The #1 word you need to know to succeed at anything in life!

Discipline? Motivation? Inspiration? Commitment? Focus? Routine? Determination? I’m sure there are many more words out there being used to convince people of what is the MOST important thing they need to have to, quote on quote, “make it”.

DEFINITIONS

Let’s break down the meaning of these words to start, just as a reminder.

Discipline is action or inaction that is regulated to be in accordance with a particular system of governance. Discipline is commonly applied to regulating human and animal behavior to its society or environment it belongs.

Motivation is a driving factor for actions, willingness, and goals. Motivation is derived from the word motive or a need that requires satisfaction. These needs, wants, or desires may be acquired through the influence of culture, society, lifestyle, or maybe generally innate.

Inspiration is an unconscious burst of creativity in literary, musical, or visual art and other artistic endeavors; it is the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.

Focus is the center of interest or activity; the state or quality of having or producing a clear visual definition. (Noun) Focus is also the ability to adapt to the prevailing level of light and become able to see clearly; to pay particular attention to. (Verb)

Commitment is the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc; an engagement or obligation that restricts freedom of action.

Routine is a sequence of actions regularly followed (Noun). Routine is performed as part of a regular procedure rather than for a special reason (Adjective). Routine is to organize according to a plan (Verb).

Determination is a positive emotional feeling that involves persevering towards a difficult goal despite obstacles. Determination occurs before goal attainment and serves to motivate behavior that will help achieve one’s goal.

WHICH IS IT?

Okay, so which of the above is the winner? Which word above is what matters the most for one to succeed in life; meeting goals and achieving success? I read a lot of self-help books, and articles. I also watch and listen to a lot of videos and vlogs of a variety of persons who share their stories and wisdom from their experiences in life that can support and help others overcome some of the hurdles that life can serve. These have been extremely helpful for me and can be for just about anybody, but there’s more.

In recent times ‘Discipline’ has been popping up quite often as the main achiever tool. Before that, was “Motivation with Inspiration”, and before that was “Focus”, and before that was “Commitment to Routine”, and before that was what now seems to be a bit ancient “Determination”. It makes me wonder what the next top self-help word will be in a few years if not months.

You know, when I watch a movie or even a television series, I don’t just watch it for entertainment. To be honest it’s not entertainment for me at all. I watch movies and television series with the intention of learning something new, and sometimes to get reminders of things I already have knowledge of to help me stay aware and alert of all that is happening in my life and the world. This helps me keep life in perspective and some reminders remind me to apply what I know and don't let my knowledge go to waste. It’s pretty much the same with my reading habits and video intake.

CHOICES

With that said, I’d like to give my holistic view on the topic… “The #1 Word You Need To Know To Succeed At Anything In Life!”

For me, it’s a combination of all words, not just the ones listed above. I’d include negative words too, and that’s no joke. Words like unmotivated, failure, can’t, frustration, defeated, and negative phrases like I will never make it, this is impossible, it’s not achievable, and I’m sure you can add to the list.

We all go through different intervals in our lives; the good, the bad, and the ugly, as some people say. I say the beginning, the phases and processes, and the end. The beginning and the end we really have no control over. We don’t get to ask God if we can choose our parents or the decisions they make to begin us into life. We don’t even get to choose how we look; the hair texture we prefer, nor the color of our eyes, nor our skin tone, nor our body type. We don’t even get to choose how we die. It sounds unfair and sad even but the great news is we get to choose how we navigate most of the phase and process parts of our lives. I say most because between 0–7 years old we are forming our concepts and understandings of the world and who we are and who we want to be. Scholastic explains more about this theory. https://www.scholastic.com/parents/family-life/social-emotional-learning/development-milestones/age-reason.html

This means from about eight years old you have the power to begin molding your life into what you want it to be. It doesn’t matter who your parents are, what school you go to, what community you grow up in or what people tell you. It only matters what you believe and what you choose for yourself. What you believe, you will receive. People’s opinions and world facts are just that; opinions and facts, also known as, knowledge. What I’m saying is, read, listen, educate yourself, then take time to process the information; thoroughly understand it before choosing what you want to believe.

Of course, there will be times you need advice, support, and the wisdom of the experienced to finalize your choices, just remember what matters most is that you are happy and comfortable with your decisions and the results of such. If your choices bring negative or unpleasant experiences, take time to grieve before finding a way to let go of the hurt, shame, or disappointment. Once you do this you can then move on to what’s next… This will again be another one of your choices.

You see the point I’m making is everything that happens to you throughout your life will always be the results of your choices. You can choose to follow the path of someone else, in an effort to become “like” them, or you can follow the paths of multiple people with the hope of acquiring one good trait of each; kind of like build-a-bear. Ecclesiastes 1:9 states…The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun(KJV). This simply means while your creativity may seem new and exciting to you, it has been thought about by others, you just don’t know. So yes you will always have to educate yourself to support your thoughts, however, the final choice is yours.

SUGGESTION FOR CONCLUSION

Maintain an open-minded approach to life. Telling you to stay positive is a cliché. The world is full of negative things happening every day. Instead, I would like to encourage you to embrace the negatives. No, not make it acceptable or tolerable. Make it a learning experience. Let it be the lesson that teaches you what to do during the improvement phase. That lesson can be to eliminate or to add an element, whatever that element maybe.

It’s like being a doctor who made the wrong call on a diagnostic and ended up losing a patient. Yes, I know that's a severe situation, but it happens and it has to be dealt with. The doctor may later realize from the autopsy what symptom was overlooked, or maybe that doctor was exhausted from back-to-back double shifts and was not in the best mental capacity to make a coherent diagnostic. Such a situation can make anyone feel to quit their job or feel like a failure, and that is quite ok. Take the time to accept the error, grieve the situation, then decide the best steps for your next move. Make that situation be the lesson that taught you something valuable, whether it be, don’t take on more hours than you can handle or be careful during the symptoms screening process.

Another situation can be someone who is trying to become more fit and healthy, which may or may not include losing weight, gaining weight, or developing a more muscular, lean body, but struggles to meet their goals. They follow the top experts in the field of health and fitness but somehow they don’t get the results they are aiming for. Another person might be trying to develop routine and schedule habits in an effort to become more disciplined and committed to staying focus to becoming successful (whatever that may look like for them). They listen to motivational speakers, they follow trending influencers and yet the struggle drags on and on. They wonder why so many people are succeeding by doing the same thing yet they cannot.

Have you ever read or watched the series Divergent? It exposes six types of personalities. The focus was mainly on five until persons of the sixth category decided to fight for respect because they were tired of being ignored, disrespected, and abandoned for their indifference.

Amity — The Peaceful

Abnegation — The Selfless

Dauntless — The Brave

Candor — The Honest

Erudite — The Intelligent

Divergent — A Combination of the above five

This is actually how the world is made up. Persons with similar characteristics clique together, as it’s easier to understand and accept each other. It doesn't mean they are exactly alike, but most of their traits are. The saying goes, birds of the feather flock together. The point is what works for many may not work for one.

I encourage you to create your own life. Be the teacher of yourself. Learn your body inside out; how it reacts to different foods, what triggers each emotion, how many hours of work you can go before you need a rest period (this can be restful sleep or just a peaceful break), how do you feel after a workout, which workouts give the best results and makes you feel your best, which clothing styles your eyes are pleased with when you look in the mirror, what time of day are you in your best moods.

Be 100% self-aware; examine your every move, every feeling, every thought. I also encourage you to simultaneously research other personality types. This can be theoretical research, observation research, or simply asking friends and family questions that will help clarify your understanding of things you feel uncertain about.

With all this research and self-learning, create the life that works for you. Don’t copy anybody else’s. Create your own template. This may mean trial and error in the early stages as you learn what does and doesn’t work best for you but it will be so worth it once you master the art of learning you. Choose your choices and live your best life.

My word is Choice.

Keep Striving

P.P.A.