Settling for career mediocrity is surprisingly common. It’s something that the majority of people do because it’s comfortable.
However, as we all know instinctively, comfort is a great killer. Once you become accustomed to something, it no longer challenges you, and you don’t continue to grow.
For that reason, most people find it better to explore fast-paced careers. While they might be hard in the short term, they always pay off in the long run.
The reasons for this payoff are complex, but we unpack some of them here. Here’s everything you need to know:
The Constant Stimulation
If you’re the sort of person who hates watching the clock at work, then the constant stimulation of a fast-paced job could be a good thing. In these careers, there’s always something interesting happening to keep you engaged. You’re never standing around, looking at your watch, waiting for the minute hand to strike five.
Engagement and stimulation let you enter the Goldilocks “flow” state that so many people extol. Time almost disappears as you get deeper into your work, focusing on the task itself instead of what you’re going to get out of it.
The Wins And Visibility
Another great thing about fast-paced jobs is the highly visible wins you encounter from time to time. These can be highly motivating if you’re the sort of person who loves celebrating a victory.
For instance, if you like the thrill of chasing market returns, becoming a trader could be an excellent career. Every day will bring new challenges and rewards if you can play the markets right. Over time, you’ll enjoy gratification and recognition, allowing you to feel fulfilled in your work.
The Learning Agility
There’s also the learning agility that attracts people to fast-paced work. Constantly having something to strive towards helps to keep your mind active and avoids stagnation.
That might be one of the reasons why so many people choose to go back to university or get careers at Royal Ambulance. It’s the fact that you can do something fundamentally different that’s going to keep your mind occupied for longer.
The High-Performance Culture
Another reason for choosing a fast-paced career can be down to your personal preference for high performance. While you might take a job where performance doesn’t matter, you often feel better doing something efficiently that is measurably contributing to society at large.
These high-performance cultures do exist, but they are surprisingly few and far between. That’s why it is essential to engage with management before you take a job.
These cultures can also help you progress in your career faster, but that also requires picking the right firms. High performance enables you to progress inside the firm and within the industry at large faster than others.
The Skillset You Develop
Finally, going to a fast-paced company helps you build a comprehensive skillset. You can learn more than your peers and get ahead of them by embodying a broader set of skills. Over time, you become more valuable to people in the labour market, pushing up pay.
