How to win in an unfair system, office or group

There’s a story I heard some years ago which has been a huge motivation to me, helping me give my best at all times. I would have referenced the source of this story of only I knew it, but I don’t and I can’t even remember the person who shared it story with me. However, this story is so instructive that I have a feeling it would be a good and instant addition to your list of motivational stories.

A young man who had been seeking employment was offered a job by one of the companies he applied to, and even though it wasn’t his dream job, he took the job. Few months in, management decided to cut down salaries and his salary was reduced by 50%. Even though a legitimate reason was given for this pay cut, the young man and his colleagues felt cheated because this pay cut didn’t affect the huge bonuses and allowances which those senior staff got and they didn’t.

Grossly disappointed, the young man decided within himself that in response to the unfair policies of the company, henceforth, he would also use just half of his abilities. Hence, while he went to work each day, he decided he would tie up his left hand behind him and only work with just one hand, his right.

After doing this for about six months, he got a job offer from another company, something more like the kind of job he had been looking for. The company even agreed to pay what he asked and he was really excited about the new job. However, on his first day at his new job, he made a problematic discovery. You see, that hand he regularly tied up over the last six months at his former job had gotten really weak due to lack of use, which meant he could no longer do many of things he used to do with it just six months before. Hence, now that he finally got what he had always wanted, he longer had the ability to deliver the kind of results he used to, not to mention something better.

What will you do if you don't get the kind of job you've always wanted? What will you do when life doesn't go quite like you planned? What will you do when your boss or team members are the least kind of persons you'd have loved to work with? Will you still make efforts to do your best, or will you just be there passing time, waiting for the next big thing?

While the story above is most probably hypothetical, it shows what a lot of us do when we find ourselves in places/situations that seem unfair, we unconsciously unlearn some of our best abilities, becoming average or even mediocre.

Since the day I heard this story, I resolved in my heart that the worst thing that can happen to me is to leave a job worse than I came in, irrespective of what I think about the job or the people. So, I decided that even if my level of competence will not improve (which is near impossible), I must constantly ensure that it doesn’t decrease.

Yes, it is quite understandable that you may not like the job, it's also possible that your supervisor or certain members of the team may be very difficult. However, do you realise that the way you act daily eventually becomes a part of you, it becomes your habit. Hence, if you allow those things you don't like get to you such that you begin to perform far below your capacity, and you do that over a period of time, it is very likely that level of competence will be lost, and by the time that much desired position comes around, you'd have become less the person you were. Is that what you want?

Therefore, even when people or a system decides to be very unfair to you, ensure you are always fair to yourself. For as long as you are a part of a team, always give your best, not because they deserve it, but because you deserve it. It doesn’t matter your justification, if you constantly and deliberately develop a nonchalant attitude or under perform, that is who you will become. Every day is a chance to get better at something, but the choice is yours to determine if that something will be either good or bad.

Thank you for reading.