How to be an achiever? It all needs to begin with becoming a ‘do it now’ person. Procrastination and a sense of ‘there’s always tomorrow’ takes us nowhere – whereas programming ourselves to do it now brings results.
I recommend making lists, preferably each evening. By listing everything that needs doing and then prioritizing each item in order of importance next morning, we set our agenda. And it is incredibly empowering, when we have taken the necessary action, to put a tick next to the accomplishment. Then, as our row of ticks grows, so does our warm feeling and sense of getting somewhere.
If we turn list making (and subsequent action!) into a habit that is unfailingly part of our daily routine it becomes almost impossible not to start achieving. At first it may well be that we achieve little things that we won’t necessarily see as achievements. However, our confidence and sense of purpose will begin to grow and the self-discipline will in itself make a difference.
Without self-discipline life can easily become chaotic and we can drift through our days aimlessly until upon reaching old age regret is inevitable about opportunities lost and about time that cannot be claimed back and filled with more meaning.
Why are we here? There are probably as many different views about that as there are people on our planet, but it seems unlikely to me that we were born in order to drift along in a fog of non-fulfillment.
I think it more likely that life is a series of lessons – tests, in a sense, that we need to pass in order to move on to the next. Unless we pass, we keep being given the same test, again and again, in different disguises until we learn whatever it is that needs learning. We are surely meant to grow as individuals and also in wisdom. It would be a pity, wouldn’t it, to die no wiser than we were born?
Someone once said to me that we need self-discipline every day of our lives. I was a child at the time and didn’t understand the concept, nor see its importance. Now, though, I have realized that nothing can be achieved in life unless we make up our minds to discipline ourselves and – initially through small daily steps – intend, then carry out our intentions.
It is the carrying them out that can move mountains! Before tackling mountains, though, I recommend beginning with little hills. From such a start and by building our self-belief as we succeed with small achievements, we can truly become BIG ACHIEVERS!