Setting Expectations

I aomehow get the feeling that one of the hardest things at work will be setting expectations in the next few months.

It is always there at the back of your mind what people are expecting of you. You carry a certain brand. The way you dress, talk, interact, work – everything feels like it’s closely scrutinised. Or maybe it’s just in my head.

That sort of expectation is of course stressful. But worse is being able to balance what to expect from yourself. You have all these opportunities. You must make use of them. Otherwise it is a waste of your “potential”.

Your expectations must be high enough. You must learn to expect more from yourself. To push yourself to get more done. To be efficient. Innovative. Think out of the box. Go where others haven’t gone. To rise to the challenge everytime something is thrown towards you. To multi-task. Balance everything. Never complain about the amount of work. Because in it all lies the opportunity to learn. And to network.

There is also the expectation to be able to compete. With your peers. Of the very high standards they set for themselves. Consciously or subconsciously, you are always competing with them.

But then again, you must learn to not overload yourself too much. To not burn out too soon. It is indeed very hard to keep up a high energy level for days on end, let alone months or years. And you must always remember, you do not have the same strengths as the person next to you. They are who they are because of a certain background. Which differs from yours. So to feel threatened by how much more they know or how much better they are is unfair to you. Because even if you cannot see it, you may be better at some other things.

So, the key is, balance.