Skip to main contentA logo with &quat;the muse&quat; in dark blue text.
Advice / Succeeding at Work / Getting Ahead

6 Career Lessons That Are Necessary to Learn for Long-Term Success

person thinking
Hero Images/Getty Images

Your life is your creation. You have most things you need to shape it and make it incredible. If you think your life is out of your control, it’s because you’ve chosen to relinquish control.

Getting unstuck when you feel lost in life is about moving away from what you don’t want and toward what you want.

You are immensely resilient. Even when you’re in seemingly hopeless situations, you can still dig yourself out and make something better of it. And learning and embracing these six mindsets can radically improve your success and make you a stronger person in the long term.


1. Self-Discovery Is a Process

It’s a struggle almost every adult goes through: “What do I want to do with my life?” Millions of people have no clue what they want to do with themselves. And that’s normal.

Curiosity and being open to exploring the unknown and ready to embrace the surprises that come along the way are essential for self-discovery and for gaining clarity about your own life purpose.


2. You Alone Are Responsible for Your Life

Like it or not, you alone are responsible for the person you are today, and tomorrow, and the next day.

This shift in mindset isn’t easy, but it can help you take control of your own success. It can help you do better at work, develop stronger and more positive relationships, and improve your personal productivity and satisfaction.

Stop blaming your problems and failures—big or small—on the people around you. Stop using “circumstances beyond my control” as the scapegoat for your own choices, decisions, behaviors, and actions. Be accountable for yourself.


3. Not Everything Goes as Planned

There’s no such thing as perfect—it’s important to accept this and move on. Spend just as much time learning what to do when things inevitably stray off the path as you do to create a plan in the first place.

Don’t be crippled by your failures, and always be ready for change.

Life is unpredictable. It’s what makes it so interesting. Because when nothing is certain, everything is possible!


4. Every Obstacle Is the Way Forward

You’ll come across obstacles in life that are fair, and others that are not as fair.

And you’ll discover, time and again, that what matters most is not what these obstacles are, but how you see them, how you react to them, and what you learn from them.

And this reaction determines how successful you’ll be in overcoming—or, possibly thriving because of—them.

Despite the setbacks, it’s in your best interest to turn obstacles into stepping stones. Don’t choose to complain, or worse, to just give up. These choices do nothing to get you across the finish line.


5. It’s OK to Suck at Most Things in the Beginning

You don’t have to be great to start anything you care about. But, you have to start right now. The decision to start is the most important step you can ever take to be the best in the world at what you want to do.

Most people quit the moment they experience disappointment. But you have to fight your way through and stick around until you get it right. In fact, you rarely get it right in the beginning.

When you practice something—anything—you improve, you grow, you advance, and you gain skills and heaps of confidence in the process.


6. Done Is Better Than Perfect

Being perfect isn’t important, but getting the job done matters.

Give yourself time in your life to wonder what’s possible and to make even the slightest moves in that direction. Following through and finishing things is one of the most important things you can learn.

No matter how many mistakes you make, or how slow you progress, you’re still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.



This article was originally published on Medium. It has been republished here with permission.