Tag: focus

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Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Don't measure your success with that of others

Today marks the last edition of the series, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful. It is entitled: Don't measure your success with that of others. In this installment we explore the perils of trying to measure ourselves using someone else's measuring stick. Based on the first blog in this series (link here) the goals that we set for ourselves on the quest for success must be personal-- which implies that the success that we are to discover must also be personal. The best way to explain this is the use of a sports analogy.

The journey to success is often likened unto a race, which conventional wisdom tells us there must be a winner. If that is the case, does it imply that in this 'race' toward success all of the other participants are destined for failure? Does it also mean that we all should give up once someone is officially declared the winner? I say not so! If you have ever witnessed a men's 100 meters dash at an Olympic athletics competition, you would see that when the race is over there is more than one person celebrating. Why is that? Well if you understand a fundamental dynamic of success then it will make sense. If coming in second place is the best that you can do, then you will be doing yourself a disservice by not being comfortable with that fact. You see, you will never be happy if all you do is keep comparing yourself to other people. I am not saying that they can't serve as a source of inspiration, but to have an obsessive compulsion in trying to match up or even outdo the competition in every aspect is very unhealthy. It is under such conditions that jealousy and greed are developed, which can result in cutting corners to make up the shortfall.

On the other hand, there are those of us who are working night and day trying to live up to some unrealistic expectation that may not likely come to fruition. And it’s not because you don't have the desire, but maybe it just was not meant to be. The best example is a parent-child relationship. A parent may have lofty aspirations for their child to become a doctor. What then happens to a child who wants to be a chef, but enrolls into medical school simply to please the parent? His/her parent’s desire is not going to compensate for the hardships they may endure. This is why setting your own goals is important. The ideal scenario is when a parent can help a child to set goals and then provide support in helping them to attain those goals.

Handling your success can be summarized into the common expression- be comfortable in your own skin. It doesn't mean that once you make your decision the process will then be easy. Please be warned that this could be quite the contrary. It means that once your planning is over, you enter this race with the understanding that there will be challenges and times of second guessing and even major frustrations. However, knowing that the dream that you are chasing after is all yours, gives you the inner strength to keep running and a greater sense of satisfaction when success does indeed come.

So what have we learnt from this discourse:

Setting goals is the most important step in being successful. After all, with no finish line how can you tell if you have made it. The goals must be challenging yet realistic. Don't bite off more than you can chew all at once. Break them up into smaller goals so that there is a continual sense of progress.

Once the goals are set the work begins. There will be obstacles, good days and bad, however you must believe in yourself! Trust in your ability and most importantly trust in your gut instinct.

Acting like you belong is a take on the old adage, think like where you are headed and not where you currently are. It is simple, yet revolutionary. It tells you that you cannot be bogged down by your perceived differences and or weaknesses. You either belong or you don't! It is your decision.

Focus, focus, focus - Do not take your eyes off of the finish line! Anything or anyone who is in your way needs to be removed.

Lastly you alone can determine what success is. Chasing after someone else's dream will only lead to a life of frustration.

If this series has been insightful please leave a comment or send me a message. If any questions may have arisen while reading this series, by all means send me questions and I promise I will answer them.

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.

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Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Eliminating the noise

Today our journey continues with the fourth installment of the series, Practical ways of becoming and remaining successful: Eliminating the noise. We are almost to the end with only one more remaining. If you are joining this discourse and have not read the others that preceded, I recommend that you go back and read them once you have concluded reading today's offering. It is really important that you get the entire picture of what is being communicated in this series. Now let us begin with today’s message.

I submit to you that you that your ability to eliminate the noise has a direct bearing on the level of success that you can attain. It also impacts the timeline in which you can see this success. Distractions and a lack of discipline are lethal dream killers, which leave many individuals who once were loaded with potential, wondering what went wrong. Focus then, is a powerful and necessary character trait one must develop. To better understand focus, let us examine the image above of a racehorse.

As you may have noticed in the picture the horse is wearing blinders or blinkers. In general if you have ever carefully observed a horse race you would notice that most if not all the horses where blinkers. Have you ever wondered why? The answer is encapsulated in the very nature and anatomy of a horse's eye. It is said that the equine eye is the largest of any land mammal. It has the ability to see a staggering 350 degree range of monocular vision. However most of this vision is peripheral, which is relatively poor. As a result a horse is easily spooked when it is approached from its periphery and tends to rear on its hind legs or take flight as a defensive strategy.

I did some research to find out why race horse owners see it fit to put blinders on their horses and this is what I discovered:

Blinders help the race horse run in a straight line. Because of its vision a horse has the propensity to run in a diagonal line, so blinders reduce the peripheral vision and keeps the horse's focus down the track.

Blinders help the race horse from being spooked by the other horses in the race. Remember it is in the horse's nature to be alarmed by objects that are moving in its periphery, which means that a horse race is the perfect environment for a horse to become unsettled.

Blinders prevent immature horses from turning around and looking at its rider. Imagine how dangerous this can be for both horse and rider if this occurs at full speed in the middle of a race.

From these examples it is evident that blinders help a horse to keep focused, by keeping its eyes looking forward and reducing distractions at crucial moments. The same ideology is applicable to you. Are you so prone to distractions that you easily lose focus and begin placing your attention in other directions apart from your goals? Or are you easily spooked by competition? The moment you realize that there are others vying for the same position, same prize, same promotion and same job, you get scared and your instinctual reaction is to take flight? If this describes you today then you are in need of proverbial blinders. You need that ability to block out all of the distractions and noise that can take you off your course.

As I close, I challenge you to do some soul searching in order to identify all of the distractions that are preventing you from living out to you full potential. It is only after you have identified these distractions that you can create a plan to block them out. Remember what distracts you may not necessarily distract me, so this exercise requires a serious self-assessment. I guarantee you that eliminating the noise will make a world of difference as you continue on your quest to success.

Until next time remember: as long as you have life you should live it to your fullest potential.