JAMES MICHENER ONCE SAID, "I LIKE challenges. I don't mind defeat.
I don't gloat over victories. I want to be in the ball game." The
important idea here is that fulfillment involves a process of growth
rather than the achievement of perfection, which is often equated with
success.
Unfortunately, the myth of success as perfection runs throughout
the business world, where constant victory is seen as a condition for
progress. Few companies allow for the natural tidal motion of growth.
Instead, achievers are expected to catapult from one triumph to the next,
rising ever higher, never backtracking. But even the strongest performer
eventually hits a time when the challenge is just too great. The logical
reaction at this point is to backtrack to a position of strength, accept
the situation, and regroup before attempting to move ahead again.
Many organizations, unfortunately, resist this strategy, treating
the impasse instead as a failure for which the punishment is
demotion--and humiliation. The performer who has consistently excelled is
suddenly stopped cold and may never recover. The temporary setback that
could have been a valuable learning opportunity instead becomes an
insurmountable barrier to progress. Such shortsightedness imposes
unnecessary losses on both the individual and the organization.
By concentrating on process and discovery rather than perfection,
you allow yourself to be playful both in your life and in your work. You
open yourself to spontaneous thought and action as well as risk taking.
You challenge the limitations of standard reasoning. You permit yourself
to enjoy what you' re doing and to let the momentum of your pleasure
generate new insights and achievements.
Civilization's greatest geniuses, from Leonardo to Einstein, have
all understood the value of play. The downfall of Americans, laboring
under misinterpretation of both the Protestant work ethic and the meaning
of success, is that we too often treat work as a penalty instead of a
privilege, then look to leisure to compensate for an unsatisfying career.
This makes it virtually impossible to achieve the kind of internal
balance that tree success requires.
The solution is to revive playfulness in work as well as in
leisure. Enthusiasm is a far more powerful motivator than desire or
necessity, and as such is a more reliable source of success.
6. High-stress vs. physical and emotional fitness Are you too busy
to exercise?
Do you allow yourself time to do nothing each day?
Do you think it's worthwhile to put in 15-hour days and
seven-day workweeks in exchange for a high-power,
high-prestige career?
STRESS IS THE NEGATIVE BUZZWORD OF modern life. "I'm so stressed
out over this project I can't sleep," says one patient.
"Between cooking, cleaning, organizing the kids, and working
part-time," says another, "the stress is killing me." Yet for all the
griping, there's an undercurrent of smugness in these statements, as if
experiencing stress is a mark of valor. If I'm stressed out, they seem to
be saying, I must deserve to succeed.
The misunderstanding is twofold: that all stress is unpleasant and
that one has to be overstressed, or distressed, to succeed.
In fact, all stress is not unpleasant, and only some forms of
stress are necessary to succeed. In the strictest sense, stress is
nothing more than emotional and physical arousal. We experience stress
when we're excited, enthusiastic, or sexually enticed, and when faced
with emergency situations or tough problems. Without stress, we would be
ill-equipped to manage in a crisis or under pressure or to experience our
full range of emotions.
What distinguishes positive from negative stress, or distress, is
the level of arousal. If you become so upset that you get a migraine
headache, your stress level is too high. If you are so panicked by a
situation that you become numb or severely depressed, your stress level
is too low. Either way, you can develop chronic stress-related illnesses,
such as ulcers, back pain, high blood pressure, or heart disease.
Emotionally, you feel burned out. Personally, you' re likely to withdraw
from or alienate those closest to you. And professionally, you're likely
to experience a decline in performance.
The real key to stress management is to find the zone of stress
that enhances your performance and your outlook on life and that
contributes to your physical and emotional fitness instead of undermining
it. Once you've identified this zone, regular exercise and relaxation,
improved nutrition, time management, and stress-reduction techniques can
help you protect it.
7. Sheer willpower vs. the ability to recognize and capitalize on
good luck Do you feel that good things happen only to other
people, never to you?
Do you believe you can achieve anything you desire, if you
just want it badly enough?
Do you automatically blame yourself when you are unable
to reach a particular goal?
TRUE SUCCESS IS NOT DETERMINED ENTIRELY by luck, nor is it purely a
matter of willpower. Good fortune does play a role, but what really
counts is your ability to recognize and seize whatever golden
opportunities come your way.
Tags:
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narrow focus,
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tooth and nail
