Things Achievers Don’t Do
Posted January 26th, 2015
Much of the advice people give on achieving your goals, on striving for success, involves things that you should do – effort, perseverance, discipline, positive thinking, for example. But that is really only half the story, because to achieve success, there are things you should not do as well, things you should avoid. And what not to do is just as important as what to do. Here are some things that achievers don’t do, according to psychologists.
1. They don’t indulge in self-pity.
We all experience setbacks; we all have failures. Sometimes we fail even though we have given our best effort. Some things are just beyond our control. But feeling sorry for yourself is something that is entirely within your control. It is an emotion that is completely counterproductive, a waste of time and energy. It is something that distracts from your goals.
2. They don’t blame others for their own inadequacies.
Again, another counterproductive attitude. If we don’t recognize our weaknesses, we cannot work to improve them.
3. They don’t avoid change.
Change is a basic fact of life. There is no progress or growth without it. We cannot make any progress if we fear change. We cannot achieve our goals without embracing change.
4. They don’t worry about things that are beyond their power to control.
This is another big waste of time and energy. The little prayer coined by Reinhold Niebuhr applies here, “God grant me the courage to change the things I can, to bear the things I cannot, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
5. They don’t stay in the past.
We all need to learn from our mistakes, but once we have, we need to move on. We cannot rest on our laurels, we need to build on our accomplishments. By the same token, we cannot dwell on our errors, and be consumed with regret, which is a wasted emotion. We have to live in the present, and look to the future.
6. They don’t worry about taking calculated risks.
If we are going to improve and develop, we need to take some risk. There is an element of risk to everything we do. To want nothing more than security if a formula for stagnation. To move ahead, we need to take risks.
7. They don’t give up and they don’t expect overnight results.
Some studies have shown that the key quality necessary for success is resiliency – the ability to bounce back after a failure, again and again. It is this response to failure that, more than anything else, determines our ultimate success, some leadership experts say. But strong people also have patience, because they know that accomplishing anything worthwhile takes time along with effort.
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