by ·0 Comments
Success, take bigger risks

That first taste of success is something to savor, it’s something indelible yet fleeting, and it alone can satisfy many individuals and give them a reason to rest on their laurels.

People can be forgiven for taking in the fruits of their labor, for stopping for a while in order to admire what they have done, but doing all of this should also come with the realization that where things stand now is good, but there’s still something better waiting to be discovered.

It’s easy to think of success as an endpoint, as something definitive and final that can be substantial enough to validate years and years of hard work, and in many respects, it is.

The success that comes in the form of recognition from one’s peers or material success that allows someone to secure a stable future are ones that are extremely precious.

But those specific types of success are the exact ones that should give individuals, even more, reasons to aim for something better.

Securing a future for yourself is good and all, but if continuing to work on something better can help secure a future for yourself and your loved ones, then that is obviously significantly better.

Success, more than anything, should act like a key opening up doors to more opportunities that may have been previously inaccessible. Success should embolden people to take bigger risks now that they have something to fall back on, knowing that the potential reward is greater than any loss that may be incurred.

Instead of looking at success as some kind of stop sign, a little shift in perception will enable people to understand that this can act as a starting point for something more meaningful.

The greatest successes are waiting to be claimed, and it’s those who go after them without any pause who will be in the best position to obtain them.

by ·0 Comments
Supposedly, constructive criticism is given with the intention of making you better.

Constructive criticism is given with the intention of making someone better.

 

Deep down, people understand their imperfections. They understand their limitations, their shortcomings, and even their failings.

It’s innately human to be imperfect, and yet it doesn’t sting any less once those flaws of yours get thrown back at you.

It is what makes the concept of criticism, specifically constructive criticism, so interesting.

Supposedly, constructive criticism is given with the intention of making you better.

Someone finds a flaw in you, it gets identified, you work on it and remove it.

In theory, constructive criticism should be a good thing, but the issue is that these types of comments are rarely understood or delivered in the correct way, leading to misunderstandings.

Constructive criticism can oftentimes just come off as mean-spirited or even self-righteous.

Still, being criticized and getting better from it is crucial to long-term improvement, so things needed to be done to deliver and interpret criticism properly.

Starting with the delivery of critiques, this needs to be done sincerely, and as much as possible, the comments also need to be given within a private setting. After all, pointing out someone’s flaws in public isn’t so much criticizing as it is just plain humiliating someone and that’s not what is needed.

Even when pointing out someone’s mistake, respect needs to be present at all times. And this fulfills half of the constructive criticism equation.

The other half is now dependent upon the recipient of the criticism and how he/she reacts to it.

Instead of brushing off or ignoring the critique, the recipient needs to really listen and evaluate what is being said. There’s a chance that the problem being pointed out is one he/she may not even be aware of, and in that scenario, yes constructive criticism exists and it can prove to be very helpful as well.

Constructive criticism is very much a real thing, and the only reasons why it doesn’t seem to be at times is because the people delivering and receiving it aren’t doing so correctly.

by ·0 Comments
Dreaming big is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged for everyone, but dreaming smart is even better.

Continue to dream, and do it big and do it smart.

 

Ambition can be a double-edged sword, prone to harming or capable of protecting depending upon the desires of the wielder.

Ambition can be an endless source of motivation, fueling an individual to greater heights, or it can be all-consuming, and the primary cause of a downward spiral.

Ambition can be both essential and toxic, so given the risks, is it really wise for people to continue aiming high, even if their targets may be out of range?

The answer, as always, is not straightforward.

When it comes to dreaming big, it’s wise to at least keep the tips of your toes on the ground as you tilt your head towards the skies.

The key to controlling your ambitions, as opposed to having them control you, is to have a clear head about them.

It’s obviously difficult to let go of something you’ve wanted so badly for so long, regardless of whether it is a professional or personal goal, but there are simply times when this painful act becomes a necessary one.

When answering the question of whether dreaming big can ever be a bad thing, the answer is a yet with a distinct caveat.

It’s obviously unwise to keep going after something that may simply be unattainable, but that’s a stumbling block as opposed to a brick wall.

Continue to dream, and do it big too if you want but be smart as well, because it’s way too easy to get lost when fixated only on a single goal and direction.

Perhaps the real peril is not in dreaming big, but in dreaming carelessly, in allowing ambitions to become obsessions instead of motivations.

Dreaming big is perfectly acceptable and even encouraged for everyone, but dreaming smart is even better and probably even the ideal course of action for those aiming for real gains and sustained success.

 

by ·2 Comments
Recovering from failure

Any kind of failure – be it personal or professional – is difficult to deal with.

The sting of it can linger, discredit previous achievements, affecting your current mindset and tarnishing future accomplishments.

Failures are inevitable on your way to success.

They are common, and even necessary in certain respects.

But just because failure is an integral part of life, doesn’t mean that people have to live with it.

Failures can bring you down and keep you there if you let it, but the latter is no longer necessary or inevitable.

Picking yourself back up from off the ground after suffering from a spectacular failure, may be incredibly difficult but it is possible.

As with many of this life’s great challenges, recovering from an incredible failure will require one thing more than anything else, and that is time.

Time is needed, first, for accepting what has taken place. Time is then needed next for examination, for understanding exactly what went wrong, why it did so and perhaps even the how behind it.

Time is again required for further processing and prevention, to make sure that this enormous mistake in the rear view mirror remains there and that nothing that even remotely resembles it will again rear its ugly head in the future.

But there is a risk inherent to letting time take over as the salve for failure and that risk can be amplified by our innately impatient nature.

Rushing to recover and to redeem for the mistakes of the past is understandable but not ideal. Such an approach only opens the door even wider for an even greater failure to occur.

One major mistake is enough, and its lessons must be sufficient.

The only way to recover well from failure is gradual, that’s just how it is, nonetheless, out of this long, drawn-out process, we continue to thrive and make the failures of the past the cause for success in the future.