Having goals and dreams is what makes our lives meaningful but how we go about achieving these goals, both in mindset and physical action, can be the difference between success and failure.
If you’re feeling frustrated because your goals seem out of your reach, and no matter how hard you seem to try, you just don’t feel like you’re getting any nearer, then you’re not alone. Many people work hard to get to where they want to be but unless you change your thinking and your habits towards getting to that goal then it may take much longer than you want.
Why Is It So Hard to Succeed Sometimes?
When our goals mean a lot to us, it can start to put pressure on how we perceive our abilities. We can start to doubt if we’re capable enough – if it’s really possible.
The strategy we put in place may not work effectively or work around our changing lifestyles or life plans. Distractions are a big problem with internet, TV and our phones taking away our focus so easily.
And, of course, underlying fear can also play a big part in stopping ourselves from truly moving forward to that place of success. What would it really mean if you finally achieved this? Would your life have to change? Would it ultimately mean sacrificing other things that are important to you? Mindset and habits, as well as the actions we take or don’t, can all lead us to what we interpret as failure.
Why Being Successful Is Important
Success doesn’t have to be confined to career. Personal goals and dreams are equally important because, ultimately, success brings confidence, well-being, hope, the sense that you’re contributing to either your own personal growth or to the world around you – it’s the essence of living a fulfilling life.
We are born to succeed as a species. We need to be successful in looking after our offspring both with protection and providing for them. Therefore, the want for success is ingrained in us and is the basis of what makes life meaningful. So, whatever success means to you – whether it’s in your career or if it’s learning to read, write or run a marathon – it’s the idea of fulfilling and achieving a desire that keeps us content and gratified.
What Is the Secret to Success?
It can be soul-destroying when you see people around you succeeding and you feel you’re trying your best but just can’t seem to do the same. It can hit our confidence and make us believe we just aren’t capable of succeeding. It can lead us to get in to this never-ending cycle of giving up, trying, not getting anywhere and giving up again. But have you wondered what you could do differently? Perhaps the habits you adopt are what’s keeping you from the life of your dreams?
Check out the habits you need to do differently in order to get the success you deserve.
1. Mindset: Stop Seeing The Problems
Many of us have a mindset that seeks out the negative. It’s something we’ve been trained to do because, well, it’s easier to dwell on the negative than the positive especially if things aren’t going exactly as we want them to.
Instead you need to see these obstacles as challenges and opportunities rather than a reason to feel like you’re failing. It’s really about building up a positive mindset – no matter the problem you can always find a positive aspect to it. Problems are opportunities to grow and if you keep this in mind you are less likely to give up on your goal.
2. Strategy Is Good But So Is Flexibility
Having a plan and a strategy in place creates a good framework but when we are too rigid with this framework we don’t allow for potential changes. Life isn’t linear and we can’t always predict what’s going to come up. Disruption can throw our plans out of the window and if we’re too dependent on sticking to a particular framework then we can lose motivation.
Try less planning and more doing. Have a general framework but make sure it can be flexible. It’s more important that you start the first steps (which can often be the hardest) than spending too much time planning.
3. Make Short Term Goals Rather Than Long Term Ones
“You don’t need to see the whole staircase, just take the first step” – Martin Luther King
This quote speaks volumes when it comes to success. Motivation is the number one key to achieving goals and many of us lose motivation when we focus too much on the long-term. Break your goal down into smaller, short-term chunks because that way your motivation won’t take a hit and you’ll feel like you’re achieving so much more.
Give yourself a reward when you reach each small milestone and celebrate all the little achievements along the way.
4. Distraction Is a Success Killer
Entertainment is big business. We’re living in a time when our minds are craving to be entertained to the point where learning and education is easily given the backseat. Ask yourself how much time you spend watching TV, surfing the internet, playing with your phone?
While it’s good to have down-time, we often don’t realise how much time we waste idly distracted instead of focusing on more important things. Everyone has the same 24 hours in a day but it’s how you use these hours that makes or breaks success. Be honest with yourself and try to be conscious of how you spend your time.
Success doesn’t have to be a struggle. Having the right mindset, creating a flexible but instilled strategy and making sure you keep motivated with good focus will go a long way in helping you gain confidence towards achieving the life you want.
