Nine steps to success
You do not need to become a different person to be successful. It's just a matter of identifying and managing. Follow these steps and start your career towards success.
Finding the answer to why some people succeed or fail can be intuitive. Some are born with a predisposition to certain talents and lacking in others. The psychologist and author of the book "How can we reach our goals", Heidi Grant Halvorson, states that the success of people is not only derived from who they are, but more by what they do.
In his studies, Halvorson highlights nine things that people who achieve success do differently. Here a summary of them:
Be specific. When you set a goal, you get a clear idea of what success means. For example, women, before seeking to lose weight, must set a specific goal, "lose 5 kilos". You will not lose motivation while taking concrete actions to reach your goal.
Take the time to act in pursuit of your goals. With the routine and the different occupations of the day to day and without realizing it, you can lose the opportunity to act for the goal you have drawn. Take time every day to work for what you really want, for example call that important contact, look for opportunities and studies in what you want to specialize, among others. Many studies have shown that planning will help you detect and seize the opportunity when it arises and increase your chances of success by approximately 300%.
Know exactly where you are going in the process and what you need to achieve success. To achieve any goal, honesty and regular control of progress is required. If you do not know if you are doing things right, you will not be able to adjust your behavior and strategies. A weekly, even daily review of how your life is going, is important to focus your way.
Be a realistic optimist. When a goal is set, the most normal thing is that the thoughts and plans about how to get there, are positive. This is good, because it will keep you motivated to reach it. However, do not underestimate how difficult the road will be. Nor should we forget that all objectives require time, planning, effort and persistence. The psychologist Halvorson says that studies show that things that come without effort, greatly increase the probability of failure.
Focus on improving, instead of being good. In general, people believe that intelligence, personality, physical well-being and aptitudes are fixed. As a result, everything ends up demonstrating to itself what it is capable of doing in each moment, instead of acquiring and developing new skills.
Accepting that not everything is static and that it can change will allow you to make better decisions and reach your maximum potential. People who choose to be better, instead of being good, calmly take the different situations and adversities that are presented in life.
Perseverance This point refers to the ability to commit to long-term goals and to persist before the difficulties. Studies show that more brave and persevering people achieve the highest averages of the university. But the good news for people who lack this quality, is that not innate. Effort, planning, persistence and good strategies are what is necessary to achieve success.
Will power. The muscle of self-control, as the psychologist calls it, is like other muscles of the body and therefore you have to exercise it because it weakens with time.
To build willpower, you have to take on challenges about things that you would honestly prefer not to do. For example, get up early to exercise, to go to college and then to work or stop eating a flour at lunch.
Do not tempt fate. Do not make reaching the goal a martyrdom. Willpower is also limited and you also have to enjoy life, because not doing so can be a source of frustration. It is important to have a plan to achieve the objectives, but always respecting the priorities and their ability to resist the temptation.
Concentrate on what you want to do, not on what you are going to stop doing. Plan how you will replace bad habits with good ones. If you only concentrate on ending the bad ones, the chances are that they will be strengthened, instead of breaking.