After the performance reviews, most of the professionals have this feeling of “didn’t get as expected” unless they are in the top rating bracket in their company. Down the years it’s not surprising for me, as it’s not the person but his inner mind forces him to think so.
Let me start with a story, infact a real incident. In the year 1992 researchers from Cornell University studied facial expressions and emotions of athletes who won. While analasing the prize distribution ceremony, the interviews they have given after that the Gold Medalist was the happiest one. That’s not a surprise but the shock was bronze medalists seemed so happier than the silver medalists.
Interesting right, how a guy who positioned third can be happier than the one who got the second place. It’s our crooked mind playing behind this, the third one was so happy because he know for the fact that if he was not placed there he wouldn’t have been on the podium at all, but the one who won silver thinks only of the lost gold.
When you start comparing yourself with others you start forgetting about what you have earned. Counterfactual thinking sometimes makes us feel good about comparisons and if you are thinking positively then drive you to achieve more. And on the other hand it makes us feel worse, starts the frustration and you will soon end up stop loving your company / job.
How we can avoid this?
Once we start doing the comparison with others, we will stop evaluating ourselves, where the real Failure starts. When we stop self assessment, our career is pretty much done there. For growing ourselves we need to know what we learned, how are we getting updated day to day growing ourself.
- Think of past six months what you were been and what you are now.
- What was your technical ability in your profession, what all you acquired new.
- Compare your self review with whatever performance review you got from your manager, speak to him and understand where you lack, set the goal for next six months and move on.
If you do the above, On your next self assessment you will definitely feel what your performance review is going to be.
Always do the self assessment in all factors, on a career level, on your technical abilities, on your financial wellness, what you learned, what all things you bought in last six months, how much savings you made, acknowledge it be grateful to yourself, your friends, your company, your manager and the whole surroundings which made you so.
#Gratitude #GoodLuck