Know your personality

Monday, October 30, 2006

Habits that weigh you down

When you are down what you need to do is dust yourself off, pick yourself up and carry on. But it is difficult to do so when you are the one holding yourself down. It is always a challenge to overcome tendencies that hold you back. Have you ever wondered why some people seem to rise to the top of their profession so effortlessly, while some of us are stuck in the dreary, old routine day after day, year after year? You must no doubt have wondered what it was you did and more importantly didn't do that was hampering your career growth.


It is a fact that the greatest learning comes from the mistakes people make rather than their successes. Experts have zeroed in on certain uniform `bad ` habits, which prevent good, competent people from achieving their true potential, from turning their dreams into reality.

A perfect career is as much a popular myth as the concept of perfect health! As you are prone to little ailments occasionally, however healthy you are; likewise, you cannot change the person you are. What you can understand and try to change are your behaviour patterns, which could be detrimental to a healthy career.


People who are doing exceedingly well and who seem to be successful in whichever endeavour they undertake, have taken proactive care of their careers. They are talented and they have nurtured and honed their talents so well that success is theirs for asking.

Researchers James Waldroop and Timothy Butler have identified 12 bad habits, which take down good people. Though none of these behaviour patterns can be changed completely, the fact that you recognise them and attempt to overcome the self-defeating attitude is good enough. If you know them for what they are and work hard at keeping yourself from falling into the same rut, you will eventually be successful. Success as you must know is not always financial gains and rewards.

The 12 behavioural patterns are:

Not feeling good about anything

Not brooking any opposition

Seeing things only in black and white

Avoiding conflict

Pushing (yourself and others) too hard

Being a rebel looking for a cause

Letting your life be ruled by fear

Emotionally handicapped

Feeling that no job is good enough for you

Not knowing your limitations

On the move always, never content

Losing track of what life means

Any one or more of these attitudes have caused people to destroy their careers almost wilfully. You may miss plum assignments, are overlooked for raises and promotions and may even put your career at risk. And the irony is that one is not even aware of doing so!

Do you have any of these `bad' habits? Take a good, hard look at your self and perceive the enemy within. Stop blaming and pointing fingers at others and start being aware of things you do to hold yourself back. Its only like this that you can you unleash your true potential!

Friday, October 27, 2006

Power Positive

It has been estimated that we think more than 50.000 thoughts everyday, more than half of which are negative. Sometimes you have to do a mental spring-clean to get rid of the negative `garbage' that otherwise becomes ingrained. `Positive thinking' a phrase made famous in the 1952 bestseller.

The Powers of Positive Thinking, is what its all about. Stopping self-destructive thoughts is like stopping any other bad habit--it takes time and effort. As Norman Vincent Peale wrote, it is all about belief in oneself and faith in God.

You are what you think
We control our feelings and thoughts both consciously and subconsciously. It is within us to be positive or negative, lively or morose. One of the most effective ways to come out on top is by the affirmation of all that is positive. Affirmations are positive statements about yourself that you repeat over and over until they're programmed into your subconscious.

If we think unhappy thoughts, it will be impossible to feel either positive or be happy. As Marcus Aurelius said, "A man's life is what his thoughts make of it.h

You feel what you want
As thinking is an unconscious habit, good habits, such as talking positively to yourself, focusing on positive thoughts, and being positive with other people, get good, positive results and peace of mind. While no one can be positive all the time, there are ways to develop a positive "mind set" so that positive thinking becomes a habit.

Why worry
Like positive thinking, worrying is a habit- albeit a bad one. Constant worrying is destructive and self -defeating.
Try to eliminate negative self -talk. It only underlines our poor self-image and makes us lose confidence in ourselves. Catch and kill that negative thought!

The three Cs
Develop a three-pronged approach-Commitment, Control and Challenge. Make a commitment to yourself and to people and things that matter to you. Be enthusiastic and dare to dream!

Keep your mind focused and set your goals and priorities. Take everything in your stride --success and heartbreak.

Be courageous. Do not be afraid of change .Do your best and have no regrets. See learning and change as opportunities and never let go of your optimism.

Boost the positive and you will find that you are a success during good times, and a survivor during the hard!

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Thursday, October 26, 2006

Spell of Success

Nothing, as they say, succeeds like success! Nothing sells like it either! Nothing motivates better or attracts more. Yet there is a lot more than hard work that goes behind creating success stories. To really succeed you will have to define it differently!

S-Self assurance
One of the keys to success is a belief in your self. An abiding faith in your capacities makes you a self-assured individual ready to succeed. Such a person is open to honest self-evaluation and can change his negatives into his most positive features.

U-Understand
An understanding of your professional wants and those of your organisation will make for a successful tenure. This is actually a word with a wide meaning. Learning and understanding from your mistakes can always help you. If someone else gets promoted out of turn then understand why it happened, instead of displaying your anger. This understanding skill will help you not only professionally but also probably in all spheres of your life. An understanding of the people around you and a cultivation of a positive attitude along with good manners will be an added feature.

C-Control
Control does not imply having everything in hand. Actually control is a state of being. It is a state of `cool collectedness', which leads to a composed self, which thinks and works better.

C-Communication
This is probably the most important component of all. You should be able to effectively convey your ideas for their proper execution. For this, the most important ingredient is communication. A proper implementation of plans is necessary for the desired level of success.

E-Energy
This does not just mean physical energy. It is actually the indefatigable who can run an organisation successfully.
To never give up even in the face of the gravest opposition till the goal is achieved needs this energy. This is perhaps the toughest aspect of success.

S-Sophistication
Sophistication is a matter of attitude, like enthusiasm.
This refers to appearance as well as things like ideas and depth of knowledge, which actually make one stand out in a crowd.

S-Sincerity
An important aspect of all success is sincerity, the honesty to analyse yourself and your work atmosphere in a realistic manner.

Sincerity is what makes those plans that put you on the road to success.

Success is not just a matter of chance, but it is the right combination of characteristics that makes achievement possible.