We all have an idilic idea of where we want to be, who we want to be, and the life we want to live. What many are failing to realize is the arduous road filled with long hours and many a sacrifice, that has to be walked if our dream is going to be realized.
The dream may be sexy, but the true value lies in the journey. It’s in the journey that we create toughness, resilience, and character. It’s where we learn the value of a dollar, how to rise above our circumstances, and take care of our kin.
As our “profiles” become our story, instant gratification and vanity are replacing the most valuable gift we’re given; the right to earn.
5 Boring Characteristics Needed for Success
[Tweet “”Image isn’t everything. Character is.””]
Let your peers toil on Facebook in an endless attempt to show the world the ease of their lives, while you work. While you’re developing character that will bring you the success you crave, success that always exists at the end of a tough road, where the one who lasts is rewarded with riches, let them spend what they don’t have in an effort to please people they don’t like.
These 5 boring characteristics will bring you more happiness and meaning than any premature vacation ever can.
Consistency
Consistency is one of the least sexy characteristics a person can possess. In today’s society it’s even avoided. Spontaneity is king. Uncertainty is what we want because uncertainty is exciting.
We don’t want to know what we’re doing today, because if we know exactly how our days go, what’s there to look forward to?
Here’s the thing, anyone who’s ever had a mission in life worth working for understands that it’s consistency in their work that will help them create breakthroughs. It’s the consistency of our habits that will make or break our lives.
Consistency leads to creation creation.
If you consistently and persistently work towards a goal, you will outlast your failure. Failure is not only temporary, but it’s how we learn. Those who outlast their mini-failures will see success.
What to do: create consistency in your routine and daily life. If you have an audacious goal you’re working towards, work towards it everyday. Don’t take a day off.
Discipline
It’s discipline that makes dreams and audacious goals come true. In fact, nothing of value, be it a great body, or earning a million dollars, is possible without discipline.
The act of discipline is alone makes you a stronger, tougher, more resilient person.
Teddy Roosevelt probably said it best…
The one quality which sets one man apart from another – the key which lifts one to every aspiration while others are caught up in the mire of mediocrity – is not talent, formal education, nor intellectual brightness – it is self-discipline.
With self-discipline, all things are possible. Without it, even the simplest goal can seem like the impossible dream.
What to do: be aware of what helps you and what hinders you. Work diligently on avoiding and removing those things that hurt you from your life.
Humility
Confidence, as it should be, is praised. Everyone needs confidence to be able to attempt the things that make them happy, but humility is just as valuable. It’s humility that helps you work harder because you’re aware of the work you still have to do.
It’s humility that keeps you learning, and arrogance that shuts your mind, and slows your evolution.
What to do: You aren’t perfect, nor will you ever be. Remain aware of where you come from, but also how far you’ve come up to this point, and how much further you still have to go.
Frugality
Instant gratification is becoming the way of the world. Our governments spend what they don’t have, just like we spend, buy, and vacation before we’ve earned what we want. Not surprisingly debt has never been higher.
[Tweet ““Don’t buy things for yourself, invest in yourself.””]
Too many are buying things in an effort to feel better about themselves. This feeling never lasts, however. If you instead invest in yourself, your business, and your personal growth, you’re going to improve, evolve, and expand. You’re going to improve.
What to do: Save your money. Don’t buy things you can’t afford, and don’t spend money on things, when you can invest money on your own future.
Ignorance
Ah, ignorance. So far as I’ve seen, it’s those who are ignorant of what can be done and what can’t, who usually do the things that others said can never be done.
You need a healthy dose of ignorance if you’re going to accomplish something great.
Napoleon Bonaparte was ignorant. As was Teddy Roosevelt. As was Robert E. Lee. Sure, they had humility, they worked hard, but they set out to do what others thought was impossible. And that’s a characteristic to be admired.
What to do: don’t deem something impossible simply because you, or someone else, has never done it before. And always be ignorant enough to do things even you think are impossible.
Combine the characteristics already mentioned, with ignorance as to what can and can’t be accomplished, and you’re well on your way to leaving a lasting imprint on this planet.
