Written by Tiane Davis
For most of my life, I have tended to give a lot of focus to my weaknesses or things I think I should enjoy, while neglecting the things I actually do enjoy. As I approach graduation, the search for a good job that I like has me thinking a lot about the experience and skills I have yet to gain. In a world where no two people are the same, it is easy for me to label a difference in strength sets or interests as undesirable.
One required skill that stood out to me on a recent job listing was “Willingness to undertake simple and complex tasks with equal enthusiasm and energy.” I also had a friend who, after a mock interview, the interviewer told him he should try to show more excitement for the “boring stuff.” I don’t think these requirements are an invitation to force interest in things we don’t enjoy; I think they are an invitation to pursue a life of work and activity that we do enjoy.
These are things that did not surprise me, but they definitely made me reflect on the things I do and why. For a long time, especially during high school and my first year of college, I was under the impression that if I did not enjoy something I was good at, that meant there was something wrong with me or that I was failing. I guess an idea that I am trying to welcome into my thought processes is — if I am spending time on something that does not interest me, I might want to question my motives.
Your motive might be money; your motive might be pressure from family or peers; your motive might be joy. No matter your original purpose, I think a good question to ask yourself is, “Am I being honest with myself about what I truly want?”
I am learning that a big part of doing a job well is the level of interest involved. Someone could be really great at a sport or skill, but if they hate it, the effort they put into it won’t produce a result good enough to be considered well done. If a person sticks with a job that they do not like, I would question whether they are being honest with themselves about their passions. Sometimes a person might stay with a job to provide for their family or to serve as a stepping stone for a better job, and that is okay. As long as we are being honest with ourselves about who we are and who we want to be.
If you think of the work you do as a percentage of how interested you are in it, everything you put energy into should have close to a 100% level of interest. If you are doing something with a 0% level of interest, question your motive. If your motive aligns with your values, continue.
I think one thing that has always tripped me up is comparing my interests and strengths to others.’ If someone is great at math and I’m not, does that mean I don’t have my own strengths? No. If someone is great at public speaking and I’m not, does that mean I won’t be able to do a job well done somewhere else? No.
Working in such a collaborative environment with The Bison has taught me so much about the value of building on a person’s strengths rather than their weaknesses. If someone is doing poorly with a job they are expected to do well, they probably have better strengths that just need to be recognized and utilized. Those strengths are often the ones they enjoy the most.
Part of being a functioning member of society is knowing how to recognize when someone might be better at or more interested in a task than you are. If someone wants to delegate tasks to a person who is better at executing them, that is not a sign of laziness or poor work ethic on the delegator’s part; it is a sign of a good leader and often a willingness to be vulnerable. If we lie to ourselves about our interests in an effort to prove our capabilities, the overall result is at risk of diminishing.
As I was writing this, I wanted to reflect on everything I do with The Bison, but I can save the reflecting or final thoughts for our next issue. In this moment, although I have been through stages of questioning in the past, I am doing what I love, and I will continue.
