Success Skills Part 2
To be successful, you need to have certain characteristics that will help you achieve what you want. Life will take its toll, no matter what, but these qualities, plus the others in the series, will help you right yourself if and when you temporarily capsize.
• Quick decision-making ability:
This ability, too, is necessary in our informationally overloaded world. We receive so many pieces of information so quickly that we must begin to sift out the important from the frivolous; the bottom line from the extraneous so that we can meet deadlines and get our work done in a timely manor. Otherwise, we end up constantly working overtime and not having a life of quality.
I’ve never met a person on their deathbed wishing they had spent more time at the office. This goes with work at home as well. What is extraneous and doesn’t really need to be done? By making decisions quickly, you are taking a risk, but you are also relying on your instincts as well as your logic. If you over analyze and read every document, weigh every element over and over again, you then end up delaying a decision because “all the information” isn’t in yet.” You may be setting yourself up for failure.
The companies that are moving ahead in our rapidly changing world are those where decision makers know they must act quickly otherwise the competition will take the lead. What can you do if you are a proficient ponderer? Again, as in the point of risk taking, try making a quick decision in an area where the risks of a mistake are small. Make quick decisions with fun things, such as what you’re ordering off the menu or which activity you’ll do this weekend. Taking an improvisational theatre game class is a great one to force you to think on your feet.
Get used to thinking quickly. Whatever venue you try this in, making it fun will help stretch your abilities.
• Open to continual learning:
This attitude is crucial for success. This means not only getting involved in formal learning such as taking language or computer classes. That part of continual learning speaks for itself. You must keep up with the changes occurring in your life to be successful. It also means paying attention to when things don’t go as planned, and discovering how you can learn from it.
In other words, making every opportunity into a learning situation. What can be learned here? What can I do differently so that my outcome is different next time? In Japan the attitude of “Kaisan” in quality assurance is one that cherishes mistakes. These are considered pearls of possible wisdom, because from each, one can learn to do it better and continue the line of successes.
Next time something doesn’t go as planned, try adopting this attitude and notice the feeling it invokes. You’ll feel more in control, happier, less stressed, knowing that next time you’ll do it differently and probably better.
• Being Happy Where You Are Now:
Success is personal. Each one of us has our own definition of it. Striving for the next level is great, yet, if you are one who is always reaching and never happy where you are now, then you may never feel successful. Why? Because you haven’t learned the importance of being happy where you are now. Enjoying your life exactly as it is now means basically two things: acceptance of your present state and being present in that state.
For example, if you are earning only x amount of dollars per month and you want a raise, great. Show that you deserve it. Let your actions tell your superiors that you are leadership material and at the same time welcome and enjoy your present duties. If you aren’t able to find joy in your present circumstance, your boss will surely notice it in your behavior. This will not get you the positive kind of attention you want.
So how do you find pleasure in your current circumstances? You become present. I know this sounds redundant, but finish this section before giving up… Being present means focusing and concentrating on only what is in front of you at this moment. When you do this, what happens is that: 1) you can accomplish more than when you are constantly distracted and wishing you were doing something else, and 2) you will find it more enjoyable, I promise.
I learned this “Zen” technique doing something I hated: house-cleaning. I used to take forever, always daydreaming, planning, and wishing I were somewhere else, doing something else. Once I tried this, I found the above-mentioned benefits really happened: My cleaning was completed more quickly and it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was. Accept who you are, what you are doing now and be in the moment. You will find yourself a lot happier when you do. And happiness (as a broad umbrella term) is something I believe every one of us considers necessary for success.
