Lessons from PSYCHOLOGY OF SUCCESS (ALISON PRICE/ DAVID PRICE)

It is important to

·         Set the right goals in the first place.

·         Achieve those goals, focusing on the benefits of ultimate achievement.

·         Enjoy the process working towards achieving those goals.

·         Have sound psychological principles, with a sprinkle of inspiration, to assist you in bringing your hopes and dreams to fruition.

The book, The Psychology of Success, looks at why one should put effort into achieving success, and what will get you fired up to take action.

First of all a small exercise to set the priorities right;

1. On a piece of paper, draw a rectangle with 8 squares in it, like the one above.

2. Assume that the boxes represent a person’s life expectancy of 80 years. Each box therefore represents 10

years.

3. Shade the number of years that you have already lived (e.g. if you are 40, shade in 4 squares).

4. Now shade off a third of the remainder – this represents the sleeping you are yet to do.

5. Next, shade off 50% of the remainder, as our research derived from the UK’s Office of National Statistics Time Use Survey (2005) shows that on average we spend:

•          5 years of our lives eating and drinking (6.25% of our lives)

•          8 years doing household chores (10% of our lives)

•          10 years working and studying (12.5% of our lives)

•          2 years spent on personal care (2.5% of our lives)

•          5 years commuting and travelling (6.25% of our lives)

•          9 years watching television (11.25% of our lives)

•          1 year spent on meetings (1.25% of our lives)

6. Finally, think of anything else in the daily grind that takes up your time that hasn’t already been accounted for above. Shade away.

Consider your reaction to this exercise. How do you feel now? What have you learned about your time and your priorities? Do comment in the comments section.