You don’t have to be right in your first try but you don’t know you are right if you don’t try.
Success is not perfection and getting it all right at the first try.
Success is action.
Over the last 7 days, I was with 24 people both in Singapore and Hong Kong at the REFRAME Masterclasses.
And we learned, shared, discussed, struggled and reflected on who we are at our very best when we are truly in our element, and what we would do with all those significant moments of self discovery.
Do we act on it, sit on it or squander it?
Significant Moments
Have you ever had significant moments in your life that grabbed your heart and made you pause and wonder, what could have happened if you had actually acted on all those things?
Are you where you are now because you did? Or are you where you are now because you didn’t? And is this where you want to be?
Success is action and not perfection.
There are moments in our lives that we see a version of ourselves that spring forth a desire in us to do something to become that version that we see.
So very naturally, we think about it, mull over it, dream about it, got excited over it, plan for it … and then in many instances, sat on it.
Nothing happened?
Why?
Because we could not see the guarantee of success in what we are about to do. The possibility of failure is high. Who am I to do this? I am not good enough. Next time. The plan is not perfect proof.
And because of that, we did nothing. And there goes another significant moment in our lives. A breakthrough thought, a window of opportunity or a connection that is squandered, lost and forgotten.
Stopping Moments
I have squandered and forgotten many many significant moments in my life. I wish I could get all them back. But for some, they are lost forever.
I have failed in many endeavors. I have struggled. I have have been rejected. I have been excluded. I have been stumped by the things I can’t do to get to the things I want to do. I don’t have the pedigree. I don’t have friends who will help me …
Everything that has ever stopped you from becoming the person you want to be or from achieving the things you dream of doing … well … they have also stopped me before. Many times even before I started doing anything!
Reframing Success
But nowadays, it is different and they are stopping me less. Why? Because I have learnt something that has become the most powerful driver in my life.
I no longer see success as perfection or completion.
I see success as ACTION!
So I say to myself, TRY!
It matters less to me now whether I make it or not? But it matters a whole lot more that I act on what I have been thinking, feeling and wanting to achieve.
Action: TRY
So don’t just think, plan so as to do it perfectly. Think, plan and go ahead and try.
Think and plan all you want but be smart and go TRY something without burning your house down! Get off your head! Get off your butt!
And if you are right, try more. And if you are wrong, then try something else! You will learn from your experience and I promise you, you will be enriched and better off because of it.
So if you are wondering if you should go test out something … STOP wondering, START trying.
Go have that coffee with that friend and test out the idea! Sign up and get on the course you have been thinking about! Go volunteer with that organization or your company that lets you test out what you want to do!
Go … !
Then ask, how did it go, how was it? What should you keep doing? What could you change? Or what would you discard?
Listen.
You don’t have to be right in your first try but you don’t know you are right if you don’t ever try.
So go ahead. Try something.
Success is action.
Kim Pong is the CEO and Founder of StrengthsAsia, Creator of the REFRAME MasterClass and the first 20 Gallup Certified Strengths Coaches in the world. He is based in Singapore and works with organizations in Asia in creating an engaged workplace culture for leaders, managers and executives to thrive.