Corporate Survivor with Mei Phing : Career Growth In The Corporate World - Ep235: Your career is a GAME. Play to win (instead of playing to not lose).

Starting point is 00:00:00 Welcome to the Corporate Survivor Podcast, where we talk about how to grow your career confidence, build your skills and value, increase your salary, and the many lessons we learn in the corporate world. For more career support, click on over to www.mayping.com. This is Mayping, your corporate leader turned career coach. I hope you enjoy, like and subscribe. I know so many people who don't realize that their career is just like playing a video game, where there are going to be obstacles, there are going to be challenges, and the goal is to clear off those challenges and to advance to the next level, to clear the next level.

Starting point is 00:00:43 So welcome, welcome back to the Corporate Survivor Podcast. It's me, Mei Ping, as Corporate Leader turned career coach and founder of the Corporate Survivor, the ultimate career program for 95 professionals just like you. So to learn more about what I do, you can go to www.meiping.com. Okay, so this is an analogy that I like to think about. So the way that personally I relax is I play mobile games, right? So basically like these kind of like games on my phone. And one of the things that I think is a good mentality to have is to see your career as it's just a game, right? You can call it the corporate game, but I don't want any negative connotation to it because it's not going to be helpful. But think about your career as it's just a game, right? So meaning that, right, there are going to be challenges, right?

Starting point is 00:01:28 So the challenges can pop up in terms of like competing work priorities. The challenges could pop up like people skills, right? Maybe difficult people, a challenging client, a person who doesn't know how to communicate with you, or maybe multiple projects that came in that you don't really know how to handle, or maybe communication issues with this person or that person. So all these, you can consider it challenges. So one of the games that I, maybe we can use that as an example here,

Starting point is 00:01:54 is like the game of Mario, right? So the worst thing that you want to be in is to keep repeating the level, to be thrown the same challenges again and again and again, like the little mushrooms, if you don't know how to clear the challenges that pop up at every single level, then it's going to feel like deja vu,

Starting point is 00:02:12 but the negative kind of deja vu, which is not going to be a good feeling. And to continue to deal with the same challenges, it's not even deal with the challenges, like to continue to face the similar challenges without being able to clear that level is actually quite frustrating so when i play games the worst feeling

Starting point is 00:02:31 i get is when i get stuck at the same level and even though i try to figure out i'm like okay what am i doing wrong that i cannot pass this level i try and try and try and try but the frustration sometimes is that, you know, when you're unable to deal with the challenges, it's frustrating. And sometimes it's even more frustrating. I mean, the feeling is worse, or maybe the feeling is a lot more intense than actually clearing the level, right? By clearing the level, then you know that, okay, you know, when I, you know, when this obstacle comes, right, this is the strategy, this is the step, this is the action that I can take, you know, to clear off the mushroom, like in a game of, you know, Mario, for example.

Starting point is 00:03:11 So think about your career in a very similar way. So if you learn how to understand your boss's expectations, you learn how to communicate your value, you learn how to tackle performance reviews, you learn how to build relationships with different people, then it's very similar to these little challenges that appear in a video game, but you don't see them as challenges anymore. It just feels like, okay, this thing comes, I'm just going to deal with it. You don't even think about it. So it's just, okay, I'm just going to do this, then this is how I'm going to clear the mushroom. This is how I'm going to jump off the ramp or whatever, right? I'm saying it in the context of a game.

Starting point is 00:03:48 So think of it in that sense, because one of the biggest things in terms of like a mindset shift that I think will be helpful for you as well is to ask yourself this question. It's like, are you playing to win or are you playing to not lose? I repeat that. Are you playing to win or are you playing to not lose? I repeat that. Are you playing to win or are you playing to not lose? So in the context of a video game, it's like if you're playing to win, meaning obviously, you know, you want to clear out the challenges, you want to reach the end of the stage and to be able to clear off that level

Starting point is 00:04:18 and then to advance to the next stage of the game, right? So it's similar to your career as well. So it's learning how to manage your work right over a period of 12 months which is your performance year then come the year end you get recognized for your hard work hopefully if your promotion salary increment on your opportunities and then you level up right maybe to the next career level the next salary level ideal situation now separately on the other side playing not to lose in the context of a video game is kind of like you're playing at that level, but you don't see the end because you don't

Starting point is 00:04:52 really know how to clear off the challenges. You don't know how to clear off the obstacles. So every time the obstacle comes, then there's going to be fear because you have not prepared. You don't even have the mindset of like, I just want to get to the end. I really want to clear off this level. So then it's going to be, like I said, it's like a deja vu, right? The obstacles come and then you panic and then you don't know how to overcome it.

Starting point is 00:05:14 You don't know how to deal with the situation. Then you lose at that level. So in fact, interestingly, if you think about it, playing not to lose eventually will lead to losing because if you're not learning how to overcome something, and there's something like I said, could be at your workplace, your career, right? Jobs are challenges, right? Interview skills or whatever, right? I mean, insert problem in your career or life here, then you will never be able to clear off the level.

Starting point is 00:05:40 You will not be able to progress to the next step, to the next level, to the next stage. And therefore, you're going to get stuck. And does feeling stuck feel like a winning strategy? Is that something that you feel that you're going to be okay with, to be in the same situation over the next day, next day, next day, next week, next week, next week, next month, next month, next month, next next month next year next year next year is it going to be a good feeling because how i see is like if you're not if you're not moving towards winning then aren't you like getting closer to losing i know it sounds very abstract but that's kind of like how i like to think about it in the context of a video game or even in sports as well. Let's use the analogy of a football. So you win when you score a goal. And defense, obviously you're not going to let a goal in.

Starting point is 00:06:41 But can you truly win if you don't make an effort to score a goal and then you spend all your time trying to defend and being in the defensive position makes you powerless because you don't know what the challenges will come. make an effort to score a goal, and then you spend all your time trying to defend. And being in the defensive position makes you powerless because you don't know what the challenges will come. And if you don't know how to deal with any of the challenges, then it's kind of like being in a defensive state, feeling fear, but not knowing what to do to actually be able to progress and actually to move towards winning? Or is progressing kind of looks like, okay, I cover my bases, but I know that in order to win, I need to learn how to speak up. I need to make sure that my boss knows I'm working hard. I need to make sure that my boss knows I'm looking for a promotion this year, right? I need to make sure that I have good working relationships

Starting point is 00:07:26 with different stakeholders that they can say that, hey, Mayping did a good job. I really enjoy working with her. We should promote her. That's what weeding looks like. And I'm not saying to the point of whether you got the promotion or not, but it starts with you advocating for yourself, you being proactive and really going for what you want,

Starting point is 00:07:43 asking for what you want, and really taking that next step and not hoping that, okay, you know, hopefully when something happens and then when something doesn't happen and then eventually you don't get that promotion or whatever, then you feel upset. So I don't want you to feel this way. And I want to end this episode again with the question that I asked you and answer yourself honestly are you playing to win or are you playing to not lose so i'll leave you this with this thought and if you're watching on youtube drop a comment and share with me or if you're following on any podcasting platforms on spotify apple and so forth i hope that you really consider this big big big question that

Starting point is 00:08:22 could potentially change your career for the better. Could potentially help you really level up in your career level, right? Job title, salary, and getting you motivated and more courageous for the next level in your career. So with that, I'll see you in the next episode. Bye.

Corporate Survivor with Mei Phing : Career Growth In The Corporate World - Ep235: Your career is a GAME. Play to win (instead of playing to not lose).

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