Positive Thinking
Staircase to your Dreams
`` Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.’’
- Abraham Lincoln
‘To achieve something great, we must work hard” is nothing new to say. Similarly, for someone to have success in career and life one must put certain degree of effort based on their present position and where they want to see themselves in the next 5 years. As my favorite Chinese proverb goes,
``A journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step’’
single step’’
Similarly, we must start our journey where everything starts, that is, in our mind. It is famously said that ``One can’t achieve anything that one can’t perceive in their mind’’. So for any sort of task to be accomplished one must believe that it’s achievable. For thoughts to be transferred to result we unknowingly follow the work-thought tunnel.
Belief:
Like a thousand miles journey, our first step of success in our career (or any other aspects of life) begins in our mind. What is perceivable is mostly achievable. In order to succeed we must first believe that we can do it and then and only then will our mind set itself in correct line of thoughts and put it to use to achieve that goal, otherwise it’s just a recipe for utter failure. Nothing has killed more dreams than self doubt. Self doubt is a necessary evil. It keeps you rooted to realism and prevents you from getting over confident. So believe in yourself and what you want to achieve.
Potential:
Potential is basically what you are capable of doing from the very start, what comes naturally for you, which through certain refinement and practice can add value to your self, work and worth. It’s simply God gifted. Not everyone is born with the same potential but no one’s without any potential. It’s good to get a head start but it’s not everything. There are some people who are gifted in certain things. Getting good at those things becomes easy for them as they can do it almost effortlessly. The amount of potential you tap into your will determine the amount of action you take and effect the result and so on.
Action:
Like I have stated getting a head start is good but is not everything. It’s like the story of the tortoise and the hare. Hard work and persistence beat talent hands down. This phase is the biggest and the most important phase of the entire loop. Hard work improves the chances of success by leaps and bounds.
It is important to note that action in only the right direction will only provide result. Thus it’s really important to work smartly. Working hard and smart will eventually lead to a great work life balance as will use your resources in an optimized manner.
Result:
With everything done till now correctly, one might expect to have a great result. That’s not always the case. There’s a huge variable in success called luck. As the famous saying goes ``Fortune favors the brave’’. Hence, If you are not brave enough to work for it most of the time you will not get it.
So, positive outcome will inspire you and build up your confidence which will keep the loop going and will, in course of event, land you in your desired place for which you have worked hard enough if not more.
The hard part for most people is to deal with negative results. People get frustrated and give up. That’s a poisonous mindset which will eventually leave you all broken. Most successful people see failure as another opportunity to try things out different than the first time. Edison was the physicist who discovered light bulb through many trials and errors. He said and I quote,
“I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”
I can go on and on about many events and incidents which will prove my point. But the point is failure is not the end unless you stop there.
So to summarize the entire writing creating a positive mindset is really crucial for having success in various aspects of life. This loop is a two way dagger. If imposed positively it will boost you otherwise the result may be catastrophic.