If you have ever asked yourself that question, you wouldn’t be alone. Sometimes our quest for success seems like a never-ending climb that we will never reach.
The good news is that it might not be as far out of reach as we think. In fact, we have all had successes in our lives that we haven’t even given a thought to. We learned to talk, learned to walk, if you are reading this now you have also had some educational success.
What is success to you?
We each have a picture in mind when we think of success, and the goal isn’t always financial riches. In fact we each have several areas of our lives that we set a definition of what success is. I know for me, a meaningful life with enough is what I want.
We’ve all had some losses in life that brought us down. Even if we look successful to the world, we don’t always feel very successful. But we can still dream it, reach out, and grab it.
But let’s hold steady there for a minute — there is a Science to success that we need to learn first.
The Science of Success
I came across a great book and educational course online that is titled, The Science of Success. It was written by Paula Caproni, PH.D. from the University of Michigan. It lays out the methods social scientists have discovered as the factors that most often lead to success.
I was looking to make some changes in my life and found a platform for free education courses from major universities. At Coursera.org, you have the option of auditing the course with no certificate or you can choose a paid option if you wish to have official educational credits.
Success Factors
The premise of this study is that researchers have found there are four main tactics that successful people do differently. I found some of these actions surprising, and others I knew all along, but haven’t always followed the well trodden path. If you want to increase your chances of being successful in any area, you should include the following methods in your plan:
1. Have a growth mindset rather than a fixed mindset
Believing is fundamental to success. But what is it we are supposed to believe? According to the researchers cited in this book, you must believe that your abilities and even your talents, are changeable. People who work hard at developing skills and interests become successful, even if it isn’t a natural inclination.
If you THINK you can — you CAN!
People who believe that they can only do what comes naturally, usually won’t put in the effort to be successful. They give up when they experience a difficulty and assume it just isn’t their cup of tea.
But if you educate yourself and practice your new skills you can achieve what before you had only dreamed.
4. Develop good relationships
Social connections are important for making progress in all areas of our lives. We don’t achieve any major goal on our own. We learn from mentors, whether they are family, teachers, friends, books, or videos. We get ideas from others, and they help us along the way.
None of us succeed on our own
There is a factor called social capital. In it we build a network that acts as a chain reaction toward reaching our goals. In fact, we can travel farther as a group or team than we can on our own. Two equals four.
Images by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay
It’s all about the perseverance
It seems that all of the strategies necessary to succeed, we learned in elementary school. Somewhere along the way we pick up the idea that success is more complicated than it really is and it’s only for the few. It takes work, not rocket science. We can all be successful one step-at-a-time.
If you want to learn more about success like I did, then read books, watch YouTube videos and take an educational course or two. Don’t forget to take a buddy along with you to spur each other on. You may be surprised by what you learn about yourself and it will give you the motivation you need to achieve your goals.
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