s and Expectations //
[a letter to a friend who is just beginning a long and successful career]
Three reasons could explain why our goals are not achieved. They are listed in order of palatability:
The goals may be too high, based too much on chance, impossible for anyone to reach, surrounded with barriers rooted in caste or class, or just unrealistic.
If so, you may want to change your expectations or choose different goals.
Maybe the goals are good, but we just need to be persistent, give it more time, and get some lucky breaks.
Be persistent in your patience.
If it’s not one of these two reasons, then we may need to let go of our expectations or our belief that we are already doing everything perfectly. We may need to put in more effort than expected, learn new skills, adopt new strategies, and get a taste of the emotional work required to move forward.
Careers of those who make it to the top are often marked by empathy, a cycle for improving skills, new attitudes, and showing up at work.
Ambition alone is not enough.
