If you feel competent, positive about the future and confident in your ability to lead a fulfilling life, you may need to thank your mom. As your very first boss, she laid the groundwork for how to be successful and productive. If you’re lucky, these lessons continue to resonate today. When it comes to job success, here are some of the ways that mother knows best.
Focus on Your Strengths
We’ve all had to face the realization that no matter how hard we try, we’re always going to be better at some things than others. And the sooner you embrace that reality, the happier you’ll be.
Nobody recognizes and appreciates your strengths better than your mom. She probably even noticed them before you did. And if you’re lucky, they were nurtured and developed early on. In other words, she didn’t force you to become a soccer star when your true talent was computer coding. Being able to identify and harness your strengths is a lifelong skill that will serve you well in your career.
Mom’s Lesson: Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. Concentrate on what you love and what you’re good at.
Hold Yourself Accountable
A mom is really good about being able to tell if you’re half-assing something. Did you really clean your room or just stuff everything in the hamper? Did you actually practice piano, or spend five minutes playing Chopsticks? Did you write your own research paper or just paraphrase Wikipedia? You may have cursed your mom at the time for holding you to a higher standard, but with any luck, her nagging has resulted in a good work ethic and a sense of integrity over a job well done.
Mom’s Lesson: The difference between excellence and mediocrity is putting in the time and avoiding shortcuts.
Believe in Yourself, Even When No one Else Does
Perhaps a mom’s most enduring gift is instilling in her children a sense of self worth – the idea that failure is not a personal reflection of character, but rather evidence of determination and hard work. It’s hard to stay motivated after many career setbacks, but staying focused on your talents and unique qualities can help fortify you against rejection.
Mom’s Lesson: Have faith in yourself and things will eventually work out for the best.
Make Your Mother Proud
A good mom inspires you to be the best version of yourself. She’s given you the moral and emotional skills to succeed. And even when you’re all grown up and living on your own, you’re still trying to impress her, either consciously or sub-consciously.
A good boss is like a good mom. She’s firm but encouraging. She leads by example. And she inspires you to make her proud. Hopefully, you’ll have many bosses and mentors like this throughout your career. But being able to recognize (and accept) them is a special skill that we often learn first from our moms. With any luck, this skill will help you avoid toxic work relationships and steer you to more cooperative and productive ones.
Mom’s Lesson: Surround yourself with people who build you up, not tear you down.
