Measuring Success

Success

All of us want to succeed in life. We want to succeed in our career, at our relationships and in ourselves. The emphasis on success these days is more today than it was before. People are working impossible hours in their offices just so that they can succeed at establishing a good career. The numbers of coaching classes and institutes have gone over the roof, with more and more students being pushed by their parents as well as their own selves to perform better. Companies are developing new rules and standards to improve the productivity of their organisations, and are competing heavily against one another on every aspect. Thus, everywhere we see people are obsessed with achieving success.

But often, people meet with disappointment. They feel that they are not “getting anywhere in life”. It is especially funny to watch youngsters say this, considering that they haven’t even started their life yet. They feel frustrated and start venting out in various ways. Some people, especially youngsters take up to drugs. Others show their frustrations on the people around them. They are constantly grumpy, irritable and unpleasant. But if a person is really focused in life, then why do these things happen?

Planning success and setting goals

There are 2 reasons. The first is improper planning. In order to succeed, it is very important that you plan it first. This is a very crucial exercise, and requires a lot of thought. The steps to planning process are as follows:

1. Assess your own capabilities and strengths. Understand yourself well, and find out what you can do best.
2. Decide where you want to go, and what you want to achieve. Make a list of these things, and check if they are aligned with your capabilities.
3. Figure out the ones that are not aligned with your capabilities. To achieve these goals, you may need to acquire certain capabilities. For example, if you have a degree in chemistry, but want to make it big in the software industry, find out the skills that you will need to learn.  Figure out the costs involved in achieving those skills, and the time involved. And always keep in view of competitors. Are there others who want the same things, and have better capabilities than you have?
4. If there are goals that are not feasible – that is, the cost of acquiring the skills required are very high, and you will not be able to meet the competition, then it would be best to ditch these goals. They will simply drive you to the point of frustration, and you will not be happy.
5. Now that you have a list of achievable items, make a time frame. Decide how much time you will need to achieve them, and set time targets. These should be achievable and measurable as well. For example, don’t decide that you will be the topper of the school. Your goal should be more like “I will try to achieve a 30% improvement on my marks within the year end”.

Execution and Introspection

The next reason why people get frustrated is that they don’t stick to their plan. In order to achieve success, it is very important to do those activities that will lead to towards your goal. People digress, and remember their grand ideas only when someone else gets what they coveted. Thus, in order to achieve success, you should execute your plan as well. Make a proper schedule, defining each week’s activities in detail. Do include other things as well – such as family life and entertainment. Don’t try to overachieve or overburden yourself. Be realistic while you set your weekly plans. Then, stick to the schedule.

By following these simple steps, you will soon realise that you are moving towards your goals. If you have missed a particular target, introspect. Understand where you went wrong, and what could be done better. Take responsibility for your own failures. Most of us take credits for successes, but tend to blame mistakes on others. Only when you are true to yourself, you will be able to achieve success. And if something unexpected happened, which made you miss out on a target, don’t beat yourself up for it. There are certain things that you cannot control, and so blaming yourself is not going to help. Instead, figure out alternate courses of action.

So good luck, and here’s wishing you success!