Let’s make 2008 a winning year!

Are you a winner? Do you have the right attitude for success? Take the test… I personally want to make 2008 an amazing year. I want to focus on what keeps me staying motivated and really achieve some challenging goals. I know from experience there are many things that can knock you back, but there are some winning behaviours we can all remind ourselves to adopt or maintain.

Think about what makes you motivated, excited and how do you stay consistently positive? Why do some people excel in their jobs, while others’ achievements are average… or worse? It seems there are some underlying similar “winning” behaviours among successful people.

Winning behaviours

Anyone can be a winner. Anyone can acquire the skills. Let’s explore three winning behaviours.

1. Goals get you there

Only a small proportion of the population set goals and of those even fewer review them regularly.

Goal setting helps you to:

• Concentrate better.
• Show more confidence.
• Perform better.
• Be happier and more satisfied.

To achieve success you need to set GOALS. There are two main types of goals:

• Longer-term goals – what you want to achieve both in your job and your life.
• Short-term goals – the small, winning steps you’re going to take to get there. As you complete each step, reward yourself along the way.

Use mental rehearsal to visualise yourself performing brilliantly and achieving your goals. Create an image before an event or project, and see yourself doing well and achieving results.

The mistake I have made, and I know many other business leaders do also, is to set too many concurrent goals and then not have time to stop and celebrate achieving them, or never having enough time for balance in life because there are so many short-term goals to be achieved in order to conquer the longer term goals. Goals need to be prioritised – this is the key.

2. Obstacles as opportunities

We all face difficulties on the way towards achieving our goals. To be successful, you need to see obstacles as opportunities. An obstacle may be an opportunity to:

• Learn new skills.
• Try a new approach.
• Review the importance and priority of the goal.
• Enjoy the challenge.
• Help others overcome challenges.
• Feel good at succeeding where others might give up.
• Have fun.

People often feel tempted to give up when faced with obstacles. But those who are high achievers usually know how to turn negatives into positives, obstacles into opportunities and resistance into persistence.

3. Absolute commitment

Most successful people show absolute commitment to their goals. So when aiming to be a winner, you have to commit yourself to the cause. You have to believe in yourself, believe in your ability to get there and believe in the value of your achievements.

Winners work intensively and are focused on results. They are passionate about their goals. They have energy and motivation. They voice their goals and inspire others to achieve.

Being passionate means being proud of who you are and what you do. It means putting a little of yourself in everything you apply yourself to.

TRY THIS QUIZ TO CHECK OUT YOUR WINNING BEHAVIOURS

Never =1. Sometimes = 2. Mostly = 3. Always = 4.

1. I see myself as a successful person – 1 2 3 4
2. I don’t bother setting long-term goals – 4 3 2 1
3. I perform well at most things – 1 2 3 4
4. My friends would describe me as passionate about important things – 1 2 3 4
5. I find things stop me achieving what I want – 4 3 2 1
6. I break a difficult task down into chunks – 1 2 3 4
7. I am not very proud of what I have done with my life so far – 4 3 2 1
8. I reward myself when I do something well – 1 2 3 4
9. I mentally picture myself doing things really well – 1 2 3 4
10. I give up when obstacles get in the way – 4 3 2 1
11. I believe that most difficulties can be overcome – 1 2 3 4
12. My work colleagues see me as persistent – I don’t give up!  – 1 2 3 4
13. I don’t believe doing well in life is about having the right attitude – 4 3 2 1
14. When I make a commitment to something, I stick to it – 1 2 3 4
15. I am scared about taking risks in my work – 4 3 2 1

Your score [                       ]

Add up the numbers you circled. If your score is:

• 51 – 60: You are a WINNER.
• 38 – 50: You are well on the way to being a WINNER. Keep up the good work.
• 25 – 37: You need to develop some more of the “winning” skills and attitudes needed.
• 15 – 24: Not focused on achieving. But you can change if you choose.

Try and list your 2008 long term and short term goals – and check this at least once per month to see how you are tracking. Identify what obstacles or objections might arise and how you will turn these into opportunities. Work out how you will stay persistent.

Get some help. Ask a mentor or someone you respect for some guidance or at least to be a sounding board to your ideas and try and develop your goals. The person should be someone who understands what is required and can be there to talk through your strategy and encourage you to meet your goals.

See the video Winners

By Eve Ash, psychologist and Managing Director, Seven Dimensions, and co-producer with Peter Quarry of the Ash.Quarry Productions video Winners, developed together with Tim Smart. www.7dimensions.com.au

For more Eve Ash blogs, click here.