One of the great paradoxes of life is that one's dissatisfaction with self may be the greatest inhibitor of success. If you procrastinate on starting an important objective, your ego suffers. What have you been postponing lately? Is it losing weight, stopping smoking, writing a term paper, starting an exercise program or new hobby, or dealing with a roommmate or problem committee member?
Is will power alone sufficient to combat this insidious habit and get yourself started? It might be, but why take chances when many techniques exist to help you take that first step toward achieving your goals. Create your own formula for success by selecting the most appealing ideas and accepting responsibility for your own personal development and future accomplishments.
Socrates issued the charge, "Know Thyself" Learn as much as you can about yourself and how you respond to the world around you. Everywhere you turn opportunities abound to evaluate yourself intellectually, emotionally, physically or spiritually. Keep in mind Plato's admonition, "The unexamined life is not worth living."
Analyze the reasons you put things off, and commit your analysis to paper. What kind of tasks do you postpone? Who is involved in this procrastination? What role does each person Play? Is the role one of rescuer, nagger, encourager, authority, praiser, empathizer, sympathizer, friendly critic, condemmer or counselor?
This analysis is likely to reveal one or more of your fears or stressors. Many fears are unwarrranted or greatly exaggerated. Ninety percent of what you worry about may never come to pass, and much of this unnecessary stress will be avoided by simply identifying what you're afraid of. Realizing your job wouldn't exist if there were no problems or challenges will help you to conrtrol your anxiety respone to undesirable experiences.
Few challenges are greater than those befalling the student homecoming chair-person. One such individual has been complaining for five months that her committee could break all previous records for innovation and productivity if only her requests for additional funds and access to a computer were granted. Then one day her request is approved, but her operation comes to a standstill. She doesn't know whee to begin; innovations and creative programming seem just out of reach. The extra funding remains untapped, and the computer collects dust.
What's wrong? Fear of failure: Perhaps! She knows that her progress is being monitored by the same individuals who had refused her request all those months. She is petrified with fear that her theory may be disproved. The idea-well has gone dry along with her self-esteem and enthusiasm. Perhaps you have experienced a similar predicament. Could like circumstances diminish your self-confidence, stimulate a desire to get even, or foil your plans for success?
The homecoming chairperson might have been suffering from fear of success, which can be just as debilitating as fear of failure. With success comes more responsiblity, continued high expectations, less time for homework or friends, and maybe even an undesirable promotion. An individual whose performance is curtailed by this phobia is unlikely to confess these fears to self or others. Fear of the unknown does inhibit productivity, but you can control this inclination by offering ongoing, honest communication about your future aspirations to your immediate superior or adviser. You can help others avoid this unnecessary stumbling block by providing regular evaluation, communication enhancing ice breakers, personal development experiences, adequate orientation, and quality meetings where candor is encouraged.
HELPFUL IDEAS
Start an informal "success team" on your campus. Even if your college is small you can find one to five peers for biweekly or monthly discussions on "healthy success" or "success without stress." Human beings are synergistic when they pool their resources - the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Working with others also is recommended because it is difficult to make an objective self-assessment. Alone, one must rely on specific strategies or standardized instruments to reach objective conclusions. Our habits and problems are often invisible to ourselves until revealed through
Copyright
Robert J Libka and PROGRAMMING MAGAZINE, National Association for Campus Activities
Reprint with permission of the author or PROGRAMMING MAGAZINE.
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