Four Characteristics of Success
Success means having the courage, the determination, and the will to become the person you believe you were meant to be. – George Sheehan
Article written by Alex Blackwell. Connect with me on Facebook.
Look deep. Are you doing the things you need to do on a consistent basis in order to get the results you want to get?
No matter if your goals are personal or professional in nature; there are four characteristics of success that will help you find what you are looking for in life. From becoming a better parent or spouse, to finding more success at work, these attributes provide a roadmap, a checklist, to help you achieve your goals, too.
1. Personal Accountability
“I do what I say because I said I would do it.” It all starts and ends with you. When you look into the mirror, do you like what you see? We can push away, hide, and even deny to others what we are thinking and doing, but we can never hide it for ourselves.
Personal accountability is not about perfection; it’s about effort. We can never be all things to all people, but we can be everything to ourselves. We can get up every morning with the attitude to focus on the things that will create a more successful and happier life and not to short-change or sabotage ourselves in the process.
Listen to your inner wisdom, your gut, to see if you are on track or not – 100% of the time your inner wisdom is right. You then have a choice to make. You can choose to rationalize why you are not seeing the results you had hope to gain or you can choose to be completely honest with yourself and make the necessary adjustments to get back on track.
2. Resiliency
Life will always throw you off balance. You will encounter setbacks when you were expecting success. It’s not a matter of “if” this will happen, it’s only a matter of “when.”
When disappointment and failure happens remember this: Our character is not defined by what happens to us, our character is defined by how we respond to what happens to us.
3. Interpersonal Skills
We do not live in a vacuum. Even though our journeys may be our own, we cannot ignore the other people on the road with us.
The ability to communicate, to ask questions of others who have achieved what you are seeking, to listen and to respond are all invaluable tools.
If you are seeking a more fulfilling relationship with your partner, then how well you relate to that person will determine the success, or failure, of that relationship.
Similarly, if you are looking for more career opportunities, then your ability to communicate your goals and accomplishments are critical.
Here’s a good strategy to remember in order to improve your interpersonal skills: Talk less and listen more. Think of the 80/20 rule. 80% of your time should be spent listening. It is in these moments you will come to realize the true expectations of your partner or your boss, for example. Once their expectations are clearly understood, you are in a better position to meet them.
4. Continuous Learning
The minute you stop learning you start to lose, or go backwards. In my life, I’m still learning how to be an effective parent and a supportive spouse. Too often, we get in the trap of saying, “I have learned how to [fill in the blank],” instead of saying, “I’m still learning how to [fill in the blank].”
There is a significant difference in these statements. When we use words that end in ed, learned, accomplished, achieved, we are saying there is nothing else to learn; that we “got it.”
But life is dynamic and nothing is ever freeze-dried. Therefore, if we take the approach we are always in the process of learning, accomplishing and achieving, then we are in a much better position to adapt and to adjust when change and setbacks occur.
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Comments
9 Responses to “Four Characteristics of Success”
What do you think?
Alex, thank you for this; there were definitely some things here I needed to read!
One line that particularly stood out for me was “Personal accountability is not about perfection; it’s about effort.” I often find myself feeling frustrated, guilty or even angry because I can’t match up to all the different standards of perfection out there in the world — or even to my own standards of how I “should” be. I’m going to focus on effort, and on simply doing the best I can this week, instead of feeling that I need to match up to some standard.
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Thanks for this post. I agree with your tip on continuous learning. We should never quit learning and always have the mentality that there is more to learn. Like your spouse, I am still learning more about my current girlfriend even when I feel like I know all of her. This helps develop better relationships with other people.
@Ali Hale:
Give yourself permission to be imperfect.
Release yourself from any need to strive for perfection. Know that your imperfections help to make up the unique and wonderful person that you are.
Your imperfections enhance your beauty. All you have to do is look toward nature to discover the beauty in imperfection.
In a grove of colorful trees in the fall, each tree is just as beautiful as the next, although not a single leaf is the same. With zebras, each one has imperfections in its stripes, which add to its unique beauty.
Realize that those who love you do not love you for being perfect, but for being who you are – including all your imperfections. Your flaws are an integral part of the total package. If you were perfect, you would be a different entity altogether.
Your shortcomings enable you to grow and learn. Self-improvement brings the joy of success in knowing that you are getting better and better. If you were perfect, you would never feel this joy and you’d have nothing to aim for. You would wander aimlessly through life.
Your imperfections also bring variety to your life. Because you are imperfect, you change as life goes on. Process your experiences in your own unique ways and you are a little different from one day to the next.
Feel thankful for your imperfections and look forward to the varied experiences and many blessings on your life journey.
Cheers~
Mark
Hi Alex,
Thank you for this great article. I love discussing about what contributes to a person’s success. When it comes to characteristics of success, traits of success, or principles of success, I do have a lot to offer. It’s all in the eBook, which I co-authored with 48 other personal development bloggers and writers. It’s called The 77 Traits of Highly Successful People.
I don’t mean to blatantly promote the eBook here. It’s certainly not my intention. I just feel that it’s a great add on to your list of success characteristics here. It’s a free eBook but it does require your name and email address. So if anyone feels uncomfortable with that, then simply ignore it.
I apologise if this sounds too much like a promotional comment. Please feel free to delete this if it does.
Cheers~
Mark
@ Mark: Thanks for adding to the conversation.
I especially like the fourth characteristic – Continuous Learning. Even if you graduated from college already, or have earned your PhD, you should still consider yourself a student of life and keep your mind open to new learnings and ideas. This is an important part of being successful.
I love your article. It’s a great read! I believe it can help me in my quest to Live More. Thanks for sharing it.
It’s not a matter of IF it will happen, it’s a matter of WHEN, very nice perspective to remember. Sometimes, when we encounter setbacks in our life, we immediately think something is not meant to be, whereas we could think the opposite. We could tell ourselves that the right timing has not yet come, but it will come. We need only to pursue it so we can reap the seeds we have sown.
@ Nikka: To continue to grow, we have to continue to learn – and just not things academic either. Best wishes for your quest!
@ Joyce: It’s all about timing in life. Thanks for reading.