Thursday, 16 May 2013

Success is not an event, it’s a lifestyle!



Lifestyle: A way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes (a position of the body/mind or manner of carrying oneself) and values (beliefs or ethical ideals that we hold about life and its purpose) of a person or group. I was thinking about this as I was doing my daily reflection of the day’s events and what I could have done/not done better. I was physically and mentally exhausted from it but was glad because I put the effort in and saw tangible results: I had a really good day!
I don’t know what it was but things just seemed to flow into each other and it was as if I could connect the dots in the things I did. For example, I had 3 morning meetings: my first for a magazine that I will be writing motivational columns on effective communication for the diplomatic community: The Ambassador (look out for that..) the second was with my father and the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority reps (I was not even supposed to be in this meet but my father asked me to stay) and the third was meeting an Indonesian business delegation. Now all three of these meetings were not connected in ANY way- so tell me why I literally found a connection between with all three of them! Each new contact I made had relevance to the next and vice versa! I actually put people from all three meets in touch with one another! I felt great!
The day was a SUCCESS!!!
But upon my reflection I asked myself, how can I make it that I can have days like this ALL the time?! I wondered what made this day so unique… then I recall that before my first meeting I mentally prepared myself for the day (thus my attitude was in ' I CAN MODE' ) and I reminded myself of the positive belief I have in myself, my passions and what I do (thus my Values were reinforced).
I told myself that today was going to be a good day and I will see every situation as a result and opportunity- a positive Not a negative! So I said I need to make this a lifestyle not a once off event or day!
Take for example Sir Alex Ferguson, former manager of arguably the most successful English football (soccer for my American readers) club the last two decades:Manchester United. He never had a team of ‘superstars’ (a sprinkle of one or two in VERY strategic positions) and even when they play bad they managed to win (the most important statistic in a game)- there was a CulTure of winning, there was a lifestyle of success!
So what lifestyle are you living? Is it of self-doubt and worry, conflict and inconsistency? Are some days good and others bad? Remember the old cliché: “…life is not a sprint but a marathon!I recently watched the Men’s Health Cross fit challenge in London- it’s a 10km race with 20 obstacles in between- a real workout! The guys who won were the ones who never broke stride regardless of the obstacle or event. They managed to maintain a positive mental attitude and made the overall race a success, not just a particular obstacle… I learnt a lot from this. I hope you do too.
So live a lifestyle of success: that means a consistent attitude and set of values you do not compromise on… and don’t forget 

"Transform your thoughts, transform your life!"

Thanks for reading!

Mutsa Samuel

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