Like most words in the English dictionary, the word ‘enduring’ has multiple meanings, depending on the context it is used in. What Does Enduring Mean?
Enduring is the gerund or present participle of the word “endure.” It means to suffer patiently or to last for a long time. Both meanings of the word are applicable when it comes to the importance of it in a career.
The root word of enduring is the Latin term ‘insurance,’ which means to harden or make hard. Enduring means to hold out when adversities strike, outwait them patiently and thereby outlast them, and face something with courage. The ability to endure is important for a career, and how much you are capable of enduring can determine your success to a large degree.
The Importance of Enduring in Career
While having a job, especially in the early years, it is common to have periods where everything seems tough, and nothing goes your way irrespective of how hard you work. Training can seem hard, monotonous, and at times even boring. The ability to endure and hold on becomes very important in such instances. Nothing is easy at the beginning, and quitting at the hint of hardship will ruin your career.
Let’s take an example. Suppose your current job is not something you enjoy and feels drab. However, it will greatly benefit you in acting as a stepping stone to your dream job. In such cases, enduring skills become important. However, there will be roadblocks and obstacles in your career, and unless you have the mental strength and endurance to tackle them, you’ll find yourself slowing down and becoming stagnant.
The current workplace is fast changing, with new technologies being developed and shifting economies. Only people with endurance skills, an open mind, and a drive to learn can survive and succeed in such a society.
How to Develop Endurance
- Set a goal for yourself and keep trying till you succeed. It might get hard, and quitting might seem very desirable, but it won’t get you very far.
- Ensure that the goal you set is not too ambitious or huge. Set small goals at first and accomplish them one by one to reach your long-term goal. Think of it as a video game. You can’t defeat the final boss unless you have succeeded in the previous levels. Life and your career, too, are the same at times.
- Time management is important in developing endurance. When all your tasks are jumbled, you’ll find it hard to stay on top of everything and will end up being more stressed. Try to follow a timetable and ensure you do your tasks within the allotted timeslot. This will ensure that you stay on track and have enough time to complete everything.
- If you have backup plans when you face adversity, you’ll find it easier to overcome it. Thus, when it comes to work, try to have a backup plan for everything. After all, the saying goes, “Don’t focus all your eggs on one basket!”
- Have a positive outlook. While it certainly is not possible to be optimistic all the time, when faced with challenges or obstacles, don’t break down immediately. Try to see the problem objectively and logically without worrying about its potential consequences. Write it down and try to come up with a plan. Even if you allow yourself to be emotional, try not to wallow in your emotions for long.
- Do a self-analysis periodically and identify your weakness and strengths. Work on them constantly. Analyze your wins and losses, examine what worked and what didn’t.
- Having a healthy mind and body is also essential to developing good endurance. So, indulge in hobbies, do yoga and breathing exercises, or anything else that makes you happy. A healthy mental state means the capacity to handle and endure hard situations with more ease than otherwise possible.
What are Enduring Skills?
Enduring skills, also referred to as soft skills, are primary agents of productivity in an individual. These skills are usually taught in the 3rd and 4th grades as a part of leadership training courses. Soft skills like these are fundamental to human interactions. These involve interpersonal communication skills, the ability to assess the credibility and accuracy of resources, make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, etc.
If you find yourself faltering and quitting each time something doesn’t go your way, you’ll have difficulty achieving success. Endurance prevents this and the tendency of job-hopping.
Why is Job-Hopping a Bad Idea?
Companies wish to hire candidates with high commitment levels, so HR managers today look for candidates with good endurance skills. However, no company wants to build a candidate with their resources, only to leave the company. It results in huge losses. Thus, the resume of candidates who previously left the companies they worked for within a few years of joining is often seen poorly.
Endurance is a must for rising the ranks to senior positions. Job hopping means that it will be relatively harder to do so and to get long-term benefits. There is a lack of stability; rather than quitting due to challenges, trying to resolve them and finding out what went wrong shows more strength of character.
When to Stop Enduring
While endurance can be a good skill to possess, when does one say that’s enough? How long can a person be expected to suffer without yielding? Just as it is a boon, the ability to endure can be a bane as well. Enduring all the time will only result in one becoming a doormat and others walking all over you.
So, what are some of the situations in which you should stop trying to endure?
- Toxic workplace. If you have a superior who belittles you or is hard to get along with, endure it if you know that you won’t be working with them for long. However, if you know for a fact that that person is holding you back and that you won’t be able to move ahead because of them, or if you are being harassed, then fight back.
- This means, for instance, that if you know your boss will never give you that promotion, it’s better to look for other opportunities where your skills will be valued. Endurance isn’t always the right solution. And in situations like this, when there is no end in sight, it’s better to quit while ahead and find something better. If you can’t find an alternative, then endure until you do and then let go.
- Take another situation, where the coworker who is a teammate is someone you can’t get along with or is blackmailing you. Again, endure the situation only if you know that person will quit soon or if there is a chance of either them or you getting transferred soon. However, if it is someone you’re stuck with indefinitely, it’s better to seek alternatives, be it requesting for a transfer to another team, reporting to HR, or your immediate boss.
- Sexual harassment at the workplace. If you are sexually harassed by your senior, junior, or coworker, report immediately. Sexual harassment is not something to be endured silently. Even if it costs you that promotion that you have been working so hard for, report it. Such a promotion ultimately won’t make you happy, nor would it be safe to stay in a position that is so unsafe.
- While it is understandable that you might choose to stay silent and endure due to fear of backlash, be it due to the position you occupy, your gender, or rumors that might circulate, this is one incident where it is not advisable. An outlier to this case will only be if you think enduring now will let you expose the harassment and prosecute the culprits in a large-scale manner in the future.
- Burnouts occur due to excessive and prolonged stress, which causes emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion. If you feel yourself burning out, take a break immediately. Enduring all the time, in all situations, is not good for your mental health and can cause long-term negative impacts like mental breakdowns.
Just as endurance is important, so is self-realization and the awareness of when to stop and take a break. If enduring a situation just leaves you burned out and listless, it’s a sign to stop doing so. Take a moment to assess yourself and your goals. If what you’re doing won’t leave you happy in the long run, then you are just pointlessly enduring it.
The ability to quit and take the time to sort out your future takes a lot of courage and patience. Thus, endurance doesn’t always mean hanging onto your job no matter how tough it gets. Quitting a salaried job and starting a small business of your own too takes up a lot of grit and endurance.
