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Alonso
Student
Romeoville, Illinois
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How do people studying to get into the automotive industry overcome hardship?
When faced with hard tasks that make you want to quit, what helps keep you up and motivated to keep trying?
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Stefan Aubertin
General Manager
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San Francisco, California
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Stefan’s Answer
A few thoughts here from someone with extensive automotive industry experience. Hardship is universal and can occur in any industry. In fact, it's entirely normal to encounter times when you might want to give up and try something else. Sometimes, that could be the right thing to do, but before you quit, consider this: try to frame the difficutly differently. It's just data or information that is telling you something. Usually when something is so hard that you want to quit, it is because you are being seriously challenged. All of the true growth and learning opportunity lies in those things that are difficult. You want your career goals to be growth, rather than comfort. Said differently, if there is discomfort, that's where the opportunity is to get better, learn more and earn more. The things that are comfortable are things you already know and your earning potential is capped at whatever those skills can support. If you challenge yourself everytime you encounter discomfort or hardship, you'll be building massive character, skill and resilence. After doing this several times, you'll be able to look back on a trail of accomplishment. The key is not to let the hardship distress your state of mind. By framing it as opportunity, you can lay down a different path to attack the discomfort and rise above it.
Here are a few more tactics you can use when you feel this happening. First, don't be too hard on yourself. Be honest with yourself that you might have some learning or research to do. Take pause and recognize whats going on. Maybe you're being stretched to do something that you don't have much experience doing. It's normal and ok for that to seem difficult. Second, you're likely more capable than you realize. Sometimes we freeze up when facing a difficult time, but if you give yourself a fair shot at trying to figure just the next right step, you'll likely be able to do that even if it's not the whole solution. In fact, it could be the wrong step, but you'll still be closer to solving the problem by having ruled out something. (This is often called a bias to action and it's an admirable quality for any professional). It's also easier to face the problem because you are focused on the next right thing instead of the whole huge dilema. This breaks down the problem into smaller, more managable tasks. Think of it like an open book test. In a technical automotive context, maybe you find yourself trying to diagnose a problem for a system that you don't fully understand. You can learn that first. You get to pause, consider what you might be stuck on, go back and do some research, ask questions and ask for help! Lean into your professional support network. Here is where you can still own the problem but get help to nagivate it. Talk to a mentor, colleague or knowledgable friend and describe the problem. Ask for tips on what the next step might be to investigate a solution. Target support on how to solve the problem rather than asking others for the whole solution. The path of navigating the uncertainty is what builds your own skill and you don't want to give away those opportunities too easily!
Here are a few more tactics you can use when you feel this happening. First, don't be too hard on yourself. Be honest with yourself that you might have some learning or research to do. Take pause and recognize whats going on. Maybe you're being stretched to do something that you don't have much experience doing. It's normal and ok for that to seem difficult. Second, you're likely more capable than you realize. Sometimes we freeze up when facing a difficult time, but if you give yourself a fair shot at trying to figure just the next right step, you'll likely be able to do that even if it's not the whole solution. In fact, it could be the wrong step, but you'll still be closer to solving the problem by having ruled out something. (This is often called a bias to action and it's an admirable quality for any professional). It's also easier to face the problem because you are focused on the next right thing instead of the whole huge dilema. This breaks down the problem into smaller, more managable tasks. Think of it like an open book test. In a technical automotive context, maybe you find yourself trying to diagnose a problem for a system that you don't fully understand. You can learn that first. You get to pause, consider what you might be stuck on, go back and do some research, ask questions and ask for help! Lean into your professional support network. Here is where you can still own the problem but get help to nagivate it. Talk to a mentor, colleague or knowledgable friend and describe the problem. Ask for tips on what the next step might be to investigate a solution. Target support on how to solve the problem rather than asking others for the whole solution. The path of navigating the uncertainty is what builds your own skill and you don't want to give away those opportunities too easily!