Ideally, your job should come with an instruction manual. Seriously.
Unfortunately, most of our jobs don’t come with anything close to a well-defined measure of success, a comprehensive how-to guide, and lots of tips and tricks for success. (Boo, bad onboarding!)
In fact, the more important the job is, the less likely you are to get a training manual—and I’m not just talking about work.
Motherhood, marriages, staying afloat in our ever-changing world… where’s the freaking handbook, people?!
The way I see it, you’ve got two options when thrown into the deep end:
Option 1: Attempt to create your own manual by asking for advice from anyone and everyone who has been around longer than you have. Seeking on-the-job training from your boss and coworkers, polling all those moms whose kids are a few years older than yours… maybe even talking to a career coach. 😜
Option 2: Accept that you are learning as you go, flying blind and operating without guidelines. AKA— you’ll make a lot of mistakes and struggle as you learn your way around in the dark.
If you’re choosing (or are stuck with!) option two, then there’s really only ONE option if you want to retain your self-confidence and sanity:
A shit ton of self-compassion and grace for yourself.
Kindness when you make mistakes.
Empathy when your progress is slower than you’d prefer.
Self-care when you are (of course!) more tired and worn out because of the constant learning curve.
Asking for more love, support, help, and cheerleading than you might normally.
Or, you can be hard on yourself for not instantly excelling in a super-complex role that you were given no prep for and inadequate training.
Your call!
