mind that most people prefer a hardworking + average person than a smart + lazy person.

Last but not least, I sincerely believe that being successful is not a myth and the opportunity to be successful in life is there for everyone to grab. The question is whether you have the belief and the perseverance to get it.

Hope it helps.

p/s….. some people said that i can pick up things fast, but to be honest, i do tend to spend longer time than some smart people i know. The way that I can remain competitive is to work harder.

Most people are afraid to voice out. They prefer to keep things to themselves and these include new ideas which might be able to help other people. For some of them, they just don’t want to go through all the troubles and fuss when proposing an idea or, they have no confidence and are afraid they will be regarded as stupid. But the worst are those people who prefer to stick to their roles and say “ideas should come from the top people”.

Wrong wrong wrong. Ideas can come from anyone in a healthy environment. If you have some ideas which you think have not been implemented and might be able to help improve things, then do voice out. Perhaps you can voice out to your supervisor if you’re afraid to approach the top people. Start small, maybe just introduce it within your team and see how it goes. The important thing here is to share your ideas especially if you have seen them becoming successful in other companies.

For example, whiteboarding or brown bag session, 360 degrees performance review, etc. Useful ideas that you have experienced in your previous jobs can also be introduced in your new company.

Remember that you are in a company to contribute to the business in any ways possible. Furthermore, you will be able to leave something significant and useful for others to learn and spread the next time they switch company.

“Work is boring….colleagues are boring….I just hope it’s not Monday tomorrow”

Most people have that kind of mentality. And most of them start counting down for weekend on Monday itself (some do that on Sundays). They just dread going to work! In fact, it’s pretty hard to find someone who really enjoys their work (not to say there isn’t any, but those who think their work is boring far outnumbers those who think their work is fun).

But what if their work is not as boring as it currently is? What if their colleagues and their workplace is fun and very dynamic? If you’re thinking it’s impossible, then perhaps you should find another job. Because to me, anything can be turned into something exciting. Yes, it requires efforts but it’s not impossible. Here are some of the things which I can think of.

• Change the way you think about your work. Don’t treat it like something you are forced to do because you have no other choice (you always have a choice, remember that). Treat it as something more meaningful….maybe you feel your job can help others, or you feel you can help extend the business, or you can help people solve problems, etc.
• Decorate your workspace. I never like the open office concept because you don’t really have a “home” in the office. You’ll just move around all the time. I prefer to have a workspace for myself, and decorate it the way I like it – pictures, drawing, plants, etc. Simple/complicated, it’s all up to me. That way, it’ll make me feel more comfortable in the office. It definitely won’t change the work/assignments, but it’ll change my mood when I’m working on something.
• Mix with your colleagues. It really makes the entire workplace more entertaining if you have close friends around. If you don’t have any, then go make some in the office. Sometimes, when the work is really pushing you to quit, you will think of the nice colleagues you have.
• Work longer hours. If you spend more hours on a single assignment, you won’t feel hard pressed for time. Yes, you do tend to lose some sleep but you can also work at a more relaxing pace. Well, at least working at a relaxing pace makes me more productive and also makes the work more enjoyable. The moment you (or your boss) start chasing for deadline, is the moment your work loses its fun factor.

Of course, all these can’t beat the ultimate “Do what you are passionate about”. That’s the best, if you have the option. But most often than not, we’ll be stuck doing something we are not so passionate about in order to feed our family. So the least we can do to make our work more enjoyable is to do those things listed above.

Transform your workplace, your relationship with your colleagues and your mindset towards everything. It’ll really make things more interesting.

And hopefully, you won’t dread going back to the office all the time. Who knows, maybe there are something in the office which makes you want to go back more!

p/s…. if there’s really nothing you can do to make your work less boring and more exciting, then it’s time to find another job. Reason being, you simply can’t perform in a boring environment.

During my time in Sydney, I met a lot new people – mostly my colleagues there. Some of them look pretty young while some look to be quite senior. And yet some of them actually have the same job roles. That is the thing which surprised me the most (and also something which I respect a lot). There seems to be no age barrier or limitation. Back in Malaysia (or any Asian country), you don’t normally see a 25-year-old “kid” having the same job position as a 50-year-old veteran. We have the strange concept where older people MUST move up the corporate ladder unless they are not capable to do so. There is no such thing as a single job role for everyone.

For example, if you are a fresh graduate in IT, you should be a programmer.

If you have 5 years experience, you should be a senior programmer.

If 10 years, then a technical architect or a project manager. You CAN remain as a senior programmer, but your salary will not go up since it belongs to the lower group in the corporate food chain.

Do you think this is a good practice? For me, I don’t. I don’t see why someone who loves to do programming should not be rewarded properly and must be forced to move to the management level in order to get proper remuneration. Why force someone to do something he does not like? And most importantly, why decide for people what they should be working as based on how old they are?

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why I’ve met more passionate people in western countries than I’ve ever met in any Asian country. What do you think? Should something be changed or you think it is fine the way it is now?

p/s…. i understand that in certain companies where a manager is regarded to be more important than a programmer, it is only natural to pay the manager more. If that’s the case, then let us try to put it in a different context. Let’s say you are hiring a programmer, and a 50-year-old guy with the proper experience and knowledge apply for the job. Will you consider him or will you think he is actually too old for the job even though he is really passionate about it?