Let Him that Stands Take Heed…

Image Source: Bible Underground

I’m currently enrolled in an Entrepreneurship and Employability Skills Development programme and yesterday was the first day. During the morning session, we were asked to submit our resumes (CVs) and I did just that. Before then, we had been advised to come along with it so I took my time to go through mine and revise it. I wanted it to be excellent, and it was –at least that’s what I thought. When we were asked to submit our CVs for vetting, mine wasn’t even looked at a second time. It was declared ‘not good enough’. When I heard this, I started boiling inside. I was really pained. I thought I had a good resume until that very moment. After the CVs and Cover Letter Writing class, I finally knew why my CV wasn’t good enough.

Honestly, I had copied the format of my CV from someone who I consider a ‘very young successful’ person. I really thought my CV would dazzle the facilitator. As it turned out, I was overhyping myself. And sadly, I’m not the only one guilty of this. Many people are. They think they are all that and that they are stars until someone better and more experienced comes to show them they really aren’t all that. For example, you work in an organization and you’re the main attraction. It feels so good and you feel on top of the world until a new employee comes in and steals the show from you. It is painful but it happens a lot.

What’s the lesson to learn from this? Simple. Let him that stands take heed, lest he falls. It is a quote from the Bible but it very much applies to our everyday life, not just for CV writing and work value. You may think you’re so smart until you meet someone that is smarter. You may think you’re extra creative until you meet someone who’s ‘madder’ than you. The important thing to do is to realize soon enough that there’s always going to be someone that is smarter, better and maybe more creative than you; there’s always going to be someone with a better idea than you. Okay, not necessarily that the person will be better or smarter than you but surely someone who knows something that you don’t know but that you need to know. When you come across such people, the point is not to despise them or get jealous and apprehensive. The point is to study them, learn from them and see what you can gain from them, either by proximity or from distance. Don’t hesitate to fall into second place just so you can learn something you don’t know.

It’s really important to keep an open mind.

Do share this article with everybody you come across, online or offline. Start by sharing it on social media. Also, don’t hesitate to leave a comment. Have you ever had such an encounter where someone made a ‘very smart you’ look stupid or where someone better than you came to steal your shine? Please share with us in the comments below.