We all know people who appear to breeze through life, happily moving from one triumph to the next. On the other hand, we know others who never quite make it, and always have an answer why life has dealt them a hard blow. Society is made up of victors and victims, and the difference can very often be boiled down to one key factor – attitude.
It’s essential when moving into a new career direction to adopt the habits of the victor to achieve the right outcome. Victims attempt actions over-cautiously, hoping for good things, but never really feeling they’re worthy of great things. The victors mentally commit to a successful outcome, and support their actions with emotion.
Take two tennis players about to play for a championship. One says “It’s my last chance – I’ll give it my best shot,” but the other says “Winning is my destiny.” No prizes for guessing who’ll win the tournament. They may both put in the same hours, but the victor spends more time on his mental training to win.
The victim is defined by the word BED – one who stays in bed and gives up. The victor is defined by the word OAR – a figure paddling towards success. BED = Blame, Excuses and Denial. OAR = Ownership, Accountability and Responsibility.
The victor takes responsibility for his or her tasks, and doesn’t hope for someone else to lead the way. He’s accountable for his actions, so takes them seriously, and sees things through by tackling problems not creating them. He doesn’t take excuses from himself and is responsible for the outcome of his actions.
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.
To stack the odds in their favour, a mental work-out may be needed for some students approaching a life-changing training program. Anyone who’s a fully paid up member of the victim society must address their issues before they get going, to fully embrace the potential in front of them.
Both sets of attitudes are just habits, and with constant repetition, habits can be changed. Listen to the voice inside your head – if it sounds like a victim, then stop it and verbalise why you can achieve. No one is any better than you – some have just fought their demons and emerged victorious.
As Churchill said, “There is no such thing as a hero, only those who rise to the occasion.” In learning as in life, we need to have the attitude of a winner in order to become a winner.
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