Everything is a process and everything should start somewhere. No process should be rushed for any reason unless your destination is not quality.
Have you ever cooked porridge without having boiled water successfully?
I remember being presented with a pile of newspapers on my first day at work and told to cut out articles that had mentions of my employer- “a task below me”, I told myself. The job description I received said nothing about this and neither did my lecturer ever speak of this, “I would have opted for something else”, added a voice in my head.
Sadly, I am not the only one who has gone through thoughts like this at some point in time, for some, a thought like this could ascend even from being asked to take minutes as an entry-level engineer. My job should not involve any minute taking, the lecturer never mentioned any of these, “the lecturer never taught these,” you could tell yourself.
The right mindset should be, I am grateful for being in the audience of these accomplished engineers and being provided with a platform- the opportunity to learn before putting my hands on the wheel even if it begins with just taking minutes for the first few months.
One of my favourite poets once said,
“It’s the small things that will make you successful”,
and this is true in all contexts until the day I will read about a billionaire who has never had a net worth below their current worth.
I recently received a job offer and it was my dream job, the pay was right but would this have been possible if I had quit because my first employer required me to do “a task below me” – newspaper clipping? How would I have ever acquired the kind of experience I have now.
Now, looking back to my first job, I can admit I was very foolish for thinking I was going to experience everything I read in the university prospectus right away. I have also learned that everything has to start somewhere and every beginning is a good beginning. We often miss the little things that matter in our lives because we heavily focus on the big things we think matter.
Learn to pick up from every step of any process you are going through and don’t let small beginnings discourage you, even if it means starting your celebrity-chef career as an assistant at the most unpopular fast food restaurant in town.
Start, the world does not owe you anything.
-Henok Sivambi | Something True