Most people have goals or the desire to succeed in one area of their lives or another. Those who don’t, need to evaluate their life, or even get evaluated. Yes, I’m not kidding! In my experience in the mental health field, I found that those with no goals or drive have some self-esteem issues. At a more extreme level, even psychological ones. Sometimes, depression is the factor to blame. In that case, proper measures must take place. Why? I believe that the idea in life is to continuously be growing and expanding.
In the quest for success (whatever your definition of success is), there are certain components that must be in place. Among them, you must have the right mindset to achieve. Additionally, you must have properly set goals, backed up by a plan of action. Nevertheless, success can be elusive if you’re ruled by negative personality traits.
It is indispensable to assess yourself in order to become fully aware of where you are. Once you are fully conscious, you can make the appropriate changes.
Negative Traits
The following are some traits that are not conducive to the attainment of your goals:
- Pessimism: Having a negative lens makes it extremely difficult to achieve, even to attempt something
- Rigidity: Not being able to bend or be flexible gets in the way of cooperating with others. At the same time, things do not go exactly as planned – generally. Then, you must take detours, which is why being rigid doesn’t help
- Impulsiveness: Acting on a whim without forethought or considering consequences can create major problems in the future
- Indecisiveness: Keeping yourself in a state of hesitation will keep you stuck (this is the opposite extreme of being impulsive)
- Passivity: Submitting without objection to others’ demands and actions places you in a place where others take advantage of you. Besides, it is hard to achieve when you are on the passenger’s seat
- Hostility: Being oppositional or confrontational does not get you far when dealing with others (this is the opposite of being passive)
- Touchiness: Being oversensitive and taking offense at every little thing do not help since you are keeping yourself in a victim mode
- Anxiousness: Worrying or being restless is not only detrimental to your goals but your health in general. When worrying, it helps to view the situation objectively and check if you have any control over it. If not, you must let go since worrying won’t change a thing
- Moodiness: Being temperamental, and going from one emotional state to another, harms you as well as your relationships
From time to time everybody exhibits negative traits. However, when those traits are constantly present in your reactions and interactions, they are problematic and interfere with your life.
Traits to Cultivate
Now let’s take a look at some of the positive characteristics that can help you to be as successful as you want:
- Flexibility: Being able to adapt to circumstances and to deal with others is essential…. Remember Darwin? “It is not the strongest of the species that survives but the most adaptable”
- Definiteness of Purpose: Making up your mind about exactly what you want and going after (amazingly stated in Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill)
- Discipline and Consistency: Having self-control and the ability to comply with a plan of action, day after day, until a target is reached. As Tony Robbins nicely puts it, “For changes to be of any true value, they got to be lasting and consistent”
- Determination: Having a fixed intention to get where you need to go carries you through ups and lows
- Optimism: Expecting a favorable outcome out of situations keeps you engaged and moving forward
- Focus: Being able to concentrate your energy and attention prevents your engagement in distractions
- Resilience: Being able to recover and stay on course after being knocked down keeps you going
- Enthusiasm: Being excited or passionate lifts you up and conveys to others eagerness and positive energy
- Self-Confidence: Believing in yourself and your abilities eliminates doubt, allowing you to trust that you will succeed
- Responsibility: Being fully accountable for all that happens gives you total control of your life, increasing the ability to be trusted by others
- Emotional Stability: Being in control of your emotions is essential. You cannot control what happens to you, only how you respond. It is healthy to experience all emotions; however, being stuck on a negative emotional state (feeling anxious, depressed, angry, etc.) throws you off-balance and off-course.
The road to success is not that easy. Therefore, it is vitally important to facilitate the process by nourishing the characteristics that make the road smoother, not that keep detouring or blocking you. Aim to keep improving yourself. Do so by following the attributes that successful individuals demonstrate. Then, triumph will be the end result!
To a Fitter Healthier You,
Adriana
The Fitness Wellness Mentor
