Some people just seem to find life easy, and bounce from one triumph to the next. Conversely,others struggle with everything they do, and can always give you a reason why life has dealt them a hard blow. The world is made up of victors and victims, and attitude is very often the one key factor that makes the difference.
When you move in a new career direction, it’s vital to learn the habits of victors to gain a successful outcome. The victims pursue their actions in a timid manner, hoping for great things, but never really believing they’re worthy of them. Victors commit mentally to a successful result, and use emotion to back their actions.
Take a couple of tennis players about to play a championship game. One says “It’s my last chance – I’ll give it my best efforts,” but the other one says “Winning is my destiny – it’s everything to me.” No prizes for guessing who’ll win the championship. They might both put in the same amount of time, but the victor spends more of it on his mental training to win.
The victor is defined by the word OAR – a figure paddling towards success. The victim is defined by the word BED – one who stays in bed and gives up. OAR = Ownership, Accountability and Responsibility. BED = Blame, Excuses and Denial.
The victor takes ownership of his or her tasks, not expecting someone else to lead the way. He’s accountable for his actions, and so takes them seriously, seeing things through by tackling problems not creating them. He’s responsible for the results of his actions, and so doesn’t take excuses from himself.
In the victim’s eyes, there’s always a reason why he’s not achieving, and it’s rarely to do with himself. It’s always someone else’s fault – he feels out of control so justifies it by blaming someone else. He makes excuses for his lack of performance, but the only person he’s convincing is himself. With this continual pattern of blame and excuses, the victim lives a life of complete denial, convinced that there’s absolutely nothing he can do about his situation.
Students about to embark on a life-changing training course should give themselves a mental work-out, to prepare for success. Anybody who relates to the victim mentality will have to look at these issues before they start, to take full advantage of the potential in front of them.
The two sets of attitudes are both just habits. With constant repetition over time, habits can be changed. Listen to the little voice in your head – if it’s obviously a victim, then consciously stop it and verbalise why you can achieve. Nobody else is any better than you are – some have just conquered their demons and emerged victorious.
To quote Winston Churchill, “There is no such thing as a hero, only those who rise to the occasion”. In learning as well as in life, we must have the attitude of a winner to allow ourselves to become a winner.
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