The Path to Success Always Includes a Turn
Have you ever noticed how continuing down your current path always leads to failure? It seems like anytime you want to succeed at something, you always have to change the course you’re on. You don’t necessarily have to do an “about-face” (depending on your direction), but choosing to be successful at anything always includes veering off the beaten path a little. Typically, the usual advice is to decide what you want, sit down and write goals, then take action! It’s important to realize that to find success with anything, those three steps are not how everyone gets there. Do you think that everyone who has been successful has actually written down their goals? Not so!
What Works For You?
Writing your goals is obviously a very effective thing, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessary. One important thing to grasp, is that everybody is different. What works for one may not work exactly the same for you. For me, I’m better at achieving goals once I’ve already recognized an opportunity or stumbled onto something. Simply deciding what I want does not illuminate a path of how to get there, no matter how many goals I write down. Once I’ve found my path, I don’t necessarily have to write my goals because I’m constantly thinking about them and tweaking them in my mind! Sometimes I do write goals, and it’s definitely a good thing. You can always see how those goals have taken shape in the process.
Use Fear to Your Advantage
Sometimes stepping out of your comfort zone is the only way to achieve what you want. Tony D. Clark wrote an interesting article calling fear an “asset” that should be “mastered“. You may fear someone will reject you, or you may fear that your efforts will be a waste of time or an embarrassment. Either way, you’ll never know until you jump in with both feet, recognizing that your fear is more about uncertainty than anything. Instead of letting it “bring you back to reality”, embrace it and prove to yourself, and only you, that your idea and efforts were valid.
The Common Denominator
No matter what steps you take on the road to success, there will always be a turn somewhere along the way. Whether it will be overcoming your fear or taking a new road altogether, keeping your sights on the end result will be a map to guide you. Feel free to leave a comment and share your thoughts.
Great post Anthony, and thanks for the mention.
I think fear gets a bad rap. Like a lot of things, fear’s not the problem. It’s how we react to it that can cause problems.
Sometimes the fear is a valid warning. Other times it’s our reptile brain protecting us from mammoths. It’s up to us to learn the difference and use it as a tool.
“It’s up to us to learn the difference and use it as a tool.”
I couldn’t agree more. Either way, we can’t let it push us back into comfort. If experienced fear turns out to be a valid warning, it’s important to re-assess what we’re doing and find another way.