How to Be Successful in Life - Essay Example

How to be successful in my life Success has a different meaning to different people. To some people, it may mean being the best in what an individual does. Many people perceive success as having a lot of money only. This raises the question, ‘What is success?’ Personally, I think success is being able to achieve a desired goal, aim, purpose or attain prosperity. This accomplishment could be within a specific period of time or an infinite time period. Success is usually accompanied by many benefits such as happiness since other people will recognize your achievement and will earn you admiration. Success is always associated with things that we enjoy to do (Orlowsky 3). For many years, scientists, businesspeople and political leaders have been credited for invention, discovery or coming up with aspects that have made human life easier. These people were motivated to bring a positive impact on the people and they are termed as successful. Alexander Fleming for instance has been credited for discovery of penicillin which is used to treat bacterial infections to date. Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have made a great impact in the technological world therefore bringing change to millions of people. My main objective of success is in my career. This is means having a good job that I like in a prestigious firm or company. Am I what I dreamt I would be when growing up? It should come with perks such as a hefty salary that would be able to sustain me and my family. It will also be a success if I earn promotion to a high job title. In addition, success in my career would mean winning awards and accolades for my achievement. These aspects are motivation to even achieve more goals. These objectives should go along with work enjoyment that is, being happy with what I do. Success in my career should bring about pride in my accomplishments. Therefore I am mandated to earn achievements in both social and morally right way. Success should not create rifts and envy among my colleagues but build connections with them. Success should create meaningful competition with everyone dreaming of achieving their goals. In achievement of success, I should be able to create meaningful company mission. This means that success is not all about living large and having a bank account to die for, but rather being satisfied with the journey towards achieving our goals, lessons learnt from our failures and contentment. My personal success would be driven by the desire to have a happy marriage and family. These subjective successes can be measured by effective communication with family members and being able to provide to my children a healthy life. Achieving both career and personal successes can be daunting and prove to be of a herculean task. It is often difficult to be sit down and relax when there is pressure at work requiring you to solve a particular problem within a certain deadline. Children may feel abandoned when parents fail to attend their sports events because of a meeting in the office. My definition of success should be making a difference in the society and country in general. In my career I would like to work with a team that understands unity and cooperation. As much as I should have a high job title, I should be able to have less pressure that may lead to mental or physical unrest. The most ideal reward for personal success should be good relationships with both colleagues and family. Therefore to achieve more realistic goals, they should be meaningful, clear and achievable. Achieving success is not easy. There a lot of challenges and barriers that can deter a person from achieving their goals. The ability to overcome these challenges is what leads us to success. In order to achieve success, a lot of effort is required in our daily lives. For instance, to be a successful athlete, it is required practice and a healthy diet and a combination of self driven factors. In order to achieve goals, there are processes of things to be done. One must develop self discipline, self regulation and self motivation. First, self discipline is an important driving force towards success. Without self discipline, one cannot achieve a goal. Self discipline enables making the right choices which are of high priority. This makes us focus more on tasks that will create a positive impact on our lives. It helps overcome bad habits such as poor time management and sticking to them. Self discipline helps us understand the consequences of failure such as not completing tasks assigned on time. Self discipline enables persevering through challenges, and avoiding procrastinations and laziness that hinder us from achieving our goals. Self regulation is an important trait of human nature. It is the ability to change a person’s behavior, including thoughts, feelings and actions. Self control enables a person to live with themselves and with others in order to achieve success. Regulation of a person’s emotions can help them feel better about themselves in their daily lives. Self control enables concentration on tasks, this is important since one can avoid distractions while studying therefore they will have more focus and be able to achieve better grades. Self regulation is an important sphere of an individual since one can resist temptations to take drugs that may lead to addiction and prevent me from achieving my goals (Baumeister, Leith, Muraven,and Bratslsvsky 118). The ability to manage ourselves effectively by setting goals that are appropriate involves enduring failures and setbacks. This is also enabled by self regulation. Behavior that is self-defeating brings suffering, failure and misfortune. Therefore, controlling these behaviors is by self regulation. It is important in controlling emotions that help in securing one’s serenity. It helps us fulfill our obligations and duties such as completing assignments on time, therefore helping us to achieve our desired goals. Self motivation is the ability to summon the willpower to do assignments without being influenced to our best of our ability. This enables us to set clear goals and work to accomplish them every day. People who take credit for both success and failure produce greater work than those who believe in destiny and luck. Self motivation enables people to focus their energy on achieving their goals. It means having desire, intent and commitment. In achieving my goals, self motivation is vital when am having a problem putting a complicated task into focus and forming a plan of action. Self motivation is a guiding factor to try new things and have the courage to take risks. These aspects are useful if one has purpose. Purpose is a determining factor in objectives and goals. Purpose which is a personal mission statement enables people to gain motivation. Purpose enables to set and achieve meaningful goals. Commitment is also important in difficult situations such as failure to achieve the goals. Difficult times provide an opportunity to grow and be more creative. To achieve the goals you want, one must focus on what they want, what they have and what they can do. Other useful aspects in the journey to success are resilience and passion (Tim 22). Success is dynamic; meaning has a different person from person to person. Success is not about luck or destiny. It is about a person’s individual effort to attain an objective. Our choices produce outcomes that may come in form of success or failures. We attract into our experience that is consistent with our inner beliefs, values, expectations and desires. In my view, success is not about having a lot of wealth but rather being happy with the achievements one has made. My success would be determined by achievement of goals and be what I have always dreamt I will be (Newton and Cushman 32). To achieve success, I will have to make a plan of what I want and where I want to be in future. If I make a list of high priority objectives, I will be able to focus and achieve them. Making these objectives will help me avoid laziness and procrastination, thereby giving purpose as to why I should work towards them. These objectives will include getting a job or working in a firm I have always wanted to work in, winning awards, being promoted to a high job title and having a salary that can sustain me and my family. In addition, I should be able to enjoy work, be able to attend family events and take a rest. If I focus on my goals, and concentrate on my education, I will be able to get good grades that will give me a leap to be employed in a well known company. Obtaining remarkable requires a lot of effort. Taking drugs leads to addiction, and addiction clouds the mind and reduces the performance. If I avoid these drugs I will be able to focus more on my academics. I should be able to make suitable choices since what I do today will determine my tomorrow. Every choice has a consequence therefore I should make choices that are focused towards my goals. If I manage my time well I will be able to use every opportunity maximally. Effective management of time will enable me achieve my goals at a particular duration of time. This means I will be able to study on time and avoid last minute preparations for the exams. Time management will also enable me to hand in assignments on time. The habit of keeping time will be useful in a work scenario since I will be able to accomplish tasks before deadlines and that will earn me a positive picture in the firm I will be working in. Success is being happy and living a positive life. If I work towards achieving my goals, I will be financially empowered to provide for my family. This means I will have a healthy relationship with my family because I will be able to provide for them. I will be able to live a healthy lifestyle. Having a stable job will help me have more time with my family and attend events that build unity. Moreover, I will have time to rest and go for vacations in my dream destinations and the good memories are the pillar to life itself. Being successful in my career therefore will make me have less stress and a better life. In summary, being successful does not only entail personal achievement but rather the impact that one makes in the society. One should not work only towards getting more money but should also strive on being happy with what they do. It is important that in my aim of achieving my goals I should aim to maintain dignity and integrity. In my ambition to achieve greatness I should also maintain a healthy relationship between me and my colleagues. Successful people aimed at improving the lives of other people and making an impact in the world. This should be motivation to create change in my field of work, family and society as a whole. Works cited Baumeister, Roy, Karen Leith, Muraven Mark, Bratslsvsky Ellen. Self-regulation as a key to success in life. Improving competence across the lifespan, 2002. Connor, Tim. The Basics of Success: Keys to Achieving Your Greatest Potential. Boulder, Colo: Blue Mountain Press, 2005. Print. Gingrich, Newt , and Jackie G.Cushman. 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours. New York: Crown Forum, 2009. Internet Resource. Orlowsky, Gene. The Principles of Inner Success; How to Make Your Dreams Your Reality. Balboa Print. 2013. Print. Read More