ability to do whatever it takes to get things done

ability to do whatever it takes to get things done

The ability to do whatever it takes to get things done regardless of the influence of people around you or the situations that one is in is called self-motivation. Consequently, a self-motivated individual is a person who can get the job done despite the circumstances they are in. Self-motivated people require no push from a superior or anyone else to complete what they have set their eyes on. Often, it is the prerogative of a self-motivated person to be open to those around them. Openness to one’s friends or associates about your goal orientation will make it easy for one to achieve their objectives without rubbing others in the wrong way. For example, there was an acquaintance of mine who after I knew, I thought he was proud, full of himself and a bottom line douche bag. But after getting to know the guy better coupled with my realization of what counted in the achievement of personal success I realized that the man was just focused on the things he wanted to achieve and would never be altered from his course by a friend who was inviting him out for beers in the evening. After readjusting my perception of my friend I came to learn a lot from him and even made a few of my older friends alienated from me due to the change that was now taking root in my life.

In as much as one can be self-motivated and possess the endurance and determination to achieve their goals without giving up it is always essential to identify and set goals that one is confident of making them (Mind Tools, n.d.). Commitment, in this case, will be achieved before one sets a goal, thus reducing the chances of giving up on projects halfway through with it. In life, there are many cases of projects or undertakings that are stalling or once stalled since the initiators lacked the commitment to see them through. Giving up is not a new thing, and even the most determined and committed among us always has an experience of the same regarding one thing or the other whether on small or big undertakings. To answer the question of whether you are committed to something or not, several signs can help one identify their dedication. One of the things is the amount of time that one spends in the activity. If for example you spend an enormous amount of time reading about history and historical accounts intrigue your person and makes you spend a lot of time doing things of associating with the same, then maybe you should pursue a career in the field. In the long run, even if one fails to achieve the success their desired, they would have remained fulfilled through the entire process.

After all is said and done in anticipation of self-encouragement and picking the right goals (Mind Tools, n.d.), then follows the process of implementation. Here you will need to ask yourself whether you are willing to take action and make it happen. You have complete confidence in yourself and possess the ability to persist and also believe that you are committed to the task at hand, then finally comes the question whether you are willing to do what it takes to make it happen.

Determination

While many people may think that dedication is the same thing as determination, the two are, in fact, autonomous. While dedication is the same as a commitment, as explained in the previous section, confidence is the firmness of purpose. It is the ability to stay with a single goal and aligning all of one’s resources and availabilities in this direction. According to many successful people, a determination is one of the essential virtues that one should possess to achieve not only success but statures of legend. In modern times there have been several people some who made some of the leaders that the world will never forget. One of the best examples to illustrate determination at its best is the former anti-apartheid South African leader, Nelson Mandela. After a total of 27 years in prison, the first South African leader established a statement that will always be remembered by Africans and the World at large (Mitchell, 2015). According to an article on the Huffingtonpost, the man who would later be the first South African president was conscious of his impending greatness. The online newspaper asserts of an account where young Mandela at the age of 21 told his peers that he would one day be the president of South Africa. Regardless of his sentence in the now-famous Robben Island, Mandela persisted and remained determined to see his destiny to fruition. During the time he spent in prison, Mandela used the time he had to study other leaders. Inferring to this lack of relent, the revolutionary was determined that there was a destiny awaiting him and all needed to do was survive. And indeed true to his spirit and endurance Mandela was able to thrive through struggle because he was determined (Mitchell, 2015).

Away from Mandela and other famous people, many regular folks have persisted through determination. They have transformed their difficulties and struggles and used their stamina and endurance to fulfil their purpose in life. Nevertheless, determination alone cannot always help a person achieve their objective. It is only a few individuals like Mandela who can attest to the fact that they once dreamed of being president and saw their dreams bear fruit. You need to gauge your competencies first before setting a course to achieving a goal. After precise evaluation and upon confidence in oneself, what follows is for you to network with the right people to help you fulfil the said purpose. For Mandela to achieve his destiny, he had to align his strengths, his allies and all the resources at his disposal to fulfil the dream. Accordingly, he joined the freedom revolution and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. He surrounded himself with the right people; individuals who shared the same goals and purposes as him. It was even through the effort of these people that Mandela was released from prison and overwhelmingly on the election to become the country’s first president.

Open-Mindedness

Similar to the virtues and qualities discussed in the earlier sections of the book, open-mindedness is equally an essential ingredient to success and personal fulfilment (Chua, 2018). The ability or versatility to be receptive to new ideas is an excellent virtue since it allows an individual to try out new ideas or engage in new activities. The relevance of open-mindedness is the fact that it will enable one to have freedom of choice. Vast experience allows one the possibility of perceiving things through several perspectives. It will allow you to be diverse, and the more varied and individual is, then the easier it is for them to achieve personal fulfilment and even success. But before that, you must ask yourself what you know and whatnot. In this context, you will be informed about which ideas you can try or the ideas that are too risky or boring to exchange. So knowing your likes, interests should be a pillar to the decisions you arrive at when trying out new ideas or engaging in new activities.

Consideration and moderation in this sense are also essential, before trying any ideas you should think about whether or not you have considered other alternatives contrary to the new beliefs that you want to engage in. For example, if you are used to having a juice or ice cream over a movie and a friend suggests you go out to the bar then during the time there he sneaks you to a corner and offers you a joint. While maybe the fun of having a drink was not enough coupling it with marijuana is too extreme. Since you have never engaged in drugs before it is better to convince your friend to return to the bar with you so that you binge drink a little more before calling a taxi, in this, context, you would have avoided using marijuana since you never tried it and a little more alcohol is better for first-timers compared to mixing both alcohol and marijuana. Additionally, you have also to consider the biases that may influence the chances of you engaging in a new idea. For example, you have to consider your gender, sexuality or racial preferences before accepting to go to a party hosted by your workmate who is an African American woman belonging to the LGBTQ community.

Discipline

Baby Steps

Discipline, just like the other values discussed in the book, is an essential factor to possess if you are going to be successful. It helps one live by a set of rules or a particular code of life.

A disciplined person is hardly ever a victim of their impulses or the influence of others. If something is not allowable according to their principles, then a disciplined person will not be led astray whatever the reason or circumstance. Generally, it takes time for one to achieve such a level of discipline. It takes years of patience to complete training. Nonetheless, if you are supposed to be successful, you will have to practice the art of living by a code. It is through the patience and endurance that one gets to learn how to strengthen or eliminate their weaknesses, of course, if they can be changed. Through perseverance and practice, one gets to accept and improve if not execute their shortcomings and come out stronger.

Moreover, discipline allows you to have the patience and character that is required in the preparation of an execution plan. The time spent continuously practising imparts an individual with the ability to see through different angles and perspectives, the build-up to the main event allows you the creativity to try and find the best method or options to achieve a goal or arrive at a destination. Consequently, the creation of an execution plan becomes easy for you. After creating a layout, what follows is usually the execution of the project. Because you have spent a significant amount of time practising and carrying out routines similar to the real deal or even twice as hard as the real deal, it becomes easy when the time is due.

Additionally, baby steps towards the execution of action make it easy for one to recover from a setback when a plan fails to work. It also builds the tenacity to create mitigation plans incase the central plain fails to work. It increases the efficiency of an individual and, thus imparts him or her with the ability to recognize when they are following or not following a plan.

Routine Behavior

The necessary foundation of discipline involves adhering to a strict code of conduct, and in practice, this usually includes routines. For many people, habits generally take root, and one assumes a fixed or somewhat same activity schedule. For many of us, this usually means waking up in the morning, then taking a shower before having breakfast before heading out to work till the evening only breaking for lunch. Upon the end of the day, most people use the time between 5-9 pm engaging in their passions or leisure activities with having dinner therein as well. After dinner, most people go to sleep, and the same cycle continues, thus resulting in a routine.

While such a routine is in itself average, it does not result in the success of for the people abide by it. For one to succeed and achieve personal fulfilment, more than a routine is required (Chua, 2018). For example, instead of waking up at 6/7 in the morning, you can wake up at 4:30 in the morning, then engage in some form of exercise after which you shower then engage in a passion, for example, reading before having breakfast. I take most of this time after training in the morning to answer work emails, and any other work related messages before having my breakfast and then go to work as I familiarize myself with the day’s news on the go. During the lunch break, I engage myself with a blog or two about exciting and current news as I eat. Then after five, I head back home and participate in one or two of my side hustles, one of which is writing. After that, I have dinner and go to bed by ten.

Inferring to my example and the many routines of great people, the essential parts of a method are the morning

Practice Self-Denial

The discipline of self-denial is one that once mastered, can help you overcome the temptations of short time fulfilments thus helping you achieve success in the long run. For individuals who seek to achieve greatness and personal fulfilment, the practice of self-denial is an imperative discipline. Once an individual can control their impulses, then they can be able to withstand any type of temptation or distraction that may derail or divert them from their primary purpose in life. In this regard, one needs to practice self-denial. Save for later after completing the task at hand. At first, it may be hard for one to deny themselves the things that they have gotten used to, but in the long run, patience and endurance always pay off.

Moreover, the art of self-denial always helps one achieve their goals in almost every aspect of life. For example, to stay healthy and live a wholesome life, you must engage in exercise, observe a healthy diet and avoid engaging in destructive activities. Currently, among the most adored and respected people in the world are athletes. Many people wish to fill their shoes but lack the tenacity and endurance to deny themselves the sleep, the long hours of lounging around and instead put in the hard work and gain from the pain of the process.

In this context, one needs to recognize that compromises and sacrifices need to be made towards the goal of achieving success. For instance, if the pursuit of a significant body encompasses the success that you seek, then you will have to give up the junk food that you may be used to and instead replace it with a balanced diet that often contains a lot of salads and greens, a food category that the majority of people tend to dislike. Additionally, you will have to give up the couch and instead replace it with the track or the gym, adding more hours as you progress and more intensity to achieve a healthy and fit body. Consequently, it becomes evident that for every step one makes towards their goal, another more challenging one succeeds it and so forth. Therefore, one may feel the urge to give up, but the more you practice self-denial, the easier it becomes to overcome impulses. Subsequently, one becomes more relaxed and more resilient in their endeavours.

Realistic

Do you remember the example of Nelson Mandela and his dream during his early years to lead South Africa as its president? Mandela had a goal achievement, an idea that he wished to fulfil as his purpose in life. In this same respect, most people have things they want to achieve in life. Some of them may be great, while some may not be so much.

Nonetheless, every one of us dreams of achieving something in their lives. However, only a small number of us get to meet their true desires. For these people, they used all they had at their disposal and the connections they had, coupled with their determination and extra work to achieve their dreams. On the other hand, the majority of us tend to focus on ourselves setting unrealistic goals and then fail to put in the work to achieve even half of the result we expect. For example, when children are asked what their dreams are during their early years, it is common to hear something like “I want to be a doctor, an astronaut or an engineer”. But if you go by the numbers of such professionals compared to the populations, the message is clear. Only a small percentage of these dreams came true. Therefore, to be successful one has to gauge their abilities, the resources available to them and the people surrounding them before setting their goals.

It is only after one acknowledges these factors that they can set their goals. After gauging these and one’s abilities, including weaknesses, then one can place an achievable goal. One more thing to note in this context is getting the time right regarding the period that one expects to finish or arrive at their destination. It is not surprising, therefore that the most significant things in life take time to achieve. Nelson Mandela had to spend 27 years in prison to leave a leadership legacy that will live for generations (Mitchell, 2015). The catholic church exists today in every corner of the planet because of the numerous crusades and the bloodshed to conquer new lands and convert more people to Christian faith. Conclusively, it is always better to be realistic, to realize that the world surrounding us is dynamic characterized by variables, most of which are out of our control. In principle, it is your prerogative to be realistic, after all, realism at its worst conflates the improbable with the impossible, since the world has both evidence of the incredible or unlikely cases of success.

Credible

The path to success and personal fulfilment can indeed be challenging or even impossible for many people. Nevertheless, achieving success as illustrated in the different sections of this article is entirely possible, only if the values, virtues and character discussed are applied towards this cause. After the application of all these values, it is still necessary for you to always remain authentic and credible in all that one endeavours. One should make sure that the success they pursue is in line with their passions, their faith and belief. It is only after you fulfil these factors that one can derive personal fulfilment from your success (Chua, 2018). Credibility as well stems from the trust. Therefore, one needs to ask themselves the question on whether they can be consistent with their goals and commitments, can you genuinely remain true to your words? To answer this question comes the virtue of integrity and truthfulness (Campbell, 2015). Generally, evidence from regular experiences shows that there is nothing more than honesty you can offer to achieve success. It builds trust, and it allows for one to create loyalty among friends. To deeply understand the relevance of truthfulness, you need to ask, even yourself, if what anyone can gain from dishonesty and betrayal. Often, there is little to gain from deception since it destroys a person’s reputation, and once that is destroyed the people that were once allies will shun you and even plot for your destruction behind closed doors.