Qualities Built For Success
WHAT IS SUCCESS?
Success means different things for different people. For some, it means endless money and fame, while for others it may mean raising a family well or being able to be independent in today’s world. The key take away here is that each of us has to define what success means for us. There is no "correct" definition of success as we all like different things and are at the end of the day, very different people, but if you don't define what success means for you - what you consider to be enough for yourself - then how will you know when to stop? When will you have enough and be satisfied?
While I do not necessarily believe in labelling success as a single point in time or a final goal we have in life, but instead that we should rather try and make every day a small success that would contribute to our long term goal of success. If we just focus on the end goal, our happiness will depend on whether we reach our definition of success or not, instead, if we focus on the process of attaining that level of success and make sure that we make the majority of our days are a "win", then our satisfaction levels will be much more stable.
However, to reach the success that we defined for ourselves, we need to either have or develop certain qualities that will contribute to our success, no matter how we defined it in the first place. This is why I have composed together a list of the 15 most crucial qualities you have to put into practice in order to achieve your idea of success.
QUALITIES NEEDED TO SUCCEED
DRIVE AND PASSION
Passion and drive go hand in hand for a good reason. Passion is having an intense burning desire or interest about something, while having a drive, means that you are intensely motivated about something, which is why when we combine the two together, they form the very essence of our reason for existing; Our purpose in this life.
Having a drive and a passion for something means that you are highly dedicated to pursuing that idea or whatever it may be. You are motivated to try and do everything in your will to pursue this interest and to avoid any unwanted roadblocks. Being passionate about something gives you the very reason for waking up every morning because you want to pursue that deep craving as soon as possible. It is a cure for procrastination since it reduces the amount of motivation needed for you to start doing something, as well as making you feel fulfilled and satisfied since you are spending your time on something that you care deeply about.
PERSISTENCE
Nothing great and big in life ever came quick. There is really no such thing as "overnight" success because all of these seemingly instantaneous bursts of success once required some input of work in the first place, which is where persistence comes into play.
Persistence is the ability to be resilient and consistent with something, no matter how many setbacks we experience in the process. What makes the difference is not whether you do something once, but how often you repeat that action. For example, eating one low-calorie meal will not make you lose weight in the long run, however cutting back on let’s say 100 calories each day consistently, will lead to a much more noticeable and in the long term, a more sustainable result.
While it is hard to initially start doing something, it becomes much easier to keep that action continuous and regular once it is a part of our routine and once we gain enough motivational momentum to keep going forward, even when it may not be easy. Turn your actions into a habitual routine and being persistent with something will be a much more effortless process.
BEING ACTION ORIENTATED
While planning and thinking things though are essential to making good decisions and making sure you are headed in the right direction, what makes the difference at the end of the day is whether you take action and do something. Being proactive can be one of the most difficult things to do, but is one that surely pays off in the long run. Without it, nothing would ever get done, and the world would remain unchanged.
I believe it is best to both plan things in advance and have the ability to assert action and create change. The right balance of those two forces creates an incredible amount of momentum that not only drives you in the right direction but also makes sure to get you there.
TIME MANAGEMENT
They say that time is our most valuable resource; it can’t be created or controlled, but only spent. So this only means one thing: We are in charge of how we spend our time. And As Henry David Thoreau said: "It is not enough to be busy. The question is: what are we busy about?". While being busy is commonly mistaken for being productive, the key difference between them is that when we are productive we are intentionally choosing to do work that is of most importance to be done at the moment and will also provide the most value to us.
Knowing how to manage your time is a skill that we spent the majority of our lives learning, adjusting and improving. No one can be in control of their time all the time, because there are always unexpected events that come up, but there certainly are people who have found what time management techniques work for them. There is no single "formula" for the best time management, because everyone schedules, occupations and lives look different, so you have to find what time structure works best for your lifestyle.
Ask yourself: How many hours per day will I intentionally dedicate to doing ....? How long can I really stay focused in a single working period? How often do I need to take breaks from working? How much time will I spend working, in comparison to the time spent on leisure activities and socializing?
These are all questions that are individual to us all, so its the job of every individual to find what balance of work and leisure works best for them. Take it hour by hour, day by day, and really think about how you are spending your time and how you could improve that because after all, don't we all want to do more valuable things with our time?
EVALUATION
This is a crucial step, but one that is either neglected or under-appreciated. The ability to evaluate means to take a step back, put things into perspective and readjust your route. It is to make sure that what you are currently doing makes sense and that it aligns with your long term goals. So often, we spend our time lost and secured within set routines that provide comfort and familiarity in our lives, but without us even realizing it, those routines could actually be hindering our process in the long run.
Only when you truly take a step back and take time to slow down, is when you can begin to analyze what you are doing. Sometimes you just have to slow things down in this fast-paced world, to see a clear picture behind the blurry lines.
While evaluating and reconsidering the things you currently do, can be a time-consuming process, it certainly is one that is worth it in the long run.
ADAPTABILITY
I this ever-changing world, the only constant is change. The world around us is constantly changing, evolving and transforming - faster than it has ever been. What is the best way to deal with these changes? Become adaptable. Learn how to turn setbacks into positive experiences and find out how to create opportunities for yourself. Do not become too fixated on only one thing, as nothing stays forever, so its best to spread your feet wide apart on solid ground, to get a good scope of everything. This way you are less affected by the ongoing changes around you and you also gain more perspective as to where you could potentially find opportunities.
Even evolution proved it to us: Those who didn't adapt, simply just did not make it out alive. It is the same situation today, except everything is happening at a faster rate. Learn to become agile and flexible in this ever-changing world can be one of the useful qualities you can master.
GOOD COMMUNICATION
Being able to speak is one thing, but being able to communicate well is a whole another topic. While it is much easier to just keep our mouth busy talking the whole day, it is much harder to be an effective communicator. To be an effective communicator means that your listener fully understands what you are talking about and that you are able to communicate your message in an efficient manner, without wasting unnecessary time.
Here are some tips on how you can become a better communicator:
Define ahead of time, what it is you want to to tell that person
Think through what you are going to say, before saying it
Be straightforward and use language that both you and your listener will understand in the context
As you are speaking, ask your listener if what you are saying makes sense, or whether you need to repeat or clarify something
GOOD LISTENER
While it is an important skill to know how to communicate efficiently, it is just as important to know how and when to listen. If we don't listen to what other people are saying, we not only appear arrogant and impatient, but are also more likely to transmit our message across incorrectly, when it is our time to speak, and thus inefficient communication results. Listening to others allows cooperation to build and new ideas to be generated while your mind is opened to the ideas of other people.
Learn when it is the right time to speak up and make your voice heard but also be aware of when it is best to stay low and listen to others around you. Both you and your listener will benefit from this.
SOCIAL NETWORKING
They say that our personalities are determined by 5 of the closest people in our lives, which is why it is important that we consider who we are hanging out with? Who are we spending our time with? Ask yourself: Are the people I hang out with inspiring me? Challenging me to grow and improve? Supporting me? If you mostly answered no, you might want to reconsider your social circle.
Your social circle is so vitally important because humans by nature are social animals, where we need social interaction and mixing with others. This doesn't mean that you necessarily need to have an overwhelming number of friends with whom you hang out with on a regular basis, but it can just mean having a couple of really tightly knit close friends with whom you get along well and spending time with them do you and them well.
Not only that, but having more social connections makes your life easier in many ways. You are exposed to more foreign opportunities, and you have more mutual security as the more good friends you have, the more helping hands you have when you need help. But most importantly, social connections make your life worth living. The ability of people to experience and view your work and share experiences with each other gives you a sense of belonging, support and appreciation - which are all feelings we as humans crave.
DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS
In today's distraction-filled work, one of the most worthwhile and searched for skills is your ability to stay focused and keep your brain concentrated on a task, without getting sucked into the plethora of social media feeds that consume our days. Many studies are confirming that on average, we are spending more than two hours every day on social media platforms. Mindlessly scrolling through these infinity pool networks where there is a never-ending content supply, does us more harm than we may initially think.
Using too much social media on the daily has been shown to negatively impact our self-esteem, our ability to talk and make social connections in real life, increase our levels of stress and anxiety, as well as potentially expose us to cyberbullying.
It seems as though social media will not be disappearing any time soon, as each year there are more social platforms being generated and more users joining every day, so it comes down to us to keep a healthy relationship with it. This also means that we know when and how to unplug from social media, to get actual work done and not get distracted every time we get a notification or an alert. Staying focused for long periods of time is steadily becoming a more difficult task, so those who develop their ability to do so, are on the right path.
CURIOSITY AND WILLINGNESS TO LEARN
Through the process of transitioning from a child to a teenager and then into an adult, we often lose the drive to learn about the world us, as we get occupied with work and other time fillers. Deep down we all have a desire and curiosity to learn about this world we live in, it is just often masked by daily occupations. It is important to nurture that need by reading, listening or viewing content that interests us and expands our knowledge in those fields.
If we have the drive to learn, it means we are proactive and have the want to acquire information about our environment. The more you learn, the easier it is for you to adapt to exterior circumstances and make more well-informed decisions, since you generally know more. All in all, a good quality to have.
CRITICAL THINKING
Critical thinking is defined as our ability to reason, where we have to question and verify all of the incoming information and be rational with how we choose to view this information. It is more based on analyzing and solving problems instead of relying so much on our instinct and intuition. It puts you into the perspective of a judge or critic, where you have to determine what makes sense and what doesn't in the context.
This is important in today’s world because it allows you to step into a more proactive mindset where you are actively analyzing all of the activities you do, instead of just doing things out of habit or routine. It allows you to discern the real from the fake, in terms of information and news. It enables you to make wiser decisions and most importantly, it broadens your perspective on things as you have to filter all of the incoming information.
SELF RELIANCE
It is nice to rely on others every so often, but if that becomes too much of a habit we may all of a sudden be let down when we can no longer rely on someone. Finding good people to rely on is becoming quite a challenging task with everyone living such busy lives, which is why at the end of the day, the only person who you can truly rely on, is yourself.
Learn to not blame others for your current situation as more often than not, it is your own action and decision that have brought you to where you are today. Self-reliance means holding yourself accountable and being responsible for your actions, where you know that your work output is a result of your own self-reliance instead of the reliance on others.
CONFIDENCE
A while back I read a quote saying "The most beautiful thing you can wear is confidence" which many times I have found to be true. When you are comfortable in your skin and yourself, you have a different energy about you and people just view you differently. Approaching life with confidence means that you are not afraid of problems but rather view them as challenges. It makes you more susceptible to making new social connections, as people are naturally more inclined to talk to people who are outspoken and confident; confidence is often attractive. Not only do you attract more people, but you also attract more potential opportunities your way, as we have previously mentioned that more social networking brings you more opportunities.
By being confident you also inspire others to be confident, which as a result also does good for them. Be confident to the extent where you are self-assured but not boastful, and you will see how your life takes a different turn.
OPTIMISM
As Dr Seuss said, "Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened". Here the main take away is that in life we can always choose how we want to look at the situation; We can either complain and be negative about something, or we can choose to look at something through a positive lens and treat is an opportunity. This shift in mindset can be the greatest change-maker in our lives.
By being more positive and optimistic, our perspective on life shifts and everything else from work, social connections, opportunities and mental attitude, as a result, changes too.
It doesn't take much, but it certainly does have an impact on all aspects of our life.
