What You Avoid Will Limit You

There are things I like to do- dealing with people, talking to clients, pitching solutions, etc. I have no motivational issues there- I manage them well without any problems.

However, there are things I don’t particularly like doing- goal setting, tracking my performance and progress(it’s hard), working on myself, hustling clients for the payments, etc.- I tend to procrastinate and avoid.

Is this ok?

The scenario I describe here is a common issue many of us grapple with in our daily working lives. Unfortunately, we tend to focus on those aspects we are comfortable doing while pushing away those tasks we feel uncomfortable doing. In the process, we develop strengths in some domains and visible weaknesses in others.

The problem with this approach is that as we grow in our careers, the aspects we choose to avoid in favor of those we like doing will become essential requirements for roles higher up in the hierarchy, and at that point, our weaknesses become our limitations.

Imagine you only work on some parts of your body and ignore the rest- e.g., you work your upper body muscles but avoid working
your lower body; what will happen? As you age, you will develop back problems, and that will negatively impact how you feel overall.

It’s similar in our work lives too. If you are ambitious and looking for consistent growth in your career, you must ensure that you focus on all aspects, irrespective of whether you like or dislike those tasks. Otherwise, those aspects will slow your progress.

The strength of your chain will be based on how strong all the links are. So, ensure that you work all your links irrespective of whether you like working on some and dislike working on others.

This is what being a professional means. You don’t let your feelings dictate what you will focus on doing. If it is required to be done, you will do it.