How To Build Success Into Your Life

How we see ourselves is largely determined by how successful we feel we are. If we feel we keep "missing the boat" and can't seem to get anything right, then we are more likely to view ourselves negatively. But when we feel we have a handle on our lives and are accomplishing our goals, ... How we see ourselves is largely determined by how successful we feel we are. If we feel we keep "missing the boat" and can't seem to get anything right, then we are more likely to view ourselves negatively. But when we feel we have a handle on our lives and are accomplishing our goals, then we see ourselves more positively. In short, we feel good when we are successful.
You can create success in your life.
Achieving success takes thought, planning and action. Often, when we fail to reach success, it's because something is off with that equation. Many people think about success, but they do not plan how to get there. Others plan for success, but they do not take the action to make it come together. Still others are forever in action – doing something – but it's without much thought or planning. So they go around in circles.
You can change your results when you change what you are doing. First, your thoughts: Clarify what you want. Take some time to write down what you want and why. This exercise will help you get clear on what you want so you know what you are shooting to achieve.
Next, organize that thought into a definable goal. That means adding substance to the want. Instead of just saying, "I want to lose weight," for example, you will define how much weight you will lose and by when. Instead of saying, "I want to make more money," define how much more money and by when.
Then plan for that goal. Write down that plan. Don't skip this step, no matter how tempted you are. Many people fail to write down their plans because they have them "in their heads." But take your plan out of your head and put it on paper. This helps turn hazy plans into definitive plans.
Writing down your plans also will help you see if you are missing steps in your plan. A written plan gives you something to examine and go back and tweak, if necessary. If you skip the step of writing down your plan, you have nothing to examine.
Lastly, attach action to your plan. That means putting deadlines to your plans and actually doing what you've written down! Many people get stalled on this step because they keep tweaking their plans and keep changing their minds about what they want.
Once you settle on your goal and plan it, it's imperative you act on it.
Your three-point approach to success looks like this:
1. Think about what you want. Clarify your desire.
2. Plan for what you want. Write down the steps you will take to get there.
3. Act on what you want. Attach deadlines and dates to each step of your plan and put action behind your words.

When you begin to create success, you will see yourself in a whole new light. But it begins with following the steps.