Arnab Pandey

Sometimes in life when you sit and introspect, and see what is going on around you, you will find various types of people. Different people, various lives, and their varied ways to perceive life. Out of all these different kinds of people, we all have someone like whom we really want to be – that person can be our inspiration, a role model, our mentor, etc. And why do we all want to become like that special person? One reason can be because that person is a winner – professionally or personally, he/she has achieved something – something significant.

I have been recently thinking through this, as to why winners are ‘winners’ after all? We all have the same features, sometimes maybe different access to resources, but if we set a standard or a threshold, we will find that we all are alike. The only difference that makes a winner different from the rest, is his/her ability to do things differently, or to master something which we are not able to.

One very simple approach to take a step closer to become an achiever is to not give up on things that we hate to do. I have interacted with some of the very well-known and respected industry leaders, and when I asked them if they really have something which they don’t like to do in everyday life, they all answered ‘yes’. They hate doing a few things which they would love to have delegated to someone, or would wish did not exist. This did not surprise me, after all they are all human beings. But their answer as to how they tackle these problems is what intrigued me the most. Almost every one of these leaders said that – they try to do what they hate the most, more often. Sometimes even prefer to do these things over what they like to do the most. The logical explanation to this behavior is the fact that when you do what you hate the almost every single day, you become good at it. You develop smart ways and techniques. You discover newer, more efficient ways to do the same job in less time, and you eventually master the segment.

Inspiring, isn’t it? Master the art of doing the thing you hate the most. There is no greater satisfaction than being the best at what you felt you were challenged. It gives you a sense of achievement and a purpose to do much more difficult and challenging jobs. Also, a more perceivable trait of a winner is the sense of belongingness, and responsibility. If you feel that you are responsible towards something, for example your job, you develop a sense of urgency to learn what you don’t know or don’t like. Responsibility, and the act to own your actions and results should drive you to do whatever you can to get some value out of everything you intend to do.

So, two behavior/habit that you should try to inculcate in yourself in order to differentiate yourself from the rest of the crowd and to become an achiever are:

• You have to start to love what you hate the most, and keep on doing it until you achieve mastery over it.
• Start owning your actions and the subsequent results. You have to be responsible and develop a sense of belongingness towards what you do.

Start small, scale fast, and see what difference these two traits can bring in to your life.