Success isn’t an accident. Your goals can’t be achieved overnight by combining ambition and memory.
In reality, it’s hard work to succeed. It takes ambition and determination, commitment, and intense focus on your goals.
Goal-focused people remember the big picture while focusing on one step at a time. We draw as much knowledge from remembering failure as we do from success.
5 Traits of a Successful Person
It takes more than skill and expertise to be successful. Ambitious people also possess certain traits and characteristics, and a mindset for success.
To develop the habits of successful people, create systems for your lives that encourage you to grow. Here are five traits to develop:
1. Ambition and Determination
Ambition is driven by desire. That is, you have to desire success. Similarly, determination is when you’ve decided that you are going to be successful. Ambition and determination go hand-in-hand and are characteristics you must develop to become successful.
2. Commitment
Goal-focused people believe in their success. You’re more likely to believe success is possible when you commit to each step you take and each goal you set. Focusing on each victory – big or small – will encourage you to stay committed to your goals. Choosing an accountability partner – someone to hold you accountable and check your progress – is another effective way to stay committed to a goal.
3. Integrity
Integrity gains the trust and support of others, which is extremely important on your journey to success. By being honest with yourself, you can define who you are with confidence. Integrity is an important principle of leadership and is an essential quality of a successful person.
4. Patience
Being patient with yourself and with others helps you manage the challenges you face. Obstacles will inevitably present themselves. Take a step back to re-examine the big picture, gain perspective, and be patient with the process. Success takes time. To face our journey with patience and restraint will be one of your greatest virtues as successful people.
5. Optimism
Staying positive is crucial in your journey to success. To be excited about reaching your goals – and to celebrate each victory – helps you to stay focused and motivated. Being optimistic and believing that you will be successful also enhances the other traits and characteristics you’ve developed. Optimism encourages you to keep going and to never give up.
How to Focus on a Goal and Achieve It
Albert Einstein said, “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”
The trouble is, sometimes you give up. You lose focus on your goals, or you’ve set too many goals and don’t know which to focus on first.
Creating successful habits, finding an accountability partner, and celebrating small victories are essential steps to staying committed and inspired to reach your goals. When it comes to the goals themselves, setting SMART Goals is one of the best methods to use. By setting SMART Goals, you can focus our efforts on the steps that matter, increasing the chances of reaching each goal.
SMART Goals are:
- Specific: Detailed, clear, and well-defined
- Measurable: Trackable, often involving numbers, and answering the questions “how much?” or “how many?”
- Achievable: Realistic and attainable
- Relevant: Worthwhile, applicable, and aligned with other goals
- Time-bound: Including a deadline, a clear timeline, and creating a sense of urgency
As you set our SMART goals, keep these three crucial elements in mind:
1. Set Goals for the Immediate Future
Commit to a few goals at a time that are achievable on a shorter timeline. Listing every obligation and every major goal will only overwhelm you, cause frustration, and knock you off course. Setting realistic, short-term goals will allow you to focus and avoid distractions. By getting more specific and detailed about each step, you’re more likely to set achievable goals.
2. Remember the Big Picture
Each goal you accomplish should bring us one step closer to the big picture – or the end game. Setting clear, relevant goals that are in alignment with your vision will help you identify which goals to prioritize on your journey to success.
3. Get Detailed About Each Step
Breaking down your bigger goals into detailed steps will help you zoom in and focus on which tasks to complete, and in what order. Planning individual, bite-sized projects keeps us from feeling overwhelmed. It’s easier to commit to smaller and more specific, concrete, time-based goals. When you break down our bigger goals, you’ll have a greater sense of accomplishment and will feel more optimistic about the big picture.
Remember Success with Ambition and Memory
Our visual memories form us. Your memories make us who we are. Learning new skills and functioning in our daily lives depends on our ability to recall information.
On your journey to success, remember and learn from your failures and your victories. After all, without failure, you can’t learn how to succeed. Here are some ways to improve your memories and to track your wins and losses so that you can learn from your past accomplishments and defeats:
- Keep a journal
- Create associations to trigger memories
- Divide new information, focusing on basic ideas
- Connect a visual image with a word, name, or experience
- Use visualizations in relation to your environment (“method of loci”)
With ambition and memory, commitment, and focus, you will accomplish your goals. Success isn’t an accident. So let’s succeed on purpose.
