Destined For Success

Success is a term that is used often in life but what really is success? I would define success as an emotion or state of being experienced by an individual/team when achieving a set goal. The desire for success and achievement is what drives us as humans to dedicate time, money and resources towards our goals. I am almost certain that at some point in their lives everyone has experienced some form of success and as I imagine, I’m sure you would all agree it feels damn good.

From my 20 years experience of life I have come to the conclusion that there are 3 types of people:

1. Do or Die’s – These are the people that set themselves goals in life and aren’t about to let anything stand in their way. The focus attained by these individuals is quietly envied by others who could only dream of having such motivation to pursue their goals.

2. The Middle Man –These are your average Joes; they’ll work when they need to, to get where they need or want to be. The main difference between the middle man and the do or die is that they do not feel the need or sense of motivation to go the extra mile; to them that extra hour or two spent watching TV is more valuable/easy.

3. Sleepers – Those whose dreams of success have been lost throughout the course of their lives. Constantly setting barriers for themselves and more importantly not possessing the willpower to get off their ass and chase their dreams.

EVERY SETBACK IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR IMPROVEMENT. FAILURE IS A KEY ANTECEDENT TO SUCCESS.

Yes, I know you have probably heard this many time before but I truly believe it is our failures in life, which really determine our character. After training for days, months and even years to achieve a target you have set for yourself there is nothing more crushing than falling short or being told you haven’t made the cut. However, it is always those who take a day or two and compose themselves and start again with an even greater desire to ascertain their success. Unfortunately there are many who view failure as defeat and subsequently give up, letting their inner beast fade into the shadows. Using the example of Ben Stiller a.k.a. ‘White Goodman’ in the classic movie ‘Dodgeball’, defeat in the final of the Las Vegas tournament proved too much for the character and he is broken down, losing all fight and progress he had pushed himself to achieve. Over and over again man has proved that we have the ability to achieve when we completely focus our mind and body in an attempt to reach further boundaries.

There is almost a definite link between enjoyment and success. Puca (1999) found success-motivated individuals performed better in a reaction task than failure-motivated individuals, and they also reported more task enjoyment during performance. Additionally, Skipton (1971) found that a significant correlation between success and task enjoyment in undergraduate students. Further evidence for the link between enjoyment and success can be found on a daily basis in a number of environments. Using education as an example, you will often find that students tend to achieve greater success in subjects that they have an interest in and find fun.

The relationship between enjoyment and physical or academic success can most certainly be used in the context of health and performance, hence the reasoning behind the article. Whatever our goals in terms of physical fitness may be we will always be more likely to achieve success if we channel our energy through forms of exercise we actually enjoy. For example, if your goal is to lose weight and tone your body then finding an activity that you enjoy will make progress and success much more likely. A dance fitness program better known as ‘Zumba’ which recently took the nation by storm, although used mostly by women, has been a fun and exciting way to burn fat and tone up those ‘wobbly bits’. Merging fitness with dance has proved to be a popular way for many people to lose weight rather than hitting the gym, which may often seem daunting and unappealing. To achieve the results you desire, often weight loss & muscle toning, are likely to occur much faster through programs like ‘Zumba’ compared to running on a treadmill. This is largely due to the fact that it is a much more enjoyable experience for those wanting to achieve their goals whilst also listening to loud music and attending with friends. It is evident that greater success is achieved through the input of increasing effort; fitness classes like these are a prime example of how to increase motivation and improve results. This is just one example of how improving fitness can be done through using a range of different methods. If you find that you prefer certain other types of methods, e.g. jogging, then this is likely to be more effective for the outcomes of your fitness regime.

We can apply this theory to a range of other goals, for instance if we want to improve our vertical jump and agility we may look at playing basketball if it something we enjoy rather than doing gym work or SAQ drills. This does not apply only to those interested in sport, we should be aiming to apply these approaches to the general population and always be looking to develop our health and increase fitness. It would be expected that elite athletes already possess extremely high levels of dedication towards their goals, however, you should also keep in mind that there will be parts of training which may not be fun but are necessary to reach a final goal.

So before you finish reading I have three questions for you:

1. What type of person are you?

2. Have you found your passion?

3. Is your behaviour inclined to help you reach the success you want?

1) Puca, R.M. & Schmalt, HD. 1999. Motivation and Emotion 23: 15.

Leonard, S. & Weitz, J, 1971. Task enjoyment and task perseverance in relation to task success and self-esteem. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol 55(5).

#Success #Psychology #SelfImprovement