The Bam Bam Martial Arts Black Belt Character Development Program

How To Have The Right Attitude About Success

Everyone wants to be “successful” but they often misunderstand what success means. Most people only have a vague picture of what success looks like.

In order to have the right attitude about success we need to know what it means to be a successful person.

The Wrong Attitude About Success/What Success Is Not (5 Common Misconceptions About Success)

Misconception #1: Success Is Wealth – Success is not the same as having money. A lot of people think money will bring contentment, but experience shows it does not do so. Money does not eliminate all problems and having it can bring more problems. If you disagree, look at the lives of lottery winners or read about the personal lives of celebrities.

Misconception #2: Success Is A Special Feeling – Some think they will be successful when they feel successful. But trying to feel successful can be very hard to do. Our feelings are changing all the time like a roller coaster, and are unreliable. Life is uncertain and emotions are not stable. For this reason, basing success on just feelings is a bad idea.

Misconception #3 Success Is Having Stuff – Some think they will be successful when they have some new possession. But we all know that when we get the thing we wanted for so long, after a while it does not mean that much anymore. Possessions are, at best, a very temporary fix for feeling successful.

Misconception #4: Success Is Power – Some people think that having power is what it means to be successful. But some people with power are miserable. Power by itself is a neutral thing, it can be good or it can be bad, and even if you have it, it can be lost. So, basing your success on power is not a good idea.

Misconception #5: Success Is Achievement – This is the best of the five misconceptions but it still falls short. The problem with seeing success as achievement is that it sees success as a stopping point in the future. Once you accomplish some goal you will enjoy it for a while, but then we tend to become bored and want something else. So, while goal achievement is important for success, we should not view success as being a stopping point that we reach and then stop.   

The Right Attitude About Success: What Success Is

A better way to think about success is to think about it as a continual journey. Thinking of success as a continual journey helps us have the right attitude about it. With this in mind, think of success as having three parts:

1.       Knowing Your Purpose In Life:  You cannot achieve your best if you don’t have some aim in your life. If you don’t try to discover your purpose, you will probably end up wasting your life on the wrong things. God created everyone for a purpose. You have only one life to live, choose wisely. To help identify your purpose, ask yourself these questions:

a.      What am I really passionate about?

b.      Why was I created?

c.      Do I believe in my potential in this area?

2.      Growing To Reach Your Maximum Potential: The US Army use to have a recruiting slogan that said: “Be All That You Can Be.” It’s a good idea. You’ll never be successful without reaching your potential. Don’t try to compare yourself with others. The only measure of success is the difference between where you are and where you could be. Once you have figured out what your purpose in life is, dedicate yourself to reaching your maximum potential in that area. Concentrate on this one goal and work on continual improvement in that field.

3.      Sowing Seeds That Benefit Others: Your life will probably be pretty lonely without helping others. To be successful get outside of yourself. The most fulfilling way to live your life is to develop your potential in some area and then use that skill to help others in some way.

When you think of success in this way, you can see why success needs to be seen as a journey rather than a destination.

Having the right view of success can help you keep a positive attitude about it.

Black Belt Character Homework: Using the above as a guide, answer the questions below to help understand what success looks like for you:

1.       What is my purpose in life?

2.      How can I grow to reach my maximum potential in this area?

3.      How can I use this to benefit others?