Education and Experience Don’t Guarantee Success – Attitude and Habits Do
Professional success is the culmination of many factors. Your education matters – maybe not as much as you think, but a degree in your field can really jump-start your progress. Your experience certainly matters, but that can only come to you after years of dedication. Your talent matters, too, but aside from skills (which develop from experience), most of your talent is innate, meaning you have a natural tendency to perform well in certain areas more than in others. Your network of contacts matters, but you can’t always control who you interact with. And ultimately, at least some of your career success is going to come down to a factor of luck.
Looking at these things, it may seem like there is little you can control when it comes to professional success. But that’s not true. In fact, none of these things will matter if you neglect the most important factors of success – and these are all things you need to create for yourself:
1. A Positive Attitude
The whole “positive attitude” angle might seem like a gimmick – after all, can you think of anybody successful who got to where they are only because they thought positive thoughts? Of course not. But you can trace almost any successful entrepreneur or professional’s journey and find at least one major obstacle that nearly disrupted everything. In the face of that obstacle, these people remained positive, which motivated action rather than submission, and eventually, they rose to the top.
Positive thinking is about more than helping yourself through the tough times. Research shows that positive self-talk, rather than negative self-talk, can actively reduce your stress levels, giving you greater physical and mental health and a greater capacity to perform at your maximum.
The best part is that there aren’t any naturally positive or naturally negative people – your thoughts and your self-talk can be controlled with practice, meaning a positive attitude is something you can, andshould, create for yourself.
2. Ongoing Habits
Our habits make us who we are. Over time, our repeated actions become automatic. Once we’re in that groove, it’s nearly impossible to break the chain. With bad habits – like sleeping through your first alarm or working through your breaks – this unbreakable chain can be a bad thing. But with positive habits – like regularly reading or fact-checking all of your work – this unbroken chain can lead you to success.
Though many habits form unconsciously through our natural actions, it is possible to create ongoing habits for yourself. The key to creating these habits is consistency: If you want to start doing something every day, you must force yourself to start doing it on a daily basis. Don’t allow yourself to slip in the first few weeks. After a few rounds of consistent effort, it will become easier.
Breaking bad habits can be tougher, but it’s entirely within your power.
3. Goals
The reliable standby for creating good goals are the SMART criteria. “SMART” is an acronym that describes the five key qualities that all goals must have: They must be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-specific.
In addition to meeting these criteria, you should create goals on multiple scales. For example, you should have broad, flexible long-term goals detailing your plans for your long-term success, but you should also have smaller, more immediate goals that can lead you to those broader visions and medium-sized goals in between the two to act as milestones.
4. Tactical Plans
Goals are good for helping you to hone your desires and set the tone for your career, but without a solid plan of execution, those desires are only pipe dreams. As an extension of your goals, you must learn to create tactical plans that detail how you’re going to achieve those goals. That might include a list of tasks you must accomplish before reaching the goal, a series of strategies you’re going to use while pursuing that goal, or a list of prerequisites you’ll need to have before moving on to the next phase of your plan. If you’re having trouble coming up with an initial plan, you may need to do additional research before moving forward.
5. A Healthy Environment
As humans, we are often products of our environments. In the professional world, this is no different. If your desk is messy, your mind may be more frantic and cluttered. If you work in a noisy area full of distractions, you’ll never be able to focus.
More importantly, if you’re surrounded by negative, apathetic, or downright lazy people, you’ll never be able to motivate yourself to achieve your goals. If you’re working in a place that doesn’t acknowledge hard work, you’ll never be able to progress.
Create your own environment to maximize your chances for success, whether that means working within the confines of your current organization or moving on to a better opportunity. Surround yourself with the types of people who will lead you to success, and structure your work environment so you can be your most productive.
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A version of this article originally appeared on SUCCESS.com.
Larry Alton is a professional blogger, writer, and researcher who contributes to a number of reputable online media outlets and news sources, including Entrepreneur.com, HuffingtonPost.com, and Business.com, among others. In addition to journalism, technical writing,and in-depth research, he’s also active in his community and spends weekends volunteering with a local nonprofit literacy organization and rock climbing. Follow him on Twitter and LinkedIn.