In Nigeria, your work is already cut out for you as a youth. You are no longer shielded by any care the moment you successfully graduate from a higher institution and are of legal age. Suddenly, expectations of you climb to the roof as it is the time for dividends and rewards of labour spent over you in previous times to yield fruit.
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And it does not get better. Everyone who is currently on a job knows that there are just times you will feel like the whole world is coming at you. Times when no notable progress seems to be made, and you are stuck at a particular level in your career. It could also come as you not meeting up with work KPIs, or making avoidable mistakes and getting numerous queries. You are also mindful of the fact that your career covers only a part of your life. How can all these pressures be successfully managed, and you come out stronger than you imagined?
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Acknowledge The Source
The first step is to identify the source of the pressures. It ranges from different things like low or delayed salaries, little opportunities for growth and advancement at work, lack of moral and social support, excessive workloads and unclear expectations, among other things. Find out exactly what is constituting the work pressure, as it gives you insight on how best to tackle it.
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Develop A Solution Framework
As soon as you identify your stressors and their sources, develop the right responses for them. Find out how best to tackle each of these challenges. Do you need more training? Do you need to unlearn certain habits? Do you need to change jobs? Write out a list of possible solutions to all of these problems until you find the most viable of them all.
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Take Out Time To Relax
This seems like an easy step but it is the most trivialized. Most times, we overestimate what our bodies and minds can do. We think the more activities we engage in, the more productive we really are. Nothing is farther from the truth. Your body and minds function very well when they are most relaxed. You get to think clearly, understand scenarios better and apply yourself. Learn how to take out time off work, relax, meditate, and simply have fun. It is all in a bid to make you a better and more efficient worker.
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Ask For Help
You are not weak when you acknowledge your struggles. There is a great likelihood that someone out there has been through your current struggles and found a way around them. It may just be time to speak up about your challenges and get the required help. You can also learn to delegate to members of your team if part of your struggles is a work overload. You will be amazed at how sharing about your pressures and work challenges will make you feel so much better than you think.
Finally, permit yourself to grow. Keep your perfectionism in check. Sometimes, the pressures we feel and face at work are self-imposed. We compare ourselves with people who are well ahead and think we can achieve requisite accomplishments in unrealistic timeframes. You must be willing to see that growth takes time and you are allowed to make mistakes as long as you keep learning from them.
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