Being professional

Being professional at work is not about the title or the level of the position one holds; rather, it is in the small details where we see and know that someone takes their work seriously:

1. Seek mentors in the professional sphere
2. Have a support network
3. Choose our priorities
4. Perform regular self-assessments (evaluating ourselves periodically and getting back on track)
5. Be fully committed to what you choose but do it well

This applies to both professional and personal realms. However, we cannot expect to have the best of both worlds because that is not possible. When people strive to be involved in everything and want everything to go well, we are deceiving ourselves. Having it all is not a guarantee of success; instead, we should focus on what we choose and can manage and do our best in those areas. We can sacrifice many things; however, that sacrifice is necessary to achieve the best possible outcomes of what we have set out to do. In this way, we achieve stability and growth in the things that are meaningful to us.

There is a phrase that exemplifies this: “the devil is in the details,” meaning that big plans do not succeed without attention to the details. Even the little we do should be done well.