Performance vs. Achievement

by Saalik Siddikki

      

            Whatever you do is your performance to achieve some target and whatever you achieve is the result of your performance.  If so, then what is more important in value and worth – performance or achievement?

            To me, the various stages of performance are true source of lasting gratification and delight comparing with joy of achievement that is usually short-timed.

            Each performance comprises actions if done with an intention and reason to reach a certain milestone, to achieve certain goals and to gain some benefits.  But, every action is not a performance like habitual activities.  They are done without a purpose in mind.

            Performance is the result of a plan to accomplish some task.  It is a process of taking steps for doing things in a certain sequence to reach a specific point of satisfaction.  

We can say that performance is a combination of:

• A plan
• Actions in a sequence
• Satisfactory accomplishment
  
  

  

  Image credit: Yogendra Singh - pexels dot com

            So, what if, regardless of all the passionate actions and concentrated efforts, you fail to pull it off?  The definite outcome is disappointment, regret, displeasure and frustration or, in exceptional cases, could be worse.

            Can you, in such a disheartening situation, do something to avoid the blitz of negative thoughts and emotions?  Most people fail to do so and fall victim to tension, depression, self-rejection and remorse.  It is merely because they are not prepared to accept a setback. And thus, they do not equip themselves with the appropriate tools to deal with a failure.

            It is simply a matter of mindset.  If you are a positive thinker, you enjoy every action of yours towards achieving your goals and in case of failure; you do not lose your heart.  You take your failure as a setback like all successful people do.  They know that setbacks are temporary phases to learn from and forget.  They do not let their feet stuck up in the muddy grounds for the rest of their life.  They move ahead to find other ways to reach their next milestone.

            Since the ultimate destiny of performance is the satisfactory accomplishment of the intended job, it is of colossal importance that you keep your thoughts totally focused on enjoying every action, for you definitely get at least two benefits from each step that you take:

• You do not remain stagnant and move ahead depending on the size of your step
• You learn something that you did not know before

            I always suggest and this is the basic theme of Think SUCCEEDED that your ultimate accomplished goal should never skip your mind.  Nonetheless, concentrating on the current moments will certainly enhance not only the quality of your performance but also your chances of success.

            The phase of satisfaction, pleasure and joy of achievement does not last long while you recall the high moments of your struggle and endeavour for a long time.  You love to mention repeatedly, to your family and friends, how you overcame the hurdles and took the challenges.  You feel euphoric in describing your struggle to overcome difficulties and obstacles.

            Do your best to make your performance excellent and exemplary for others to follow and reap the bliss of being appreciated and acclaimed.

How to Succeed - Take Three Big Steps to Your Destiny

Success is a process of applying certain actions to accomplish clearly defined goals. It is a journey marked with challenges, crossing milestones and constantly moving forward. Success itself is not a destiny. Achievement of goals open up new doors to new horizons to be explored and the process continues.

Even a genius cannot clearly define his final destiny in terms of setting and achieving goals. People who are blessed with a thinking mind keep creating new challenges to test their will power, determination, persistence, guts and courage. It runs in their veins like hot blood. They are born with the habit of deep thinking, striving hard to overcome challenges and achieving success.

Does it mean, then, that others cannot achieve success in life? Of course not. As I said success is a process, anybody who has a vision, clearly defined goals and determination can achieve success by inculcating certain actions and habits. Here are three primary and colossal steps towards achieving success in any field of life. These primary steps are reinforced with further additional small steps.

You do not have to be a genius to take these big steps towards achieving your goals. Before further reading the article, please do a little exercise that would definitely energize your heart and mind.

Just find a peaceful place, sit down in a relaxed posture, close your eyes, do some deep breathing, empty your mind of any disturbing thoughts, focus your whole self on a single point of inhaling positive energy through a divine stream and exhale all the negative energy. This is the beginning of your journey towards success. Making it a habit and routine at the start of every day will change the pattern of your thinking and behaviour to reap a huge crop of success.

Now peruse and understand the significance of these three big steps and plan your very personal journey towards your destiny.

1st Big Step - Goals (Pursuit - Journey)

The very first big step towards your destiny is defining your goals clearly. It is a common practice of most of the successful people to write down their goals. The waves of energy emitting from written words keep charging the batteries of your sub-conscious mind and remind you that you have some commitments, with yourself indeed, to fulfill.

By writing down your goals on a paper, you create four types of actions on the slate of your sub-conscious mind:

1. Your mind's general memory records your goals.

2. Your eyes transfer the images of words to create a reminder in a specific portion of your mind.

3. Your hands memorize the words i.e. your goals. 

4. By speaking the words that you write, you also convey a special message to your listening memory.

So, writing your goals is not simply an action of putting the words on a paper. It is, in fact, a process that ultimately reminds and helps you to stand up and move ahead in pursuit of your destiny. An experiment in Yale School of Law proved this truth decades ago.

Remember that every journey always starts with a goal (a destiny in mind). Otherwise it is nothing more than a purposeless wandering in the jungle of oblivion.

2nd Big Step - Motivation (Fire - Obsession)

The initiation of a journey is a positive sign that indicates your determination to achieve your goals but it does not guarantee that you would reach your destiny. You also need fuel and energy to help you continue moving ahead. This energy comes from motivation (or inspiration). Motivation acts like a fire to keep the engine running and further to keep the vehicle of your ambitious drive moving.

People obsessed with their ideas, targets and goals always seek and find motivation through different means e.g. reading biographies of successful people, watching and following them and deep thinking.

They analyze their actions without giving themselves any grace marks or overlooking their mistakes.

3rd Big Step - Action (Challenge - Determination)

Choosing goals and starting a pursuit cannot be marked with success until and unless the most powerful and dominant force of persistent actions is not applied in the process. Actions are encountered with new challenges and challenges could not be tackled without stubborn determination.

Determination is an expression of strength of mind, will power, fortitude, resilience, guts and grit of a person. Actions fully supported with determination are weapons of destruction. Yes, they devastate all the internal and external negative forces trying to hinder your journey towards destiny.

Achievement of goals is not possible without these three big steps which are also the pillars of the mega structure of your success in any field of life.

5 Differences Between a Dream and a Goal

Dreams and goals are generally considered the same in meanings. In reality, they are not. Promote the status of your dreams to goals. Here is the justifiable answer to why you should do that. There are five basic differences between a dream and a goal as follows:

1. A dream is never tagged with any time limit.

You can wait for the rest of your life to see a dream become reality. Dreams, in plain words, are a manifestation of your desires buried deep under the surface of wishful thinking. Every goal is time oriented.

There are time limits to achieve a goal whether individual or collective, financial or academic. Besides tackling other challenges you also have to overcome the nerve-shattering pressure of breaking certain barriers.

2. If you have a dream, you just relax in a comfort zone and wait to see your dream come true some day, by a stroke of luck.

A dream does not instigate much action thinking. Whereas you do not wait for that some day to achieve a goal. You devise a strategy, a plan as to how to accomplish the specific task within given time without waiting for the lady luck to knock at your door.

3. A dream makes you a passive thinker.

Dream itself is the product of inactive thinking. Your conscious mind has no active role in creating a dream. Your goal turns you into an action thinker. It makes you a triathlon athlete. It keeps you hanging on tenterhooks, restless, twitchy and edgy by kindling a constant fire insatiable hunger within you.

4. A dream is whipped with the cream of hypothetical hopes and expectations.

It is like a low-level stream of cool water silently running down the slopes of tranquility pacifying your emotions and enthusiasm. Whereas a goal fuels your passions, obsession and conviction. It has thundering and lightening effect on your thinking and actions. You do not sit idle until and unless the mountain of challenges and difficulties is not scaled.

5. More dreams emanate from a dream and thus expand the circle of inactivity.

Dreams lead you to a habit of fantasizing inertly. They make you a bit lethargic and procrastinator. Goals circulate in your blood like lava and forces you to explode into action like a volcano. They emit positive and violent energy keeping the level of your blood pressure a little higher than normal.