Five Keys
to Sustained Achievement
By Dr.
Marjorie Wolter
Anna couldn’t take any more pressure from work. Another deadline
had been plopped onto her calendar marking the completion of a
project she had no idea how it was going to get done, or where to
start. Company politics were easy to handle, straight shooting
boss included. There were many reasons to stay put in her current
job. But, the gears in her brain ground to a halt. A three-foot
thick cement wall would have been less of a barrier to progress.
Why was it that Anna found herself in this situation every time it
seemed success was at her fingertips? She would get momentum going,
only to be jerked to a halt by an unforeseen complication. Thank
goodness the office door was closed because all she could do was put
her head down on the desk just as she had done in grade school to
take a break. Instinctively she took a deep breath and noticed a
copy of the book Secretariat was wedged between her nose, forehead,
and the desktop. “I’m high end corporate. What could a horse have
to with solving my problems? I just finished the book, but this is
ridiculous.” Serendipity had other plans to sooth the intense
businesswoman’s stagnation.
To Anna’s surprise, she began to bond with the great champion’s
character. “That horse loved to run. Nothing took away his need
for speed.” Funny, “whatever it takes” was one of the catch phrases
Anna put to routine use. Within seconds, her brain unlocked, and
she filled an entire page with action steps to expedite the
project’s completion. For the first time, she felt a sense of
mastering a situation without getting sidetracked for hours by
frustration. While writing, she came up with five keys to making
the process repeatable:
1) Metaphors are powerful medicine.
In word and in form, they are symbols that show up in our lives to
teach us. Secretariat represented the passionate adventurer in Anna
she had been ignoring. The athletic thoroughbred was Anna’s guide
to reclaiming her own spirit that was shut down thinking drudgery
was the only way to perform at work. Anna loved what she did, and
it took a champion acting as a metaphor to assist her in seeing that
fact.
2) There’s always another option, generally infinite solutions we
never entertain.
Frustrated, Anna couldn’t see a whole world of solutions that lay
before her. How many times had Anna let herself be stymied seeing
only a roadblock instead of multitudes of possibilities? People
tend to find one or two solutions and stop there rather than
inviting droves of worthwhile outcomes. Anna vowed to take just
five minutes when she felt frenzied to breath deep, calm herself,
and let alternative solutions surface. Five minutes was a small
price to pay for having a life and level of accomplishment she
really wanted.
3) There’s an opportunity in every perceived problem. Anna was looking at her
position as a plight, an attitude not limited to dealing with a
single project deadline. Anna’s habit was to fret over events that
didn’t play out as she originally anticipated instead of unveiling
the promise of living an accomplished life. Secretariat showed up
to expand Anna’s perspective. Thankfully, Anna got the message
finding herself more capable than she ever dreamed of being.
4) Bonding with others being positive is a truly alternative
lifestyle in our current culture,
but it leads to a remarkable existence. Anna knew she was in the
right work environment to support her shift to possibility
thinking. She admired that her company welcomed self-starter
personalities. They didn’t want to baby sit complainers as many of
her previous employers had. All she had to do was embody the
beliefs she had only claimed to rely upon, until today.
5) Serendipity is always on your side.
Logic and seriousness without the balance of humor make the road to
success a struggle. Openness to serendipity’s intervention coming
to your aid bearing gift-wrapped short cuts is a must to enjoy the
journey. Anna had only to recognize the present placed literally
beneath her nose dissolve her frustration.
“If it takes a horse tail to set me straight, then so be it. That’s
actually more fun than reading another business journal. Whatever
it takes.”
Quickly shooting off an email to her boss regarding project
completion, his reply came faster than a lap at the Kentucky Derby.
“Anna, you never cease to amaze me. Just when I think you have
reached the pinnacle of your abilities, you take your skills to the
next level. Our owners set out to put a group of expansive
thinkers and doers together, and you certainly fit that
description. By the way, I’m not sure if you wanted to include your
5 keys to sustained achievement in this correspondence, but I’d like
to print them in our weekly office update. Would that be suitable?
Whatever it takes, James Louis.”
Maybe a little horse sense was appropriate after all.
Read other articles and learn more about
Dr.
Marjorie Wolter.
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