People often measure ‘success’ by how far you went up the corporate ladder or in terms of financial well-being, but success is, what you set out to achieve and how much you could achieve.
Sometimes, success is very elusive, but it is also a fact that it can be achieved. Let us explore how.
I would like you to focus on the quote below, which I came across on a website.
The keywords are Focus, Capture, Develop and Take Another Shot! Let us dwell on each of them…
Focus
Focus on what is important, which means, firstly focusing on the goal, the steps to reach the goal, and the means to reach the goal. But this must be done keeping in mind, the purity of the process of achieving the goal. In other words, this involves ethics, values, and the integrity of the intent or goal!
The joy of achieving something with integrity and purity is unbelievable! You could achieve many things through deceit but in your heart, you will always know how you achieved success. As a consequence, you would never be able to experience the joy of achieving something!
Capture
Capture the good times, in other words, revisit all that went well, and focus on the positives. You may often be overwhelmed or dejected by the pace of progress, but what is important here is to remain focused on what has been achieved so far.
Let me explain this with an example: a team was working on a project that needed to be completed in 100 days. It was a prestigious project. The team was moving forward only with one objective that is to complete the project on target. What kept them going? They simply captured the things that went right, shared the best practices, and kept positivity high. The team confessed that their ability to capture positives was what kept them going and helped them to emerge successful! It reminded me of this quote:
“And, when you want something,
all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Develop
Develop from the negatives. This can be achieved if we undertake some serious introspection. However, when we do introspection, we have to be honest with ourselves. If we are not, we may fall into the trap of finding excuses for our failures. If this happens, we will lose out on the opportunity to learn from our negative experiences.
On the other hand, if we are open and true to ourselves, we will be able to see what went wrong and this insight would help us to learn from our failures. The greatest people who have achieved success have a past that has failures and they have learned from their failures which led to their success.
Take Another Shot
‘Take another shot’ simply means don’t give up! People with a growth mindset (as described by Dr. Carol Dweck in her famous book Mindset- The New Psychology of Success)
are great examples of people who constantly take another shot. It is well explained in her quote:
“The passion for stretching yourself and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well, is the hallmark of the growth mindset. This is the mindset that allows people to thrive during some of the most challenging times in their lives” – Carol S. Dweck, Mindset: The New Psychology Of Success
Success is what you make of what is thrown at you! It is in your hands. So wait no more, take that plunge… you never know it could be the best shot and make you a winner!
