Whatever you do, do it well
We all want to succeed in life but few of us actually achieve what you might call “success.” The rest of us are usually stuck in “survival mode” and are just trying to get by. And there’s nothing shameful in that, we all carry our own lot in life and we all have different circumstances to deal with. However, if you want to change your life in the best possible way, there are certain things and behaviors that have been proven to be effective. Here are the 7 things that’ll make you succeed in whatever you choose to attempt.
Learn to adapt
When we’re talking about the rise of our entire species we often talk about things such as our opposable thumbs, our cognitive capacity, bipedalism, etc. However, the best way to summarize all those evolutionary benefits is with the word “adaptability”. The reason we conquered the world is that we can adapt to any situation and circumstances and that is important for us as individuals as well. Whatever enterprise you decide to undertake, you must always make sure you can adapt to any and all unexpected changes in your environment.
Find the right people to be around
It’s a common saying that if you want to make a good impression you should always be the smartest person in the room. However, if you want to actually get better you should never be the smartest person in the room. People often view “networking” as a bad thing, they associate it with nepotism and undeserved opportunism. However, making sure you’re always close to the smartest, most successful, and most capable people possible doesn’t just open opportunities – it also helps you grow and develop your abilities, thinking, and skills.
Learning doesn’t end with school if you want to be successful.
Be ambitious
It’s an old cliché that you should always shoot for the stars as then you’ll at least end up on the moon even if you fail. This has its drawbacks, of course, as you should always be cautious and mindful of the risks involved in everything you’re doing. It’s always possible that you’ll just burn up in the atmosphere and reach neither the stars nor the moon.
Nevertheless, the main point stands – if you want to succeed, you must think big. You will never achieve anything significant if you’re not ambitious enough to attempt it in the first place.
Keep learning
The main unseen obstacle most people encounter as they get older is that they’ve stopped learning. It’s understandable as life starts throwing a lot of things our way once we reach maturity – work, family, kids, health problems, and more. However, it’s precisely by learning new things every day that we can deal with those problems more effectively. That’s why successful people always pay the extra effort to read, research, and learn new things every day. You can’t become successful only with what you’ve learned in school.
Dedication
Dedication is different than perfectionism. The latter has its problems as it often needlessly slows us down and pigeon-holes our thinking. Dedication, on the other hand, helps us do what we need to do well while also maintaining our scope. Whatever you do, do it well – it’s that dedication that will ensure you always achieve the best possible results.
Harness your subconsciousness
Ever since Freud, psychologists have been examining the effects of our subconscious and unconscious minds on our behavior. And ever since Freud, the consensus has been that only about 5% of our mind is made out of our consciousness with the rest belonging to our subconscious and unconscious minds. This means that the majority of our intuitive thoughts, impulses, and behaviors that actually drive our habits and actions are mostly controlled by our subconsciousness. And that’s why it’s important to try and mold your subconsciousness as best you can into what you need it to be. There are countless psychological methods and exercises for doing that, from meditation to habits control, all designed to help you harness the power of your subconsciousness.
Focus on the process itself
Lastly, let’s talk about something that’s also viewed as a cliché but is true nonetheless. “Focusing on the journey and not the destination” is viewed by some as “losers’ talk” since you can’t reach your goals if you’re not focused on them, right? Not entirely – being mindful of your goals is important but it’s equally important – if not more so – to focus on the process. It’s that focus that will help you to both do everything right and will also protect you from the paralyzing fear of failure or the deceptive intoxication of the expected success.
