Nine Things Successful People Do Differently - Heidi Grant ... · accomplished people are pretty...
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Transcript of Nine Things Successful People Do Differently - Heidi Grant ... · accomplished people are pretty...
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How ChinaReset ItsGlobalAcquisitionAgendaby AnandRaman, PeterWilliamson$6.95Buy it now »
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Nine Things Successful People Do Differently8:58 AM Friday February 25, 2011
by Heidi Grant Halvorson | Comments (97)
Why have you been so successful in reaching some of yourgoals, but not others? If you aren't sure, you are far fromalone in your confusion. It turns out that even brilliant, highlyaccomplished people are pretty lousy when it comes tounderstanding why they succeed or fail. The intuitive answer— that you are born predisposed to certain talents andlacking in others — is really just one small piece of thepuzzle. In fact, decades of research on achievementsuggests that successful people reach their goals not simplybecause of who they are, but more often because of whatthey do.
1. Get specific. When you set yourself a goal, try to be asspecific as possible. "Lose 5 pounds" is a better goal than"lose some weight," because it gives you a clear idea ofwhat success looks like. Knowing exactly what you want toachieve keeps you motivated until you get there. Also, thinkabout the specific actions that need to be taken to reachyour goal. Just promising you'll "eat less" or "sleep more" istoo vague — be clear and precise. "I'll be in bed by 10pm onweeknights" leaves no room for doubt about what you needto do, and whether or not you've actually done it.
2. Seize the moment to act on your goals. Given howbusy most of us are, and how many goals we are juggling atonce, it's not surprising that we routinely miss opportunitiesto act on a goal because we simply fail to notice them. Didyou really have no time to work out today? No chance at anypoint to return that phone call? Achieving your goal meansgrabbing hold of these opportunities before they slip throughyour fingers.
To seize the moment, decide when and where you will takeeach action you want to take, in advance. Again, be as
24 HOURS 7 DAYS 30 DAYS
TOP MAGAZINE ARTICLES
1. Managing Yourself: What Brain ScienceTells Us About How to Excel
2. Life's Work: Ricky Gervais
3. Why Leaders Don't Learn from Success
4. The Big Idea: Creating Shared Value
5. Managing Yourself: Zoom In, Zoom Out
6. Why Most Product Launches Fail
7. The Five Competitive Forces That Shape
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How to Succeed in Business Writing: Don't BeDickens MAR 30
Innovators are Bracket Busters MAR 30
Will the Proposed Banking Settlement HaveUnintended Consequences? MAR 29
What You Can Learn from Tim Ferriss aboutPower MAR 29
When Failure Hits MAR 29
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each action you want to take, in advance. Again, be asspecific as possible (e.g., "If it's Monday, Wednesday, orFriday, I'll work out for 30 minutes before work.") Studiesshow that this kind of planning will help your brain to detectand seize the opportunity when it arises, increasing your chances of success by roughly 300%.
3. Know exactly how far you have left to go. Achieving any goal also requires honest andregular monitoring of your progress — if not by others, then by you yourself. If you don't know howwell you are doing, you can't adjust your behavior or your strategies accordingly. Check yourprogress frequently — weekly, or even daily, depending on the goal.
4. Be a realistic optimist. When you are setting a goal, by all means engage in lots of positivethinking about how likely you are to achieve it. Believing in your ability to succeed is enormouslyhelpful for creating and sustaining your motivation. But whatever you do, don't underestimate howdifficult it will be to reach your goal. Most goals worth achieving require time, planning, effort, andpersistence. Studies show that thinking things will come to you easily and effortlessly leaves youill-prepared for the journey ahead, and significantly increases the odds of failure.
5. Focus on getting better, rather than being good. Believing you have the ability to reach yourgoals is important, but so is believing you can get the ability. Many of us believe that ourintelligence, our personality, and our physical aptitudes are fixed — that no matter what we do, wewon't improve. As a result, we focus on goals that are all about proving ourselves, rather thandeveloping and acquiring new skills.
Fortunately, decades of research suggest that the belief in fixed ability is completely wrong —abilities of all kinds are profoundly malleable. Embracing the fact that you can change will allowyou to make better choices, and reach your fullest potential. People whose goals are about gettingbetter, rather than being good, take difficulty in stride, and appreciate the journey as much as thedestination.
6. Have grit. Grit is a willingness to commit to long-term goals, and to persist in the face ofdifficulty. Studies show that gritty people obtain more education in their lifetime, and earn highercollege GPAs. Grit predicts which cadets will stick out their first grueling year at West Point. Infact, grit even predicts which round contestants will make it to at the Scripps National SpellingBee.
The good news is, if you aren't particularly gritty now, there is something you can do about it.People who lack grit more often than not believe that they just don't have the innate abilitiessuccessful people have. If that describes your own thinking .... well, there's no way to put thisnicely: you are wrong. As I mentioned earlier, effort, planning, persistence, and good strategies arewhat it really takes to succeed. Embracing this knowledge will not only help you see yourself andyour goals more accurately, but also do wonders for your grit.
7. Build your willpower muscle. Your self-control "muscle" is just like the other muscles in yourbody — when it doesn't get much exercise, it becomes weaker over time. But when you give itregular workouts by putting it to good use, it will grow stronger and stronger, and better able tohelp you successfully reach your goals.
To build willpower, take on a challenge that requires you to do something you'd honestly rather notdo. Give up high-fat snacks, do 100 sit-ups a day, stand up straight when you catch yourselfslouching, try to learn a new skill. When you find yourself wanting to give in, give up, or just notbother — don't. Start with just one activity, and make a plan for how you will deal with troubleswhen they occur ("If I have a craving for a snack, I will eat one piece of fresh or three pieces ofdried fruit.") It will be hard in the beginning, but it will get easier, and that's the whole point. Asyour strength grows, you can take on more challenges and step-up your self-control workout.
8. Don't tempt fate. No matter how strong your willpower muscle becomes, it's important to
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always respect the fact that it is limited, and if you overtax it you will temporarily run out of steam.Don't try to take on two challenging tasks at once, if you can help it (like quitting smoking anddieting at the same time). And don't put yourself in harm's way — many people are overly-confident in their ability to resist temptation, and as a result they put themselves in situationswhere temptations abound. Successful people know not to make reaching a goal harder than italready is.
9. Focus on what you will do, not what you won't do. Do you want to successfully lose weight,quit smoking, or put a lid on your bad temper? Then plan how you will replace bad habits withgood ones, rather than focusing only on the bad habits themselves. Research on thoughtsuppression (e.g., "Don't think about white bears!") has shown that trying to avoid a thoughtmakes it even more active in your mind. The same holds true when it comes to behavior — bytrying not to engage in a bad habit, our habits get strengthened rather than broken. If you want change your ways, ask yourself, What will I do instead? For example, if you are tryingto gain control of your temper and stop flying off the handle, you might make a plan like "If I amstarting to feel angry, then I will take three deep breaths to calm down." By using deep breathingas a replacement for giving in to your anger, your bad habit will get worn away over time until itdisappears completely.
It is my hope that, after reading about the nine things successful people do differently, you havegained some insight into all the things you have been doing right all along. Even more important, Ihope are able to identify the mistakes that have derailed you, and use that knowledge to youradvantage from now on. Remember, you don't need to become a different person to become amore successful one. It's never what you are, but what you do.
Heidi Grant Halvorson, Ph.D. is a motivational psychologist, and author of the new book Succeed:How We Can Reach Our Goals (Hudson Street Press, 2011). She is also an expert blogger onmotivation and leadership for Fast Company and Psychology Today. Her personal blog, TheScience of Success, can be found at www.heidigranthalvorson.com. Follow her on Twitter@hghalvorson
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Good points but I would suggest a 10th: Review and celebrate successes, even small ones. This is adiscipline of regularly, say weekly, listing all the small steps you took that worked well or that you arepleased about. One problem with highly motivated people, in my experience, is that nothing they do is evergood enough, so they are always beating themselves for what they haven't managed to get done yet, whilethey are actually getting a lot more done than most people. To avoid getting discouraged, I think it helps torigorously list all the positive steps you have taken. We need a sense of making progress, not just a feelingthat there is so much more to do.
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Success, however you define this term, is measured at a snapshot in time! That is normally 'now'yesterday is history and tomorrow is a mystery. Successfull people are without exception problemsolvers. Really sucessful people are planners, problem solvers and have a talent to look beyond thehorizon. They know they have something good and nobody else can see it yet.. but they can.. it mightonly be in their minds eye but they are going to make it tangible. Remember you can either catch thewind or blow your idea along using your own. If your ship hits the rocks, swim ashore, look for anothertreasure map and start digging again. Out of the numerous success stories I have studied Carnegie,Edison, George and Robert Stephenson, Parsons, Armstrong, Charles Goodyear and many manymore the abiding quality they all had was indomitable self belief and vision. They could look into thefuture and see demand for their products and inventions because what they had was the future and alogical step, even if to start with they were the only ones to see it! Bill Gates created an operatingprogram for a computer before the creation of a computer that it could run on. The most importantingredient they all needed was a 'turn on a dime' piece of good luck and without exception they all hadone! Don't let your friends pull you back. Most people are selfish and are reluctant to congratulateothers on their success. Don't look upon set backs as failures they provide valuable experience andinsight that will help you in the future, as long as you learn from them. think of the first person to tryand ride a bicycle. Why didn't they give up? What sort of determination must they have had? balanceon you wheels somehow and do your best to keep the momentum going. As long as you start yourenterprise and can take the knocks and tack your 'yacht' in your wind then you are on the journey of alifetime. You might just amaze yourself as to where you can go and the experiences you can have.Look for the opportunity in the difficulty and not the other way around! Anyone brave enough to startsuch a journey is brave in my eyes. don't sell your soul for peace of mind. Be the person your hearttells you you can be! [email protected]
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Brilliantly articulated, shows your clarity of thought on the subject.
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Thank you for that insight Mitch - I think that is a great way to keep yourself feeling realisticallyoptimistic, confident that you can make success happen because you do in fact have a track record ofsuccess.
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I am pleased that so many people like my comment. But celebrating success takes regulardiscipline or we forget to do it. Managers can apply this idea by asking employees in allmeetings, group or individual, what went well since we last met before moving onto issues. Toomany meetings focus only on what didn't go well or what has yet to be done, thus creating anegative, failure mentality. See my article on how to engage employees for more:http://www.lead2xl.com/how-to-...
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Mitch McCrimmon 1 month ago
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Deep-thought 1 day ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Rohit Khandelwal 1 day ago in reply to Deep-thought
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Heidi Grant Halvorson 1 month ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Mitch McCrimmon 3 weeks ago in reply to Heidi Grant Halvorson
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Great article, Mitch. Especially liked your point about focusing on strengths rather thanweaknesses of your employees. A few years back I had read the book 'First, Break All theRules' by Buckingham and Coffman. And since then, their 'don't generalize' theory hasstuck with me and helped me in umpteen situations. Your article just refreshed my entireexperience with that concept! I recommend that every manager here should read thatbook, a real management-myth-buster! Cheers
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I agree, except I think this is something one can do on a daily basis. Every day take a moment toreflect upon what worked & what didn't. Knowing daily where you are at.
I think this is a great practice. Even the smallest success builds into the big picture. Daily reflectionallows for the opportunity to see your success every day and to plan what you can do tomorrow..
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I fully agree. However , adding an additional layer of a weekly review of all the actions andresults will have better results. Behavioural patterns can be best understood by dynamic reviewof events of a longer time period than just a day.
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Your suggestion to the 10th step was a big Aha! moment for me. Celebrating sucess, however small itmay be will enable us to continue the challenge of getting better every day.
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Impressive Mitch! Big heads up. As long as people stay focused on the main task at hand, the rewardsystem works wonders. Insentive goes a long way in moderation.
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Incentive
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You really hit the point and should be given kudos for this. I know of a man in my organization, thoughis a performer, but is never satisfied with that. He keeps scaling up in all he does.
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Thank you for this addtional and important key success. Celebrate a success, even small one, helps
Rohit Khandelwal 2 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Mila Araujo 3 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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prabhusathya 2 weeks ago in reply to Mila Araujo
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Garcia Janie S 1 month ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Pittsburghguy 3 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Adalumos 6 days ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Elias DRIOUCH 2 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
us to maintain the dynamic. Also it a proof that our project progresses. It is a very important point inbuilding a self-confidence, the key of any success.
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Where do you suggest the celebration ... Morton's or someplace like that?
Forced to be serious, great comment ... johno from tropical Michigan.
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Hello,I am a Chinese student and I am not good at Engish.I am not sure whether it is right or not that Ithink your comments are similar to the 3th.I can't tell the differences between" regular monitoring ofyour progress"and" Review and celebrate successes, even small ones"
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Pang, My point is that regular monitoring of progress must first review what has worked well. Toomany such reviews over emphasize what hasn't worked, what is going wrong and what remainsto be done. The danger of such one-sided, negative reviews is that they demoralize people andcreate a failure mindset. I am saying that both are needed but that a special effort should bemade to list all of the positive steps achieved as they are too easily taken for granted andoverlooked. What we find easy to do, we discount, thinking it was just part of the job or thatanyone could have done it. We say it was nothing, thus discounting our successes and overemphasizing our failures. We are told to play to our strengths but these are things that are soeasy for us to do that we think they are really nothing to feel especially good about. This isdistorted thinking that leads us to discount our strengths and over emphasize our weaknesses.
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i absolutely agree with Mitch...
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Thanks for your explanation.Can I understand that for"Each of the progress is thefoundation of success,but what we should do is to focus on those meaningful successesand ignore negative emotions so that we can have an optimistic attitude and be better tosucceed"?
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Pang, I am not saying we should ignore what went wrong. We need to learn from ourmistakes, not to mention take corrective action. I'm just saying that we should avoidfocusing ONLY on mistakes, thereby ignoring successes. It's a matter of striving for abetter balance between the two.
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I see,thank you.
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John_oleson 2 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Pang Hongtu 2 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Mitch McCrimmon 2 weeks ago in reply to Pang Hongtu
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Smarika Chhetry 1 week ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Pang Hongtu 2 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Pang Hongtu 2 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Mitch:
The list of nine things..... did not seem too insightful to me. Then I read your 10th idea and it's makesgreat sense. Simple logic that is so easily forgotten or never realized because how some of us arewired. Thanks. Enjoy the sun.
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Michael, thanks. Your comment prompted me to re-read the list of 9 things and it occurred to methat the title of this post might better have been "9 steps to goal achievement" rather than talkingabout success, which is much broader. For example, if success for you is becoming a well knownpolitician, one thing you should do is develop relationships with key influencers. Or if you want tobe a great pianist or golfer, you need to practice incessantly. So, the 9 things listed in this postare really about how to stick to your guns to achieve goals rather about achieving success in abroader sense.
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Thank you Heidi and others. I've embraced many of these habits in my own long career (still climbingthat greased pole) and in my work as a coach (of lawyers). #1, IMHO, is most critical but I would add -write it down and share it with others - this is how you move from talk to action! Behavior change -small/significant; private/public; personal/professional - is damn hard and a slippery slope. How manyindividuals do you know who have tried to quit smoking? And, how many times? So, as Mitch andothers advise, rejoice and celebrate every inch you move away from comfort to your new "can" zone.
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Excellent piece. Optimism and measured ability to focus on things one can do have long driven sucess.Someone told me this past week there is no such thing as CAN'T, but several levels of CAN. Focus on whatyou CAN do, and then push harder to increase your range of CAN.
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I love "push harder to increase your range of CAN." Thanks for sharing that.
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Planning the course of Action does help. Before I take a major Task. I prepare a list of things TO DO. Be ittravelling overseas, taking a big/small project. This helps me to keep my mind focussed on things that areimportant (to be done) and not worry about what Not To Do.
I would like to add one to the list:Keep a Journal. Record even smaller notes in it. That way we can offload our worries to the journal and geton with doing something that matters for our life.
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Michael Corleone 2 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Linda LaBrie 3 weeks ago in reply to Mitch McCrimmon
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Cathleencgraham 1 month ago
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Heidi Grant Halvorson 1 month ago in reply to Cathleencgraham
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Samir Mishra 1 month ago
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Mick 1 month ago
Thanks Heidi.
Number 9 really makes sense to me as I believe the mind tends to work most efficiently on images and, assuch, finds it difficult or impossible to store a picture of a non-entity or non-action. For example, in tellingyourself to visualize not over eating, your brain will strip out the 'not' part and end up storing an image ofover eating, thereby enforcing your bad habit rather than reducing it.
My resolution now: stop reading such intelligent, yet addictive, articles that take me away from my work. I'mvisualizing that I will get up from my computer and get back to my work :)
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Thanks for that Mick. I read the list and loved it and even forwarded it to a friend.Then I scanned some of the responses down here until I saw yours and was reminded to stop and getback to three other tasks that are waiting for me.(I just had to take an extra few seconds to write thisthank you Mick!)
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Thanks Mick - I think you are right that it's much easier to focus on action than non-action, and farmore effective. I hope your resolution worked :)
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Thank you for this information which I Stumbled upon. At 56 years old I have finally realized what I want todo with my life and am in the very beginning stages of taking the steps towards that goal. When I look at thebig picture I get doubts that I can complete the schooling and also posess the ability to be succesful whendone and this post reminds me to break it down into bite-sized pieces. The postings from other people arehelpful too. I like the idea of rewarding sucess and journaling every step of the way.
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An excellent read! Having that ultimate specific goal provides great focus, but I think I'd add have anadaptable plan to the list. Setting milestones and celebrating successes along the way are extremelyimportant. But there's the risk of getting discouraged, or losing sight of where you're going, because youdidn't do each and every little step along the way. It's not necessarily those specifics that matter; it's the willto stay focused, plus the strength to tweak your path and adapt your approach. Or as Eisenhower said:"Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable"
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Good points, indeed, but I believe #2 should be "Create the moment to act on your goals" rather than "Seizethe moment to act on your goals"? Just as you should hammer your iron hot, not hammer your iron while it'shot; create the moments for when opportunities arise, don't wait for them to happen.
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i really enjoyed reading this. recently ive been thinking about small businesses and maybe in the futurestarting one... but its just a budding idea so far.
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Kevincollins_1 4 weeks ago in reply to Mick
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Heidi Grant Halvorson 1 month ago in reply to Mick
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Sharon 1 month ago
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bradm 1 month ago
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Øyvind Frøland 3 weeks ago
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This is a wonderful article. Be sure to share more. Right in the middle of the nine is #5: "Focus on gettingbetter, rather than being good." How important this must be, especially since people worst enemy is self.Instead of trying to maintain a goodness and feeling the anxiety of doing so or when matters are less thanbest, know that all have fallen short at times. Getting better may help some people accept flaws and failuresas a sense of learning and becoming wiser. Enjoy the day!
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As always, quite motivating piece. thanks Heidi. A common problem though is intermittent arrival of negativethoughts and i read somewhere to constantly ignore it-the moment negative thoughts come into your mind,consciously and constantly try to think its opposite i.e. the positive thought. Initially, it is very tough but soonone gets adjusted-I tried successfully to some extent.
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I think #9 should really be #1. I am a strong believer in avoiding negatives. When I was younger our coachwould always say, if you think "don't fall" then you are more likely to actually fall than if you think "stay up."That sticks with me in everything I do.
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Excellent article, thank you!!
I used to think that things would come easily and naturally to me, if I simply set my mind to them. Eversince I realized the power of planning, I've been working towards my goals in a more deliberate fashion, andgoing about achieving them as well. :)
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very motivating write-up. Many thanks - Jonah Kangogo, Kenya
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Kumbe wewe pia ni member? Danson
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This is a great list. #1 and #3 are really powerful and often overlooked. Personally, I've found thatdocumenting my goals and tracking progress not only helps me achieve my goals, but often leads to quickerturnaround and better results than expected.
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Really, I feel better after reading this. However, We should think positive then we can overcome the problemeasily. Thank you, Heidi Grant Halvorson.
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Very practical points... Thanks for sharing and Thanks those people in discussion as well.
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Am at a peak of my dreams,thinks get though when you almoslt there.but one thing i just leart now is youhave to keep pushing to the limit till we hot the goal.
thanks alot for the article.
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Any peer-reviewed evidence to support these claims?
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Oh please, is there any research or data to support these platitudes?
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Marketers to Experts,
In short, there are boatloads of peer-reviewed research to back up "these claims."
For work on specificity, see anything by Locke and Latham (e.g., Locke, E. A. and Latham, G. P.,(2002), “Building a Practically Useful Theory of Goal Setting and Task Motivation”, AmericanPsychologist, Vol. 57, No. 9, pp. 705–717.) I believe at last count there are over 1000 studiesdemonstrating the importance of specificity.
For work on the importance of seizing opportunities through if-then planning, try Gollwitzer, P. M., &Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis of effects andprocesses. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69-119. Or, perhaps one of mine:Duckworth, A. L., Grant, H., Loew, B., Oettingen, G., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2011). Self-regulationstrategies improve self-discipline in adolescents: Benefits of mental contrasting and implementationintentions. Educational Psychology,31, 17-26.
In the interest of space-saving, for the remainder of the points I made, I refer you to following highly-regarded academic handbooks of scientific psychology: The Psychology of Goals (Guilford, 2009,which I co-edited), The Psychology of Action (Guilford, 1995), and the Handbook of Self-Regulation(Guilford, 2004).
Or, you could just buy a copy of my new book, Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals. It ispractically bursting with citations, if I do say so myself.
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Why so skeptical? Try it and see for yourself!
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psychology student 4 days ago in reply to Marketers to Experts
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Angela McCullagh 5 days ago
'Have grit' resonates well with the Affirmation 'I have a backbone not a wishbone' and supports tenacity andFocus.
Focus then reminds us to be Fixed On Coure Until Successful.
Fixed on what will be achieved rather than what needs to be avoided e.g losing 5 lbs instead of not putting on more weight ....creates an anchor statement
"Where focus goes ... energy flows"
Thanks Heidi - inspiring post
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I doubt anybody cured their anger problem through "deep-breath replacement-behavior" activity.
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Love it! I always reward myself after a show with a nice Margarita and a pat on the back...as long as I sellsomething! Ha ~Denise
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Excellent post Heidi. many thanks. Point # 3 is something that I was challenged with as to how do I measurethe progress towards my goals. One thing that I put in to practice is at end of the day, I ask my self thequestion what do I know today that I did not yesterday and I keep a track of those. And many times theanswer were not fancy at all.I am surprised how much help this has been and how through these dailylearning I made minute changes to my plans/strategies so as to achieve the end goals.Now when I now lookback at my daily logs, I feel I have progressed and it just motivates me to keep going on.
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very enriching!wondering if someone here can help me on focusing and concentrating while studying.I am currently doing my undergrads,unable to overcome this hurdle, maybe looking back, some of you couldoffer worthwhile solutions.
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nice tips...but seldom it is obseved that very typical business situation - when one go for big change thruapplied knowedge/latest technology deployement..."why there is huge resistance to change" when every oneknow that it is good for the economy. How to overcome with this type of buiness situation?
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What a wonderful statement Heidi - "Be a Realistic Optimist" Excellent article - wit!h so many practical /implementable tips!
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Steel_cutlass 1 week ago
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Ajoy Vakil
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#5 has my name on it! thanks Heidi for this simple and profound list!
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Amen.
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LOVE IT!
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Great post. I think goal setting is important in order to get things done. You have to set realistic, butchallenging goals though. And, you have to set your priorities and do first thing first. In our society we haveso many distractions so we have to really focus on what we are doing to get back on track.http://www.selfesteem2go.com
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This is a really enlightening article. There some similarities that successful people share. Quite thoughtful.
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worth reading, Please Publish more..
Sachin
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Reminds me of the book The Secret - power of positive thinking...Good read.
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this is just awsome...
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it makes one to be different from wind as it blows anywhere without a direction. that's quite cool as i am
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Naomi 2 weeks ago
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looking forward to read the latest book.
Pascah Ngwarati ,Zimbabwe
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Really good points,tenth point I suggest is Measure your success.
RajeshWalechaCEO-K MIND MEDIA
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This article is an active reminder to caution you at what you do.
Sathasivam, Bahrain
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After reading this article , i can feel a value addition in myself ! However, doesn't it resemble few habits fromSteven Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly effective People" :)
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Thanks for the kind words. Another golden article Heidi ....
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Thanks Mitch, the 10th point is really the AHA moment to know from you. Point No3 as mentioned by Heidiis too "too" good, monitoring the entire process is very veyr important. Thank you for writing such a reatarticle!!!
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It was really worth reading the set of points and I thoroughly appreciate the 10th point that Mitch shared. Itsvery important that you celebrate every moment of success however small it is. It keeps you lively and givesyou a more positive boost towards your goal. I have bookmarked this site and am just about to share it to allmy FB friends. Thanks again from the heart.-Salil
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Thanks. I got a lot out of this piece. Many of the points resonated: e.g improving rather than proving!
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Similar to Mitch's idea, I have written "Done" lists to record accomplishments (whether for the year or
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month). This is particularly useful when I feel like the "To Do" lists are too numerous or when my self-esteemneeds a boost. I've also developed strategies to work on long projects like my dissertation, including havinga dissertation pen-pal to share bi-weekly goals and progress, identifying a motivating theme song,scheduling writing time, and coming up with rewards for small inches of progress (e.g., if I write 3 pages bythis weekend, I can see a movie).
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I've always been searching for feel good and motivating articles like yours Heidi. Lucky I found it.
For me goals are there for us to have a purpose to live for and give meaning to our lives. We may notnecessarily reach all the 101 goals written on our list but at least we get to learn something along the wayand become better persons as well.
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All set now to do, not rue!
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Thanks Heidi, excellent serious reading!
Just a say (may not sound brilliant in front of so many management experts here) - We have always anothertrack available for derailment in every moment of our life, as wants and successes are very dynamic andmoving targets. Human as a whole, with few exceptions, are not flexible enough to conceive, realise anddirect self towards his goal to taste success even some in his lifetime. Its again in relative terms given thechanging environment of one's search for excellence.
Pyne
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Worth reading! Number 5 people are contagious! They are enthusiastic in the pursuit of excellence byengaging in worthwhile acitivities. Number 3 is a good roadmap to track one's progress even better if youhave an accountability partner. A thunder of applause to the 10th suggestion of Mitch to Review andcelebrate successes. After the delayed gratification comes pampering:)
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Great article. I especially like the examples.
Gene Hammetthttp://www.linkedin.com/in/gen...
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Great artcile
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Rvashisht 4 weeks ago
This is a great list but there is something more that successful people like Steve Jobs do - challenge thestatus quo and follow up with their actions. Here are my thoughts on it
http://techceo.wordpress.com/2...
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Its all about will power, the more will you have, the more you will exceed in life.
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Good insight into how to set goals and achieve them. I would like to see more on how to translate thatsame philosophy into the business/work setting, with specific examples as well.
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A good practical list. Thanks
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Hi Heidi,
A great insight, truly a thought provoking article, I wish you could have included ' intellectual honesty' whileappraising oneself.
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Thank you Heidi for your insights. An extreme pleasure in refining our knowledge. I believe that success isall about choices one makes in life. Humans, however have an everlasting urge to seek happiness thus theneed for us to reward ourselves in each step as mentioned earlier by Mitch.
Cheers
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Overall, I agree and this these are sound ideas. One question, though, how is "grit," as you define it,different from "willpower?"
David Kaiser, PhDExecutive Coach and CEOwww.DarkMatterConsulting.com
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Good Article by any standards ,keep it up !!
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So helpful-and in my case, timely. Thank you, and the others whose posts are also excellent. As someonewho works semi-solo, this is a great boost.
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Good Read !
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Fantastic and thought providing piece! You really point out the traits that make successful people stand out.In the service world, thinking as a “we” can also set one apart. As this article(http://www.upyourservice.com/l... suggests, itʼs all in the attitude.
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I imagine that this what Kaddafi was doing for the last 40 years but must have lost focus recently.
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A very timely piece. Internet has an ugly side. And that is to make you loose focus. Such advises arerequired, more on regular basis now....Atleast this is how it goes with me.
Deepak SharmaSapperworks ConsultingIndia
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Excellent piece........
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A nice nine fold strategy to success . In practical life , I have actually seen these qualities differentiatingbetween people and making a sucessful part stand out.
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Great article! I think a lot Malcolm Gladwell's writing confirms this as well. People tend to think success isnatural or inbred, but anyone can improve their situation with practice, patience, determination, emulationand study.
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I'm adding Mitch's #10 to this excellent list. Heidi's article reframes the way to approach challenges both bigand small, both personal and work related. Thanks you to both of you.
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I saved this. :) Such a great reminder for us everyday. Pretty basic and simple but we tend to forget thesethings. Awesome list.
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Nice read Heidi.
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Hi Heidi,
Really worth reading!
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