Essential Habits for Success

Success has a structure that can be learned. Habits affect our results over long periods of time and play an important role in people’s lives. Positive habits are far more beneficial than bad habits. New beneficial habits can be established by developing new efficient behavioral patterns and abandoning old inefficient, self-defeating ones. The basic habits listed below are essential for survival and success.

Smile and Communicate

Many young people prefer to keep their thoughts to themselves and not to share their ideas. Maybe this habit was inherited from previous generations. If their ideas and plans are not realistic, they often keep moving in the wrong direction. People often learn from other people faster than from a book. Ask more experienced people about their lives and activities. Ask, listen and learn. Smiling helps you to communicate because it shows other people you are friendly.

Set Objectives and Priorities

Neither the state nor the company you work for looks after you these days. You have to organize your own life. You have to set your own objectives and then you have to give them priorities. Think about the ways to achieve your goal. When people have a lot of things to do, they usually get confused about what to do first. Set priorities. Ask yourself, what is the most important task? What is the second most important etc? People who fail to set priorities often subconsciously switch to doing easy but unimportant things first. Even with clear objectives and a well-thought out plan, people do not accomplish everything they wanted to, but without a plan you will achieve very little at all.

Planning Ahead

Successful people plan their activities. Start by planning the next day - do not put planning off until the next week etc. What are you going to do tomorrow, and when? How will you achieve the best results? Preferably write down your plan, so you will not forget important tasks, appointments etc. It is also easier to divide your time between different tasks when you have your plan on paper. At the end of the day think back and ask yourself if you have achieved your objectives and what you could have done better. It will give you vital experience for better planning in the future. When you develop the habit of planning for one day ahead then get used to planning for 2 or 3 days etc and think long-term. Many western people think over their plans well in advance, plan weeks ahead and business people plan months or even years ahead.

Remain Flexible and Have a Back Up Plan

Sometimes circumstances change in the middle of accomplishing your plans. Be flexible - learn to correct and adapt or adjust your plan depending on the circumstances. Try to learn to foresee possible unexpected factors. If a person relies 100% on one plan, without a back up plan, and the plan fails he or she usually feels almost as if they have to start all over again. Do not put all your eggs in one basket - have a ‘back up’ plan or ‘plan B’.

Develop a Habit to be On Time

In business, people are expected to be on time. If a person is regularly late for his job he will be fired. Always aim to be slightly early. If a person is often late, it creates the impression that he is unreliable. Employers, customers and business partners don’t want to deal with unreliable individuals.

Develop a Habit of Taking Notes

Many young people don’t take notes and don’t have a habit of taking notes. It is difficult for a person to manage a busy life without taking notes. If you only have one or two things to do, you can keep them in your head. If you have ten or more things to do it is impossible to keep them in your head. People who do not take notes often forget about important things and end up doing unimportant but easy things first.

Think Independently

Learn from others, but also think how to do things better than others. Do not accept what you are told without thinking about it. Develop the habit of questioning everything. Think how to become more efficient and improve the quality of your work. Most Western employers welcome constructive suggestions.

Deal with Problems

We all have problems. Instead of being upset because of your problems, think how you can improve the situation and what you have to do first. Some problems you may have to live with but for most of them you can find a solution. Try not to let mood swings get in your way. Set objectives, priorities, develop plans and implement them step-by-step.

Keep Adapting to The 3 ‘C’

The three ‘C’s are ‘change,’ ‘complexity’ and ‘competition.’ The three ‘C’s (accelerating change, rising complexity, increasing competition) will affect and dominate our lives in the 21st century. Don’t wait until change occurs and then start thinking how to react. Be proactive! Stay ahead of the change by keeping well-informed through self-education, attending seminars and networking – communicating more with those who are on the cutting edge of modern technologies.

Welcome Constructive Suggestions

Many young people are very sensitive to criticism and at times react to it somewhat irrationally as if it is a personal attack. Constructive criticism is helpful to you. Unconstructive, in this sense, means it is not helpful and probably just rude or insulting. It is important to learn to see the difference. If someone tells you: ‘You can get a better job or get promoted if you improve your English’ or ‘You can achieve more if you plan your schedule better‘ or ‘You are late and we have all been waiting for you’ then that is probably constructive and may bear truth. Instead of being offended, make an effort to isolate and get rid of the bad habit. Think how to solve the problem. Ask your friends and maybe colleagues for advice.

Deal with Failure and Learn From It

We all fail at times. Sometimes plans do not work out. Always have back up plans - alternatives in case your main plan does not work out. Do not waste time being upset. Successful people don’t make a tragedy of a failure – they consider a failure as a lesson. Pull yourself together and try again or switch to a plan B or C and try something else. Fear of failure often prevents people from doing their best. Try to do your best. Generally: ‘The harder you work, the luckier you will get’. People who do not try anything do not fail in the short-term, but they do not succeed in anything either and eventually lose out badly. If you try many different things some will probably fail but others will succeed. Learn from failures and with experience you will learn to plan better and succeed most of the time. Make a failure pave your way to success.

Keep Learning and Developing New Useful Skills

The world is changing fast and old skills soon become outdated and obsolete. In today’s world, people need to keep on updating their skills and learning new ones. Computers have changed the business environment a great deal and now almost everyone must have at least basic computer skills to hold a job. The more and better skills you have, the easier it will be for you to get a good job. Foreign languages, especially English, are very important. Many companies nowadays do business with the rest of the world in some way, including Western Europe, America, China and Japan. For example, develop a habit of expanding your vocabulary, taking a nice walk, instead of taking an overcrowded bus or going by car. Using modern technology increases productivity and helps to find important information quickly. The habit of learning and developing new skills is crucial for survival in the market economy and for success.


Summary

So, to be successful:
*  Smile and communicate
*  Set objectives and priorities
*  Plan ahead
*  Remain flexible and have a back up plan
*  Develop a habit to be on time
*  Develop a habit to take notes
*  Think independently
*  Deal with problems
*  Keep adapting to change, complexity, and competition
*  Welcome constructive suggestions
*  Deal with failure and learn from it
*  Keep learning and developing new useful skills


Vocabulary

essential  -  существенный
habit  -  привычка
to affect  -  влиять, воздействовать
to abandon  -  оставлять
inefficient  -  неэффективный
self-defeating  -  обреченный на провал
defeat  -  поражение
to list  -  приводить (в списке)
survival  -  выживание
to share  -  делиться
to inherit  -  унаследовать
generation  -  поколение
experienced  -  опытный
objective  -  цель (в бизнесе)
to set objectives  -  ставить цели
priority  -  приоритет
to look after  -  заботиться
to achieve  -  достигать
goal  -  цель
to get confused  -  ‘не знать за что хвататься’
to fail  -  терпеть поражение
subconsciously  -  подсознательно
to switch  -  переключаться
even  -  даже
well-thought out  -  продуманный
to accomplish  -  достигать
to put off  -  откладывать
preferably  -  предпочтительно
appointment  -  назначенная деловая встреча
to divide  -  делить
to think back  -  мысленно возвращаться назад
vital  -  жизненно важный
experience  -  опыт
to get used  -  привыкать
to think over  -  обдумывать
in advance  -  наперед
to remain  -  оставаться
flexible  -  гибкий
back up  -  запасной
circumstances  -  обстоятельства
middle  -  середина
to accomplish  -  достигать
to adapt  -  адоптировать
to adjust  -  приспосабливать
depending  -  в зависимости
to foresee  -  предвидеть
unexpected  -  неожиданный
to rely  -  полагаться
to expect  -  ожидать
to be late  -  опаздывать
to be fired  -  быть уволенным
to aim  -  целиться
slightly  -  слегка
impression  -  впечатление
unreliable  -  ненадежный
employer  -  работодатель
customer  -  заказчик
to deal  -  иметь дело
to take note  -  делать заметки
difficult  -  сложный
to manage  -  справляться
to accept  -  принимать
to develop  -  развивать
to question  -  подвергать сомнению
efficient  -  эффективный
to improve  -  улучшать
quality  -  качество
to welcome  -  приветствовать
constructive suggestion  -  конструктивное предложение
instead  -  вместо
upset  -  расстроенный
to live with  -  смириться
solution  -  решение
to let  -  позволять
mood swings  -  перепады настроения
to implement  -  реализовывать
step-by-step  -  шаг за шагом
complexity  -  сложность
to accelerate  -  ускоряться
to occur  -  случаться, происходить
Be proactive!  -  Действуй, предвосхищая события!
to attend  -  посещать
networking  -  установление и поддержание (деловых) контактов; нетвокинг
to be on the cutting edge  -  быть на передовом крае
to welcome criticism  -  приветствовать критику
to  be sensitive to criticism  -  болезненно воспринимать критику
irrationally  -  не рациональный
probably  -  вероятно
rude  -  грубый
insulting  -  оскорбительный
schedule  -  расписание
case  -  случай
instead  -  вместо
offended  -  обиженный
to make an effort  -  предпринять усилие
to isolate  -  локализовать (ошибку)
to get rid (of)  -  избавляться
failure  -  поражение
to work out  -  срабатывать
upset  -  расстроенный
to consider  -  рассматривать
Pull yourself together!  -  Соберись!
to switch  -  переключаться
to prevent  -  не позволять
generally  -  в целом
to succeed  -  достигать успеха
eventually  -  в конечном счете
to pave  -  мостить
outdated  -  устаревший
obsolete  -  устарелый, вышедший из употребления
business environment  -  деловая среда
a great deal  -  существенно
at least  -  как минимум
especially  -  в особенности
rest  -  остальной
including  -  включая
overcrowded  -  переполненный (людьми)
to increase  -  увеличивать
productivity  -  производительность
crucial  -  решающий

Alex Kritskiy, a private English teacher, Ph.D., 38-067-391-76-62