How To... Crack The Success Code

Who Doesn’t Want To Wake Up To The Sweet Smell Of Success? But First You Have To Get Out Of Your Comfort Zone…

- Nolwazi Dhlamini

Whether you want to grow your side hustle into a lucrative business, study further or become healthier, it takes hard work. ‘The truth about breakthroughs is that they do happen, but not out of thin air. Like crops, they’re planted, cultivated and ultimately harvested,’ says Natalie Rabson, educational and career expert from Boston City Campus & Business College. ‘While achievers in different areas – academics, career, sport, business and others – may appear to have overnight success, their accomplishments are most often based on the accumulative impact of continuous effort which pushes them outside their comfort zone. Our comfort zone is that happy place where we feel safe and unchallenged with our routines and other familiar factors.’ Operating in this space, she adds, leads to unchanged performance or competency. ‘On the other hand, setting impossible goals with ridiculous timeframes can result in under-achievement or burnout from pushing too hard.’

Natalie offers advice which can be used in any field or situation.

NOW VS LATER: WHERE DO YOU WANT TO BE?

Compare your current situation with where you want to be. ‘As a working mom, your days are spent doing school runs, preparing supper, running a home, and maintaining family and social relationships. While your family comes first, you need to make yourself a priority as well in order to achieve your goal,’ says Natalie. She suggests taking the following steps:

1Write down the goal you want to achieve.

2 List the obstacles between where you are and where you want to be. Then work out and write down the steps needed to overcome each obstacle. Remember, you don’t need to know everything in advance – some of the solutions will unfold along the way.