At the beginning of the year, many people try to measure their level of success for the previous year. It is common to hear that “I m not successful this year and I wonder what will happen next year“. Principally, the results of the previous year become inputs for the new year’s journey toward success. It is basically a life-turning point, where we measure success and decide the shape and color of the new year. It feels like a fresh start and a great opportunity to make improvements from the previous year’s mistakes or take advantage of the lessons from the previous year’s successful experience. If you mess up at the beginning, you completely ruin your expectations. In this article, you will see tips that if followed may result in success.

What is Success

Success is the situation in that one meets a defined range of expectations. Thus, different individuals define success differently depending on the unit of measure. The opposite of success is a failure. It is worth noting that success does not come overnight but rather it is a process. Being successful is not about being lucky, instead, is a process with rules of the game that one needs to follow and respect. To get successful you need to be disciplined, take action, and be committed enough to reap the results.

The new year is a time for reflection and creating goals to ensure that you have a successful year. Although it can be easy to make resolutions and set goals, lasting success begins with you. Taking the time to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and setting realistic goals will help you establish a plan of action to reach your goals. Everything starts with you, so prioritize yourself and focus on personal growth. With a positive attitude and dedication, you can make your new year the best year yet!

Why do we talk about Sucess?

There are two sides to life, success, and failure we can not run away from them. When you talk about success you automatically also talk about the other side which is a failure and the opposite is true. Psychologists believe in the power of a positive mindset in growth. Saying that your glass is half full and the one saying the glass is half empty said the same thing but the two sentences work differently in the brain of a human being. With the concept of the power of a positive attitude in mind, talking about success has a more positive impact than what ‘talking about failure’ does. Success is a phenomenon that stays in your mind. As you begin the year, you have the responsibility to plan and stick to your plan if you want to be successful.

Success tips on your hand

Here are the Eight (8) success tips for your consideration.

1 . Set Your Goal (New Year’s Resolutions)

Life is a journey from one point to a certain destination. Starting a journey without knowing where you want to go can take you to a place of regret throughout your life. There is a common saying that ‘If you don’t know where you are going, any road can do”. You may find yourself working so hard but reaching nowhere worthwhile. Thus, try your best to spend enough time thinking about what you want to be in life and set formal goals.

Merely setting goals is not enough, you must set goals that motivate you to take action. Set SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound). Write your goals down to make them feel tangible.

2 . Take Strategic Action

The second tip and step after you have created your goal are to take action. There will be no wonders coming your way If you do not take action. The taking action step reminds me of a man who visited church after church praying to get a child. When at the last church, the church leader asked home to bring the wife with him. But, the man was neither married nor had any relationship with a woman. The church leader told him to stop praying to get children, instead, pray to get a wife first.

Nothing has ever happened without a plan, after establishing the right goals based on your values, develop strategies that will help you follow them. Do not make wishes but plan and execute your plans. Take an example of a person who wants to quit smoking. You may find it simple, but it is not. You really need to take action and strategize on how you are going to do it. There must be some activities associated with your intention to quit smoking.

3 . Understand your Environment

Look at the environment you are in and align the goal/ resolution you have set to the environment. Your environment has so, much to do with influencing your success. It is easy to control every aspect of the environment and try to fit to it your advantage, don’t rely on willpower alone to change your behavior over the long term. So, you should make environmentally friendly goals. Take the best advantage of what is available in your surrounding while implementing your goals. Do not copy other people’s goals and actions because you are operating in a different environment. So, understanding your environment is also key.

4 . Track your Progress

Tracking progress is about taking regular stock of what you do so that you can learn as you go. It is about monitoring and evaluating progress which will help in identifying issues, measuring success, and controlling in case of any deviation from the main route. Keep track of each small progress motivate and add more energy because each small accomplishment will keep you motivated. I like the example of a chain smoker who struggles to quit smoking. The process of quitting smoking goes back and forth. If you manage without smoking for a month that gives you hope that you can manage more. So, make sure to try tracking progress regularly.

5 . Remember that Change is a Process

The bad habits that you are trying to change probably took years to develop, so don’t expect to change them in a matter of days or months. Be patient with yourself and understand that working on your resolution is a process. Although you might make one mistake or two, you can always restart and continue on your journey toward your goal. It may take longer than you would like but remember it is not a race to finish. Once you make a commitment to change a certain behavior it might be something that you have to work on for the rest of your life.

6 . Make Realistic Goals

It is important that you keep realistic goals that are achievable and quicker to achieve. Remember that a realistic goal is not synonymous with an easy goal. Furthermore, realistic goals build confidence and self-esteem which will create zeal in opening up a world of new opportunities. Basically, realistic goals get us motivated as we are able to see your progress bit by bit. Be realistic in terms of the size and number of goals. In setting your goals consider your passion, set goals you can control, and at the same time imagine your future.

7 . Get support

No one is a master of everything. Admit other people’s support to achieve your goal. Getting support is not a reflection of your incapability but rather a complementary to what you have. Hence, don’t hesitate to seek support from the people around you because there are a lot of things they know that you don’t know.

In doing business, for instance, you may need support from accountants, lawyers, project managers, and the like.

8. Avoid Repeating Past Mistakes

There is a common saying that “the mistake is not to do a mistake but to repeat a mistake“. This say acknowledges the fact that everyone makes mistakes. In many cases making mistakes takes you to a better position next time. Repeating the same mistakes means you are not learning from your mistakes. Someone argues that it is difficult to stop repeating mistakes, try to observe the following to help you avoid making mistakes. First is to acknowledge your mistakes without fearing them. The second is to accept that mistakes play a role in your day-to-day life while the third is to recognize what you are doing right. You should also fight perfectionism with self-empathy and finally, give yourself tools to avoid repeating mistakes.

Conclusion

The Late Dr. Reginald Abraham Mengi once wrote in his book “I Can, I must, I will” which he considered being the spirit of success. According to Dr. Mengi, ‘I Can’ is about boldness and courage to go forth; that, without the I can spirit one is invariably doomed to failure or becoming dysfunctional inaction right from the beginning. I can also borrow the lyrics of the song by the American Singer, R. Kelly, ‘I believe I can fly’ ‘ meaning that If I can see it I can do it but If I just believe there is nothing to it. R. Kelly believed he could fly but just a belief he could not touch the sky.

The new year is a time for reflection and creating goals to ensure that you have a successful year. Although it can be easy to make resolutions and set goals, lasting success begins with you. Taking the time to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses and setting realistic goals will help you establish a plan of action to reach your goals. Everything starts with you, so prioritize yourself and focus on personal growth. With a positive attitude and dedication, you can make your new year the best year yet!

By . Deodatus Robert Mgembe