Success Is Subjective

                                             

Each of us has desires to achieve something in life. Some of these desires are unique with each individual while some are common amongst us. Most of us like to be rich, hold an important position in society or want to have our dream-house / job /life partner.

When we have someone else who posses any of the items which we have in our wish list, we conclude that he/she is a successful person and envy him/her. But who is qualified to decide about achievements in the path of success? It is the person who has to experience this success and no one else. An outsider does not have enough knowledge about the real agenda/desires of a person (as these are personal and seldom made public), so any comment made on that is not really relevant.

If you hit a jackpot by chance, others may perceive you as a successful person. But, what's about you? Do you feel the sense of achievement by hitting the jackpot?

A reward or prize is given by others as deemed fit by them or it is an expression of value they attach to you. It has nothing to do with your desire(s).

Success can only be measured /assessed in context with the desire(s) we have to achieve something. But most of the time desires are not focused and clarity is absent in spite of rich contents (of desires).

Each of us has a list or bag of desires where contents are dynamic (keeps on changing with time and situation/experience). These desires are responsible for pushing us into many directions or motivating for doing the required work.

Consciously or unconsciously, we keep working on our desires and convert them into goals to be achieved. Goals are refined desires with clarity and quantification. It is with respect of these goals one should gauge success.

If I set up a goal for me (whether declared to outside world or not) to run for 100 meters daily within 15 seconds, following are the example of clear failure on my part-

1. Running for 99.99 meters or less on any day.

2. Irregular running (not sticking to daily routine decided in the goal) even if it is for 1000 meters on some days.

3. Completing 100 meter run in 14.59 seconds on any day.

If you feel problem with achieving success consider following suggestions-

1. Each goal is unique and has to be dealt with context and meaning as perceived by you -'the creator of that goal'.
2. The goal(s) are either achieved in totally or dropped altogether. Sometimes amending or modifying the goal(s) is OK in the light of changed reality or circumstances. But if you modify too much then its time to examine and improve on your belief system or faiths rather than feeling guilty.
3. Our list of goal(s) is dynamic not static. On one side you will be achieving your goals set by you on the other side new goals will be added due to desires. Enjoy the dynamics of this list and keep it lively.
4. Within our goal list, items have positions and priorities attached. This position and priority can be changed by you, the owner of that list. Be conscious and judicious in this process of change.
5. Be passionate about your goals. It's your personal property. Examine and modify it needed. Why expect anyone else in the world to take interest in it?
6. As we judge and criticize others, occasionally judge and criticize yourself also. Evaluate your performance and plan for the schemes to do better next time.

.

Deepak Dixit, Creative writer, please visit my blog [https://www.mindyourbusyness.org] to connect to me

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10407905

When You Have No Successes to Report

                                         

How do you measure success? Do you see it as winning big contracts, promotions and pay rises, awards and effusive letters of appreciation or are you happy with a simple 'thank you', knowing that you've done a good job? Or maybe more free time is your vision of success.

It's easy to lose sight of the fact that some people measure success as simply getting out of bed, washed and dressed in the morning. Yes, medals, certificates and accolades are all well and good but moving from a low point towards a successful end result can require real courage and tenacity.

Indeed, not every day can be a massive success and not every day witnesses great achievements and newsworthy outcomes. So, what about those times when there are no successes to report, no great reasons to celebrate?

Let's first consider the people who are built for success, those people who've made and lost millions, sometimes several times over. They know about success and understand the drive and vision needed, the tools required to grow, thrive and excel, how to view setbacks as learning points. They have the tenacity and resilience to see beyond challenges, rarely considering failure an option.

These people recognise opportunities to be flexible and reevaluate the big picture, ready, if necessary to take a detour along another route. They have the mindset and determination to see beyond any hurdles, and are able to apply that focus over and over again.

It's important to reflect that the time spent identifying and growing the skills required to succeed is in itself a significant investment in any eventual achievement. Turning up is the first positive action, demonstrating that you're ready and willing to learn and persevere. So, making that phone call, sending that email, attending that networking event are all important foundations on which to build.

Think about baking a cake. There are many tasks required before the reward of a beautiful confection arrives; shopping for ingredients, ensuring you have the necessary kit, knowing what to do, the recipe, how long to bake it for all adds to the end result of a delicious cake, and all are mini-successes in their own right.

Being disciplined sets in place good habits. And even a disastrous result can teach us how to do things differently. After this past year of perhaps scarcely leaving the house, being locked down with little work, money and an equally stressed partner or children, success may be about simply turning up with a smile, briefed and ready to go. Mutual support, empathy and understanding are especially important at this time, along with gentle encouragement.

Success often includes learning new methods and skills, being flexible, adaptive, a team player when necessary, being receptive to different ideas, prepared to delegate when others have more time or expertise. Plus, self-care, attention to quality sleep, eating, breaks, exercise, needs to factor in too. Doing this is a good way to instil an enthusiastic mindset which focuses on a rewarding endgame.

And in business, success may include outsourcing or hiring other members of staff, though this may initially feel like an additional stressor, rather than an exciting success. Hiring someone adds a financial overhead and can also take you physically away from your business whilst you train and oversee their work. But ultimately an additional team member will free you up for other work or enable you to take time away to recharge your batteries, a success in itself.

If maintaining focus proves to be difficult it's important to find ways to work on any underlying issues and problem areas. Utilising the services of a therapist, business coach or mentor, mixing with like-minded people who understand and are supportive, sharing and discussing problems with family, friends or professional groups are all ways that can help you manage stress and find positive ways to cope.

However, if work has become a thankless environment some people may feel stuck, with few options for change. Choices are often limited when there are children to care for, a wage to be earned, friends and family to accommodate. But people in those situations may eventually vote with their feet and walk away. Or succumb to stress and ill-health. On average, UK workers take 5.8 sick days each year, at a cost of £723.80 per employee or £77.5 billion to the economy.

The work environment needs to be considered when management are assessing staff performance and their ongoing commitment to results and growth. Setting goals that staff feel are relevant and important, that motivate them to stretch themselves and succeed delivers important benefits to all involved. As does being understanding and providing the relevant support.

So, whenever you feel that you've no successes to report, start by giving yourself credit for each small step along the way. Even things like having a shower, making a phone call, sorting your inbox, filling out a form, can be significant results in your day. Sowing and nurturing the seeds, keeping focussed, supporting good habits all encourage your vision on your journey to whatever success looks like for you.

Susan Leigh, Cheshire, South Manchester counsellor, hypnotherapist, relationship counsellor, writer & media contributor offers help with relationship issues, stress management, assertiveness and confidence. She works with individual clients, couples and provides corporate workshops and support.

She's author of 3 books, 'Dealing with Stress, Managing its Impact', '101 Days of Inspiration #tipoftheday' and 'Dealing with Death, Coping with the Pain', all on Amazon.

To order a copy or for more information, help and free articles visit http://www.lifestyletherapy.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10484533

3 Major Differences Between New Year's Resolutions and Intentions

                                         

We have finally come to the end of another year, a year that disrupted our way of life right at the nuclear level. It's been a roller coaster of a year, both humbling and eye-opening for everybody. The biggest eye-opener was no doubt the fickle nature of life - how things can drastically change literally overnight.

I'm guessing at the start of the last new year, you made New Year's resolutions, with all the plans to drink more water and wake up earlier, etc. Then life got interrupted, the pandemic hit, and suddenly those resolutions didn't matter all. It was all about survival. However, you made it through and now it's that time of the year again where you whip out your notebook or planner and write out a long list of resolutions for the coming year.

Here's an idea. If you didn't, Don't.

Ever wondered why you keep writing out those resolutions even though you know that you will have tossed them out by February? The honest truth is, resolutions don't work.

But you know what does? Intentions.

Let's look at the three major differences between resolutions and intentions, showing you why one is a recipe for a successful year, and the other is a setup for failure.

Let's begin.

1. They have different connotations

The word resolution comes from the word resolve, which means to find a solution to a problem or "settle a contentious matter" according to Oxford Languages. Already, you can see how this would have a negative impact on how you view your life. The act of setting a resolution immediately implies that you are dissatisfied with some aspect of your life and you want to change it. Don't get me wrong, self-improvement is a vital part of becoming the best version of yourself, and creating success. However, we also spend way too much time focusing on the problems in our lives and how to fix them that we forget to look at the positive side of things and be grateful for it.

Where resolutions are corrective, intentions are creative. Intention comes from the word intent, which means to plan or aim at something. Unlike resolutions, setting intentions implies that you are in control of what happens. Intentions are positive in that they don't make you think there is something inherently wrong with your life as it currently is. Rather, they allow you to identify opportunities for growth, which is a much more positive outlook than trying to plug a hole in your life.

Summary: Resolutions give negative connotations of correction, while intentions give positive connotations of creation.

2. Tradition vs Purpose

New Year's resolutions have become more of a tradition in people's lives rather than something that holds true meaning. For most people, setting New Year's resolutions is just as much a part of the New Year's celebrations. Though it might be fun during the moment, neither the resolutions nor the celebration lasts for a long time. Because of this, resolutions can actually become impersonal, with people writing goals that are connected to their core values, or things or changes that are important. This is one of the reasons why gym memberships go up in January - everyone thinks they are expected to lose weight and be healthier, but only a handful of people are able to stick with it.

Those that do stick with the habit have one thing in common: they align their intention for losing weight and being healthier to their overall life purpose. This is exactly what intentions are supposed to do. An intention points you towards what is important to you, and your purpose which makes it easier for you to live out that intention each day. They align with your core beliefs about yourself, your surroundings and your experiences and they work within this unique context to help you achieve your biggest goals. That's why intentions stick for much longer than resolutions do.

Summary: Resolutions are a mere tradition hence why they are short-lived, while intentions align with your core beliefs and your life's purpose hence why they last longer.

3. Rigid vs flexible

Ever wondered why you feel deflated when you realize you can't stick to your resolutions for the year? For a lot of people, this feeling is overwhelming and sets a negative precedent for the remainder of the year. The reason for this is that resolutions are inherently rigid in nature. When you set a resolution, it's almost as if it has been written in stone and changing it halfway through the year - let alone right at the beginning of the year as in most cases - means you have failed. In this way, setting new year's resolutions becomes a trap that you lay for yourself, one that will spoil the rest of your year.

Intentions, on the other hand, are flexible and can change depending on your situation. As 2020 has taught us all, life is not rigid. Things can change in the blink of an eye and you need to make the necessary adjustments quickly in order to come out on top. When you set your intentions, you understand that they are malleable and can be fine-tuned to suit whatever situation you find yourself in. Because they are aligned with your purpose, intentions also help to keep you centered on the right path without restricting you to any particular way of life.

Summary: Resolutions are rigid and a setup for failure, while intentions are malleable and can be adapted to suit whatever situation you find yourself in.

As you continue to with developing your life, career, and business plans for the coming year, think deeply about what you would like to achieve, where you see yourself in the short-term and long-term, and how you would like to get there. This new year, why don't you try something different? Chuck your resolutions list aside and work on setting intentions that resonate with your core values.

What are your thoughts on intentions and resolutions? Drop a comment below and let's have a conversation. If you found this article helpful be sure to share it with your friends and family and let's all succeed in this new year!

Here's to a healthy and successful new year!

Tawawn is a certified life coach, change management and Myers-Briggs practitioner who assist and teach individuals and organizations how to drive change that lead to successful personal and professional results. She inspires and provides the tools for individuals to make significant changes that leads to personal and professional transformation, maximized potential, transform visions into achievable goals, and goals into results. To learn more, or get a free 30-minute consultations https://tawawn.com/consultations/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10402754

Your Heart's Desire? Or Your Mind's Expectations?

                                                 

Here's a story that'd be cliché if it weren't so tragic.

Someone studies hard in school because they want to get into a top-tier university.

Then they study hard there because they want to join a top-tier law firm.

They've spent a significant chunk of their life grinding themselves to paste... and yet, the story has just begun. They start as the lowliest of the low, doing mostly menial jobs, more studying and occasionally something meaningful.

It takes years before they're trusted with anything real.

But they can there.

And if they work hard and put their career first, it'll only take them decades to earn wealth, prestige and a nice title...

... only to realise this isn't what they wanted.

Their whole life dedicated towards a goal that wasn't even theirs.

And, honestly?

These are the lucky ones. At least they realised it eventually.

This is an extremely common hazard in life: mistaking other people's thoughts for your own. Someone else equates happiness with status, wealth or shallow physical beauty, and you pick up on it.

Only, getting all those things won't make you happy.

In fact, they make terrible goals. They tend to come as a side effect of real success. Doing what you love and meeting a pressing need can be profitable, indeed.

The word loves problem-solvers, so it brings status.

As for beauty? Well, anyone who radiates genuine satisfaction and a sense of purpose is naturally more attractive, no matter how they look.

These are guarantees, of course.

And you don't change the world to get these things.

But there's an important lesson here anyway:

Before you craft any affirmations...

Get really clear about what you want.

When you chase after something you think you want, but don't... well, let's just say many of my clients come to me because of that. They need my help to unwrangle the mess this has done in their minds.

Once they let go of their dirty goals and find what would really make them happy?

They become completely different people.

They glow, radiate and sparkle.

More than that, they burn with a new-found purpose. It's amazing how easy it is to work five times as hard, when it's towards something you truly believe in.

So my advice?

Get it right now.

Don't fall into the trap of reciting an affirmation that isn't yours.

If it's something that resonates with you, you'll stick with it, dig deep, press on through all obstacles and emerge stronger.

There are two ways to do affirmations:

There's the easy way, where you stick a note on your fridge and pretend it'll work.

Then there's the right way.

Affirmations aren't a shortcut to better things. They take discipline and persistence. But I pity anyone who doesn't sharpen their mind and focus every day.

Learn the full, real system with Affirmation Bivouac:

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08X2PFVJ3

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10427736