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In today’s fast-paced life,
the wins usually go to those with exceptional skills and abilities. The old
quote is true, “The race is not always won by the swift and the strong, but
that is the way to bet.” With this in mind, and with your desire to
become increasingly successful, here are some ways to accelerate your abilities,
thus enabling you to achieve greater and greater things. Become
dissatisfied with your current state. Growth for
growth’s sake is good. Those who will achieve much are those who say to
themselves, “I want to grow. I want to be better. And I am willing to do what
it takes to get there. This current state is not enough!” This dissatisfaction
will create for you an insatiable drive to do what it takes to get your
abilities to the next level. Visualize
the benefits of increased abilities. Put them at the
forefront of your mind. This will saturate your mind with the motivation that it
will take for you to do what it takes to increase your abilities. What good will
come out of my increased ability? How will I be better off as well as the others
around me? The answers to these questions act as the carrot before the horse,
moving you forward. Understand your weaknesses. If you want to improve, one of the best ways is to start with some area that you aren’t particularly good at. This is the “shoring up method.” Sometimes it is easier to improve something you aren’t good at that something you are. And the gains will still look great for your overall situation! Take some time to consider what areas you are weakest in and focus in on them for a while. The results will obviously be much more pronounced than getting better at something you have already somewhat mastered. Attempt greater levels of what you are
already good at. Another tact to take would be to stretch yourself in an area
that you already have some skill and ability in. What areas do you excel in? Now
understand that when you leave the weaker areas weak and make extraordinary
gains in one area, then you will be moving more toward “specialist” rather
than “generalist.” That is okay, but needs to fit in with your overall
goals. Commit
time each day to improvement. Steady improvement is
the way to go. In fact, you may not see improvement for days or weeks. You may
feel like you are failing each time. But alas, eventually you will get it and
your skill will increase to the next level. The key is day in, day out, spending
time working on improving. Even five minutes a day equals a half hour a week, 2
hours a month. That adds up! Remember, Practice, practice, practice. Seek
out and spend time with someone who has greater ability than you.
One of the best things to do to increase your ability is hang out with people
who are already more skilled than you. Watching, them, studying them,
interacting with them, even competing with them will make you better. As in
sports, to improve, you play with people better than you, not worse. They will
raise you to a new level. Who around you can you get involved with who will help
you with your ability? Take a class or hire a coach. Go to school my friend. Take a course at a local college or vocational institute. Take a class online. Hire one of the many coaches available today. Pick a specific skill you would like to improve upon and find someone who is a specialist in that area. At the very least, pick up some audio or videotapes to help you grow. Be the tortoise, not the hare. Slow but
sure. Take your time, do it right. Keep going in the right direction. Learn your
craft correctly. Don’t
give up quality for speed. The whole idea of
acceleration is this way:
Luckily life isn’t a sprint but a marathon! January 2002 Issue |
