SELF MOTIVATION - The Essential First Step Towards Success

The Essential First Step Towards Success

BY ALAN.MATTHEWS

Through my coaching and training, I’ve worked with hundreds of people at all levels in many different kinds of organisations.

I’ve seen people who I could see were going to be successful in whatever they chose to do and others who I could tell would take little action to make any real change in their lives or work.

There are several reasons why someone may or may not succeed, and one clue is in that  word “action”. People who are successful tend to be action-takers.Many other people, who wish they could be successful or wish that their lives were different, often don’t take any real action to change things. They just talk about it or dream about it.

And that, I believe, is due to a difference in attitude between achievers and non-achievers. People who are successful have taken the essential first step by making a crucial decision. They have decided to take responsibility.

I hear lots of people who haven’t achieved what they want coming out with the same two words to explain why not. Those two words are “other people”.

“Other people” waste my time.

“Other people” make unreasonable demands on me.

“Other people” don’t recognise my talents and my potential.

“Other people” are lousy managers, leaders, coleagues, clients…if only they behaved differently, I could have a chance.

Whatever is holding them back, it’s always “other people’s” fault.

And so they spend their time waiting for the world around them to change instead of taking the first step towards changing it for themselves, which is to take responsibility.

If people around you are treating you in a way you don’t like, why is that? There must be something you’re doing yourself which encourages them and gives them permission to treat you that way. What are you going to do about it?

If your current job doesn’t offer you the future you want, if the people there don’t recognise your potential or encourage and develop you, what are you going to do about it?

Blaming other people, or fate, or bad luck for holding you back is not going to help. That sort of thinking disempowers you. It’s saying you’ve no control over what happens to you. And, if you’ve no control, what can you do to make a difference? What happens to you is all just down to luck or it’s all dependent on other people making the first move.

That sort of thinking will leave you exactly where you are now. It will paralyse you and stop you seeing opportunities to change things.

This may sound a little harsh but it’s true. And, as a coach, I think I would be doing people a disservice if I didn’t point it out to them when we’re working together. Because nothing is going to change until people take responsibility.

So, whatever there is in your own life or work which is blocking your progress right now, wherever you see something which you want to change, ask yourself what you’re doing to let it keep happening and what you’re going to do to change it. Take responsibility and take action!