In my mind, there are two prerequisites for success: hard work and resilience. If you have those two qualities, you can succeed in nearly anything in life. Obviously there can be limiting factors defined by your physical or mental capacity, but many things can be trained/taught to at least get you to an above average level. You just need to have the proper mindset going into the activity.
Tag: resilience
The overlooked predictor of success
What makes someone successful?
If you ask most people, they’ll usually say some combination of having natural ability, good work ethic, knowing the “right people,” having integrity, charm, and maybe even some good luck.
But there’s one thing that gets overlooked sometimes, yet I feel is just as important as the more popular answers…resilience.
Resilience is one of the best predictors of our future success, because at some point we will always encounter something difficult. Things won’t always go our way. Are we willing to keep going even when it’s tough? When the shiny object has disappeared and our initial interest has faded, do we stop chasing after that goal we were once excited about or do we have the determination to keep after it?
Are we strategic when we quit something? The saying “winners never quit,” isn’t true. Sometimes you have to know when to re-prioritize your goals or to tweak them, but you have to give it an honest effort. And when you do “quit,” are you just giving up or are you making adjustments before setting new goals?
Be tough. Be resilient. Bounce back after a loss. It’s the ones who keep coming back for more that will be successful. You can’t keep them down. Adapt and overcome and you will eventually be successful.
Building Resilience
Work on being resilient in all situations. No matter what happens, no matter the outcome, you can and will overcome it. When you fall down, you can choose to stay down and wallow in sorrow, or you can choose to get back up. Be a riser. Others can’t keep you down, only you get to make that choice.
Don’t overdramatize things. Something didn’t go your way…What is complaining going to do? Nothing. Learn from your mistakes. And if you feel you did everything “right” but it still didn’t work out, that doesn’t mean you need to make a bad decision next time because the good decision didn’t pay off this time/last time.
Equality of opportunity, not outcome
We need to be careful not to confuse equality of opportunity with equality of outcome. What I mean by this is that everyone should be able to “play the game” if they want to, but not everyone should “win” an award just for playing.
Systems that give everyone a reward so their feelings don’t get hurt is not helpful in the long run. Sure, it saves people from temporary heartache, but it also makes us less resilient and, ultimately, less capable of overcoming obstacles. Not only that, but it can diminish a true sense of accomplishment. For example: If you come in 8th place in a race, or if your team loses a competition, you know in your heart that you didn’t earn a trophy. So if a trophy is given to you, the trophy is devalued to yourself and to those who finished in front of you.
Make sure to work to build your resilience everyday. Do something difficult. Lose occasionally – not on purpose, but because you’re challenging a worthy opponent. Realize that failure is inevitable, but it doesn’t mean that it is final. Fight for equality of opportunity, but don’t accept equality of outcome (even if you are the beneficiary).
Are you teaching yourself to be resilient?
When life doesn’t go as planned (and it hardly ever does), roll with the punches. Build your resilience. Don’t quit when things get tough. That is when you need to stick it out. Adapt and overcome. If you succeed and still want to quit, do it then, but not before. Otherwise you will train yourself to become a quitter.