Is it time to give up on your dream?
Are you determined enough?
You have to be pretty determined if you want to be a firefighter. Not only is it as tough as hell to get in, once you are in promotions don’t come along every day- far from it. So whether you are trying to start, or trying to progress your Firefighter career, how do you know when it’s time to call it a day?
When enough is enough
The answer to this is actually quite easy; you’ll know when you’ve had enough. Although most of you will have times when all you’ve wanted to do is throw in the towel, you’ll stick at it for as long as it’s worth enough to you to do so. As soon as it starts not seeming worth it- well, you know what to do.
Overcoming adversity
So a tougher question is; how do you keep pursuing your dream when you keep coming up against setbacks?
- Be clear on why you are doing it. It’s demoralising enough to put a lot of effort into something that doesn’t pan out for you, without feeling like you are doing it for the wrong reasons. Whether your motivation is money, the challenge, fulfilment, lifestyle, status or whatever else floats your boat, keep that clearly in mind to keep you pushing forward through the tough times.
- Do it properly. There is no point wanting something that you go about in a half –hearted manner; if you want it enough you need to give it your best. That might be making sure you have the right sort of experience to makes your application stand out, or maybe it’s some coaching or mentoring to iron out any weak areas. As unwilling as we may be to accept it, doing something properly often means that it will take more time than we would like, but success is often a result of the long game. That’s where your competitors will fall by the wayside because they won’t be able to do what is needed for as long as is needed.
- Turn disappointments around. Being able to take a knock back, learn from it and make sure it serves to improve you is a rare skill. It’s a lot easier to feel disgruntled and hard done by. If you can find positives from negatives and act constructively on disappointing results you are one step closer to overcoming your obstacles.
- Be prepared get help. If you keep hitting brick walls then you may have to consider doing things differently. It isn’t always obvious to yourself what you are doing wrong but someone else can steer you in the right direction. Don’t be afraid to get help if the alternative is you giving up your dream.
