Getting the right balance
“A challenged world is an alert world and from challenge comes change. So let’s all choose to challenge.” – International Women’s Day 2021.
International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. In the lead up to this year’s IWD, we have asked some of our incredible Mapien women to prepare a series of articles, celebrating women’s achievements and increasing visibility, while calling out inequality.
Read Beth Herrell’s personal account of how she seeks out challenges in two very different areas of her life here.
Seeking Healthy Challenges
I believe we should all actively seek out healthy challenges, those that help us grow as a person and as a community and refuse all unhealthy ones.
I’ve chosen the challenge of working 2 jobs that are completely different from each other – both in thought and action.
I’m Mapien’s internal accountant 3 days a week as well a Disability Support Worker with a beautiful lady with Down Syndrome for an average of 9 hours a week.
As an accountant, you need to be detailed, systematic, have the ability to switch tasks very quickly and to manage interconnected ideas. I challenge myself every day to get a lot of different things completed each day – building/improving processes, reconciliations, answering unusual queries and helping those around me to grow.
As a Disability Support Worker, you need to be patient and supportive while encouraging them to be as independent as possible based on their individual needs. The lady I work with is also mostly non-verbal so the way we communicate together is different. The challenge we all have when working with someone who is different to us is to treat them with respect and as a human being who has their own thoughts and feelings – regardless whether they can articulate them or not.
How do I make it work?
(1) I focus on what I’m working on at that time and not let my thoughts get distracted.
(2) I identify skills learned in one job that can be applied in the other and then implement them.
(3) I ensure a minimum of 2 hours relaxation time a day where my brain has a break from actively thinking – whether it be playing music, reading books, watching movies, playing games, fishing, cooking, exercise, long relaxing bath etc.
A better understanding
Would I recommend doing completely different things that require different thought patterns and/or behaviours on a regular basis? Yes! It is so rewarding, you become a well-rounded person who can understand a variety of situations and people – regardless of ability/race etc.
What healthy challenges are you seeking out and implementing?
Connect with us
Need prompt and practical advice? Please contact us and one of our Workplace Strategists will be in touch within 24 hours.