Do you have what it takes to achieve True Success? Part 2

Part 1 was about having the Stamina for the sustained effort needed to achieve true success.

Part 2 is about Mental Fortitude.

Do you have the willpower and attitude to achieve true success?

Everyone’s success journey is different, but every journey will encounter trial and tribulations, bumps and setbacks along the way. Nothing worthwhile comes without effort and achieving success is certainly a worthwhile endeavor.

How well do you handle problems?

Do you have the emotional intelligence and emotional maturity to continue on when faced with adversity?

You have to make the choice to respond to adversity and not just react. Reacting is a knee jerk response. Anyone can and most do just react. The more mature and intelligent choice is to think and then respond.

Responding means that you take the time to understand what has happened and then to evaluate a range of options regarding the best course to move forward. It is not always easy – anger, pain, grief, and/or frustration often get in the way and sometimes you will need to let those emotions play out before actually responding and moving forward.

When my wife passed from her battle with cancer I knew I had to work through a grieving process. I knew it was coming, but I still had to go process my grief and my anger. I made a deal with myself that I would not make any life altering decisions until my head was back in the game. My response was to let myself deal with my emotions and then I would put my life back on track.

I certainly hope no one reading this ever has to go through a similar experience, but my point is that, unfortunately, at one time or another we all have curve balls in life to deal with.

The bigger point is to get you thinking about the difference between reacting and responding. Responding is the more mature and positive path. Reacting is often rash and negative.

Your success journey will no doubt have unexpected twists and turns, but the more solid your plan and the more focused you are on your ultimate goal, the more you can push forward during tough times.

Start working on your mental fortitude now, before you need to draw on it. Make a mental note of what you are thinking when issues crop up at work or at home. Are you kneejerk reacting, or taking time to respond? Work on taking a breath, taking a pause and then deciding on an appropriate, emotionally balanced and intelligent response.

Above all, know that you are worthy of the success you seek, and that you have within you all that you need to achieve it. Have faith that you possess the inner strength you need to move through both the peaks and valleys of your journey.