Earlier today, I was having a conversation with some people and we happened to discuss redefining oneself. While younger, we have aspirations and ideas of what we want to be. What happens later on in life may be entirely different.
It is up to you to reconfigure yourself to align with the new reality that is your life. Otherwise, you will be one of those that keep living in the past than moving on.
Obviously, this takes time and effort not to mention resources. But most importantly, dedication to your new path.
We have to be willing to commit to what life we are in, working at always making things better.
I guess many fail to accept where they are and working at getting themselves to a better position. This may not be the dream place you pictured while young, but it should be better than the current.
Sometimes, that may mean better for others and not singularly you. You shouldn’t be that selfish.
So, yeah. That’s it for today. Evolve, learn, relearn, improve, be better.
This may mean going back for that course you always wanted to do. Starting that business you have been talking about. Repurposing that thing you have wanting to.
Whatever it is that you need to redefine in your life, go for it.
Although it is not an entirely new phenomenon, the gig economy seems to be the new normal as more and more people take on more and more ʺgigsˮ.
Now the word ˮgigʺ is actually slang for a part time job and it appears to have originated from the U.S as many have.
Given the harsh economic constraints that worsen every day, thanks to COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown which led to many economies verging on collapse, on the side of ordinary citizens, having just one job appears to no longer be enough to sustain one’s lifestyle not to say providing for one’s family a relatively comfortable life.
Another reason is that people expect you to be able to achieve or have achieved certain goals after working for so long.
Because the economy does not seem to agree with such notions, people tend to look for ways albeit drastic measures sometimes to achieve said goals; or simply take on more gigs!
Because of this, many people have resorted to getting more than one part time job in order to meet the never ending demands of life.
For example, Dean Kasule(not real name), works as an accountant from 7:00am to 10:00am, then leaves that work place and heads to another work place where he is the marketing manager.
Here he is expected to stay till lunch time and after delivering on his daily work load, he heads to his last gig where he is a financial analyst till the end of working day. Normally, this is at 5:00pm.
It is even more curious to note that the more one goes higher in the working ranks, the more they’ll be likely to take on more gigs in order to keep up with their expected lifestyle choices.
This is not to say that everyone is doing this but it is a growing trend of late because of earlier mentioned reasons.
Dean says working at several places has led to new opportunities opening up for him, not to say the new people has got to work with.
Another thing he has noticed is that it earns you respect from your peers when they get to learn how you’re multitasking and managing to hold it together.
Away from that, our salaries tend to never be enough. Something I have talked about before here.
You simply can not afford to relax with a single stream of income considering how temporal they are. After all, it becoming clear each passing day that the jobs of tomorrow have not been invented as yet.
Are you already in the gig economy or are you thinking of joining it? Give me your thoughts below.
Note:
This article was posted on this site before the Coronavirus hit. I believe that its relevance has never been more visible.
In my field, statistics speak volumes. In fact, without using them, your work may be disputed by whoever reads or comes across it. I mean, imagine if I told you that “Many girls in Uganda were defiled and impregnated in Uganda during the lockdown last year.”
That speaks something but not as much as “According to police reports, over 20,000 girls were defiled during the lockdown last year,” right?
It is from such a background that statistics have become an important aspect of today’s reports, and life in general. A client will ask for a report and they expect to see statistics there.
Every month, you will need to take inventory of what’s happening in your business and statistics show you a great picture.
Even the government has to give statistics about the different aspects of the economy, health, and other sectors.
So why am I telling you that you shouldn’t become a statistic?
Here’s the thing, did you notice how shocked you felt about that figure above? It gave you a pose, right? But after some short time, you move on.
Which is why you are still reading this article till now instead of outright rioting in the streets.
When you know someone who this happened to, that’s different. It just doesn’t leave your mind. It sparks you into action.
So in whatever you do, you should try to not be a statistic. You must stand out. You can’t simply be one of the 500 people that went for an interview. You must have a wow factor. What can you offer that others can’t?
What is it about you that is so exceptional someone needs it and will do anything to keep you around (for an employer-employee situation)? What is it about your business that is unique to your business?
What is it that separates you from the masses that we all are? After all, with over 7 billion people, it’s becoming increasingly hard to know that!
Yet, it is not impossible a feat to accomplish.
Disclaimer:
The example used in this article is a sensitive one that should not and should never be taken lightly.
This article only seeks to highlight how is sometimes the case and why in as much as we seek to elevate ourselves, we shouldn’t forget about those who are in disadvantaged positions too.
