Self-Awareness - The 3 Keys to Achievement - Attitude, Action and Acknowledgement

By Gail Solish, Personal/Executive Coach

“Learn to be happy with what you have while you pursue all that you want.”  Anonymous

Most people want to achieve success but it is important to be mindful that the definition of success is unique to every individual.  In order to achieve what you want there are three important elements – attitude, actions and acknowledgements.

Attitude

The first step is to assess your attitude and how it helps or hinders your achievements.  If negative beliefs keep popping up, it generally results in an unproductive outcome.  Negative thinking can consist of constant worry, “what if” scenarios or not trusting yourself to manage and cope.  The result of constant negativity is a slowing of the creative processes.  When you are assuming the worst it is hard to think and get things done.

A positive attitude contributes to a belief that you have the ability to handle situations.  It does not mean that you always have a “happy, nothing can bother me attitude”, but rather when stuff happens you are able to deal with it.  You do not want to be an individual who magnifies the positive and minimizes the negative and as a result doesn’t observe the reality of a situation.  As you move up the career ladder you will need to be able to accurately assess both the positives and negatives and then make decisions.

 Actions

“The only things you regret…are the things you don’t do.”  Michael Curtiz

Actions are your behaviors, the things you do which move you toward your goals.    Taking action is an important step towards achievement.  People sometimes assume that only big things count as taking action.  However it is often the small, steady actions which contribute to reaching your goals.

Inaction is paradoxically a form of action.  If you have difficulty or avoid making decisions because you want to be sure you only do the “right” thing, you often end up doing nothing.  You may also choose to do nothing because you have determined that it is the right decision at the time.

Fear may prevent you from doing or trying things that will lead you toward achievement.  Perhaps you have a fear of public speaking, but you need to develop the skill in order to move your career or business forward.  It would be important to begin to take small steps, doing things that will make you more comfortable with speaking in public. 

Acknowledgements

Paying attention to what you have done (even the small things) and expressing gratitude for what you have and towards others are powerful strategies for moving you forward in your life.

There may be people you know who have difficulty accepting a compliment.  They might either ignore or minimize it.  This generally relates to someone’s self image.  If you do not consider yourself “worthy” of positives then you tend to discard them.  This may be from childhood when perhaps you received a lot of criticism.  It is important to remember when you disregard positive feedback, you are also disrespecting the person who is offering it. 

Acknowledging and expressing appreciations is also important.  Walking down the street and saying hello to people, holding a door open or saying thank you are small ways of acknowledging others.  When you do these things for others or have them done for you, how does that impact your mood?

Evaluate your definition of success.  The three components of achieving the life you desire are your attitude, actions and acknowledgement.  Perhaps now is a good time to become more aware of how you use these qualities in your daily life.

Copyright © 2007 by Gail Solish.  All rights reserved.

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About the Author

Gail Solish, MSW, RSW provides Executive/Personal coaching to managers, directors and executives focused on workplace development and relationship management. Claim your FR-EE e-course “Unleash Your Potential and Increase Productivity and Fulfillment” at http://www.ActualizeYourGoals.com or contact Gail at 416-322-0029.