Can you achieve what you want in life the first time?
One of the things that affect us the most is the states of mind that are sometimes not the best to face the situations or problems we have ahead.
Sometimes we get stuck at a certain point and can’t change our attitude towards something, thus leading the situation to a potential problem.
We seem to get stuck on a line of reasoning and can’t get out of it.
The problem is that, without mental flexibility, we are often limited to failure.
To get around these types of situations, I often use a few principles that have helped me throughout my life when I have problems or need to have greater mental flexibility.
Principle #1: The best thing about the past is that it’s behind us!
Or, as we say in my country, it’s no use crying over spilled milk.
It’s no use driving your life looking in the rearview mirror.
We will almost certainly bump into each other. It’s no use living future situations conditioned by past situations.
It’s not because we failed that we will fail in the future.
It’s not because we were shy in the past that we have to continue to be shy all our lives.
So, by adopting this attitude, we will be able to be much more flexible and approach every situation positively.
Principle #2: Every situation has something good to learn.
Even with the biggest failures in life, we always have something to learn.
If Thomas Edison were asked how many times he failed until he got it right in creating the light bulb, the answer would usually be this:
“My dear friend, I didn’t fail; each time I didn’t get it right, I was one time closer to achieving my goal.”
The truth is that we are always going to have failures in life.
We will always have to fail a few times to achieve what we want.
So if this is a constant in life, we might as well think that when we fail, we are once again closer to achieving our goals.
Principle #3: Plan, measure, and correct!
Nothing in life happens without having made a plan of what actions to take to achieve our goal.
Whether it’s moving house, changing jobs, or becoming rich, all these goals need three fundamental things:
A very clear decision on your part that this is something you want to achieve.
Without making a concrete decision about how fundamental that goal or objective is to you, nothing begins to happen.
As we talked about before, once we decide with certainty, we have another component helping us.
Make a detailed plan about how to achieve our goal.
Have you ever heard that the road to hell is paved with good intentions?
Well, so have I. And I hear it every time someone around me says:
- “I want to be rich.”
- “I want to change my life.”
- “I want to be happier.”
The question I usually ask, and it bothers me a lot, is straightforward:
What is your plan to get there, and what are you doing to put it into action?
My good friend Juvi, every week turned up to God and said, loud and clear:
“O God, make me win the lotto!”
Next week:
“Oh God, come on, be a good guy, make me win the lotto!”
Next week…, you see the movie.
Only last week, when he said this, something different happened.
A powerful voice was heard from above and said to him:
“Hey, this week, make sure you help out and hand in the damn lotto ticket.”
In life, sometimes we are like that. We want, we want, but we do nothing to get there.
Fine-tune the shot!
Things don’t always come out perfect the first time.
That’s why we must continuously measure whether or not we’re moving toward our goal.
As they say, “what is measured happens.
And if by chance, we are not achieving the result we want, we should stop and see if there is a different way to do what is not working.
Always remember, if it’s not working the way you’re doing it, it shouldn’t be because you keep doing it over and over again that the result will change.
So stop, take a step back, and try a new approach.
Originally published at Results Driven.
