If you have hoped on my website to read any of my blog posts , i suspect that you have an interest in studying abroad or developing in your career. while i have embarked on this journey myself , i am realising that the opportunities that will you will attract will reflect where your mind is at.
I often wondered how you can move from a developing country to a developed country and still be a “developing country” in the things you gravitate towards in life. Same with just moving geographical locations but that not my focus here.
The Discomfort Of Enlarging Mental Territory
It’s almost as if without realising you have this mental block on what is possible for you. Yes opportunities are difficult , yes there is racism (dont i know it!), and other challenges but imagine for a moment the challenges were not there, how would you sell yourself to a prospective employer or anyone for that matter? How would you sell yourself?
What would you write? or how would you describe it to a person who cant see you to see the sincerity in your voice or your tenacity or the resolve…whatever emotion it is meant to give?
I embarked on a personal journey of “MOT ” in the past 2 years and i say now that the hardest part has been closing access to anything that has convinced me for a long time that this is all i can get in life. Telling ‘these things’ to move out of my way . Starting with spiritual blocks, to things that i have heard and absorbed when i was young , through how i absorbed culture aspects of where people like me stand in society , religious practices (as opposed to my own revelations through prayer), and what i have (opportunities or luck of) , that i have exposed to.
I often ask myself now if for example why , if i am struggling to grasp something.or maybe just make a start on something. Often times its because i am not clear on who i am in this particular situation.
Expectations and Value You See In Your mind
For example, years ago when my first car a Rover broke down, i hired a few very old and dusty ford KAs to get to work. They were cheap. i was a student.I didn’t like them but needed to get from point A to B. I also enjoy driving. I am someone who thrives in having places to go and explore. So one day i just thought No, i want a Mercedes A class. the size was good for long drives and thats what i felt i deserved. All of a sudden mercedes A classes were the only cars i started to notice on the road.
So imagine you are applying for a job and you are filtering by salary. I guarantee most of us will pick the one we think we can back our skills with when we apply and fit the description of what they deem appropriate for that role. The reasons for the employer arriving at this figure are irrelevant for the purposes of this, but your reason for taking it are. I see the same thing in freelance gigs.
I am not saying just pick whatever but inherently you are picking what you feel you are worth at the time. No, right answer to that, just bear in mind you are.
And yesterday i had one of these moments because of something i haven’t made a quantifiable result. Now that i have learned what my mind is up against, and i see whats on the other side of faith, i get angry anytime i self sabotage. I also get frustrated at the things i have let slide in the past but we move. I suddenly realised i had a part to play in making clear what i am worth. for we have not been given a spirit of fear but …………………..
The not seeing the full picture and the “theres a chance you will fail” can keep you awake sometimes. But again knowing whats on the other side of faith.
The Right Path For You
When i wrote my latest CV and when i put a second interest in salary negotiation, two things cropped up when i run this past someone. CV reflects doer not achiever. As for the negotiation- what have you achieved not what you have done. Quantifiable!
There is a whole plethora of ways to use a personal development plan. But first, Find your ethos!