Fire Under Pressure

With Smallsteps still in hospital and only one parent allowed to stay overnight, I have been at home alone, but it isn't exactly a holiday, as there are still things that have to be done, regardless of how little I want to do them. With the electrician and the plumber coming Monday, there are a thousand and one tasks to be accomplished prior and of course, I am still trying to get the majority of my additional work done in time for the end of quarter to get the bonus. If there is one thing I have learned since Smallsteps was born, it is,

Make money whenever possible.

That sounds like a bad position, but I didn't say, make money however possible. There are plenty of things I will not do, even if I would get paid well for them, however, in a general sense, I will do many things and don't really think there are any jobs beneath me. I also don't give a shit about titles, which are also currently going through a strong period of inflation, as people seem to be willing to trade income for the name on their LinkedIn profile.

Call me what you want.

It doesn't really matter to me, as relative to what I have been called for no pay in my life, it probably can't get any worse. But, one thing I do expect from employers is fair salary and expectations. I am lucky for the most part, as I have managed to negotiate what I consider as fair, yet this is based on my past experience, so might not be adequate.

For example, there is a different salary hierarchy across departments and having moved from one organization into the Sales organization, there are changes. However, I am not quota carrying, so while I help enable sales, I don't sell anything, I don't make any direct money for the company. This doesn't mean I work less and in many cases, I work a fair bit more than others, but I also don't have to have the constant pressure for sales performance, which can be quite stressful.

I have come across quite a few people over the years who were attracted by the salary potential of sales, but quickly found that it wasn't enough of a motivation in order to learn how to cope under pressure. And, it is a learning thing, for those who understand enough that managing stress is a trainable skill and the greater the skill, the more potential there is for success. It isn't about being unmoving under pressure, rather, it is about being able to continue moving and moving well.

Stress can affect us in many ways and is similar to being very tired or under the influence of alcohol, where our mental acuity drops and we lose cognitive function. Obviously, the moments when challenge is causing stress, are not the moments in order to practice learning stress management, they are the moments where you want the default behavior to be effective stress management.

To do this requires investing, where the ROI is the increased ability to cope, which comes with the increased ability to perform - take on additional tasks and become someone considered reliable.

Trusted.

It is very difficult to trust people who have low stress management skills, because they are far more likely to react not only erratically, but also more dangerously or negatively. Rarely does someone reacting when they are highly stressed, act well.

Look at it this way, many people can't even manage their emotions when lunch was postponed a couple hours, where they become irritable and angry, and make rash decisions. Under pressure, people can become far more unpredictable and act more like wild animals corned with only one way to escape. And, once they crack and show their true instincts, it is very, very hard to win back trust. It is like domestic abuse,

If they did it once...

I talk a lot about work processes and the psychology around it, because despite people's aversion to having to work, it really is the most basic way to earn an income and also, expand the income. Work isn't the enemy and the better one gets at the processes surrounding it, the more value they are able to generate through it, and therefore, the more ability they have to pick and choose the future, including what to do with earnings so that "have to work" turns into wanted work.

Becoming skilled is an investment, but being skilled gets zero return unless those skills can be turned into value generative activities. It is very much like the misunderstanding of the phrase "knowledge is power" - it is not true. Holding knowledge isn't enough, the way that knowledge is used is what has power.

Work skills are the same in this respect, you can think you have all the skill in the world (or knowledge), but if no one is willing to hire or listen to you, what is the monetary value in it? This comes down to various gateways of trust and the "untrusted" lose access to the network of current and potential value.

The best investment one can make is into their own education, but what should always be remembered is that the value comes from the application of the skills, meaning that the head and hands have to move, they have to act - they cannot lay dormant. Nor can they break under pressure, because a tool that breaks when it has a task to do, *is useless.

Much like the fire extinguisher in the picture - it might offer the sense of safety to have it visible, but in the event of a fire - you want to hope that it is going to be able to perform under pressure.

Taraz [ Gen1: Hive ]