The System is a Game, Play Your Part Accordingly
Ever ask yourself these questions?
Why can’t I get a promotion?
Why does my boss talk down to me?
Why am I not being recognized?
Or better yet, I am being recognized, why has nothing come from it?
The system is a game, you must learn to play your part. This is a lesson that took me a long time to learn and I was burned by it, but I learned it faster than most people do.
I’m about to talk about myself and my experiences for a moment. If you don’t want to read about it, skip to the bottom to get the gist of it.
I used to put 200% into my job. I got recognized, I got promoted, but it was never enough. I started figuring it out when I had received a promotion and my boss told me I had to put in more work. He stood there, looked me in the eye and said I needed to do even more. I was exasperated and dumbfounded! I paused and then straight up said, “It is impossible for me to put in more effort than I already am. I’m already operating at way above what maximum should be and I have nothing left to give.” He repeated himself, “I need you to do more, figure it out.” This was the start of my true burnout which landed me with extreme exhaustion, sickness and enhanced my depression. It was not a good time for me, but as most things are, it got even worse before it got much better.
I had been the lead of my team with seven people under me. I was carrying them and making excuses for my low performers since I wanted to take care of my team. I figured they could do better and I was willing to work with them. I soon learned that management decided that I was “too valuable” as a worker and removed me from my lead position so I could “hunker down and work on the important stuff”. This lead to me being replaced overnight and hardcore burning out from all I had been fighting for and trying to accomplish. Needless to say my replacement was a control freak and knew absolutely nothing about what we were trying to accomplish, but was good at sweet-talking management.
This lead to me finding an exit as fast as I possibly could. I took another job in the same company in a different building with no pay increase. I was so desperate I just found something and left. This was the start of my healing. I started putting in a normal employee’s amount of effort and getting recognized even more. It went from, “I need more from you!” to “Wow! What a good job you’re doing, this is phenomenal!” every week.
This is when I started learning that the system is a game. The companies don’t care about you. No matter what they say, you absolutely are replaceable. Now you can take this as horrible news and crawl in a corner or you can learn to accept it and play your part. You’ve heard it before, but you are absolutely a pawn in the establishment. And I mean this literally. In the game of chess you have all sorts of different pieces and even if you’re a pawn and make it to the other side you can become something “greater!”, but in truth you’re still expendable. The only piece on the board that matters is the King. The only piece that is safe is the one on top. Now am I jumping on the bandwagon for CEO’s are bad! No, absolutely not. They get a lot of hate and yes some of it is well deserved, but you don’t need to feel down or sad or upset about bad management, you just have to learn how to play your part.
Learn from your experiences, learn from others’ experiences. Find your talents, find your skillset, find your passion. Once you have established who you are and what you are capable of, your possibilities are limitless. Don’t tie yourself to a singular company or a singular job. Keep learning, keep increasing your skillset, keep bettering yourself. If you do this, you will never get bored and you will always be satisfied and you will never be upset if you get let go or fired from a position. You know you will always be able to do better and learn from it and move forward.
Let me help you find your better self. Let’s find your passion, let’s figure out your skillset and let’s get you on a path forward where you understand that work isn’t fair, but if you learn to play your part, the sky is limitless!