You hear all kinds of advice about what to do when things go wrong, but has anyone ever told you what to do when things go right?
Living with Challenges
The challenges can be long and arduous, taking you into a new normal in which you simply live with them. They are your day-to-day, your life. You know you want to overcome these challenges, but the struggle is so ongoing that you accept them, at least for the short term. You don’t think about what to do when things go right, because you’re dealing with the opposite.
In coaching, there’s lots of talk about new perspectives to overcome challenges. You work hard to find solutions and coaches work to help dig those solutions out of you. Ultimately, with effort, you eventually succeed in achieving your goals large or small, and celebrate those wins. But are you missing something?
Surprise Success
Sometimes success comes without expectation. We may not see it coming or have enough hope to think it could arrive. Yet, when that happens, what can we do to capitalize on that moment? Case in point…
A friend is the director of a multi-location daycare center. She’s been struggling for ten years to get the centers fully staffed.
Recently, she exclaimed to her friends, “One center is fully staffed!!”
She was naturally elated for even one location to succeed, but stumped when asked, “How’d you do it?”
You see, it’s in these moments too, when things go right, that you need to examine what happened. The director mentioned above took a bit to think back on her efforts.
How can you think about your success and make the absolute most of it?
Winning with Your Win
Imagine you’re playing a video game, any childhood or current video game in which you had a challenge you were determined to overcome. How often did you play that level? Did you eventually succeed? If you did it unexpectedly, you’ll know where this is going, because you immediately asked yourself, “How did I do it?”
When things go right, dedicated gamers will remember going back and trying to repeat their success to make sure it wasn’t just lucky. It’s not unlike real life.
What Happened?
To analyze when things go right, you need to start asking yourself what happened.
Was it the right time or place? Who was involved? What occurred in that moment? Was it eventual or was there a catalyst? What part did you play?
For the director, she simply hired enough staff. For the game, you simply kept shooting or jumping and finally got through that level.
But there’s more to it than that. You did the same thing over and over again but this time it worked.
Now, you need to ask how?
How Did It Happen?
Details matter. Sometimes, details are everything. The director hired the right staff, but how? You shot and jumped at the right times in the game, but how?
When things go right, you acknowledge they went right by answering what happened. If you want to repeat your success, like the director with her other locations, you need to ask how it happened.
Who did you hire? Where did you post to find them? What made them stay? What’s making your previous staff stay? Why are they satisfied? (Hint: This is a great time for a staff survey.)
Ask lots of questions. Dig deep. This is a success, so be interested and find out more. Over time, you’ll want to have this success again, and again, and again. So, when you’ve got all the details, you’ll want to ask one more question.
Can It Be Repeated?
You haven’t really found the trick to beating that level if you can’t do it again. Otherwise, you just got lucky.
So, can you repeat that success? Were you just lucky to find the right hires? The best way to find out is to do it again. Jump back into the fray armed with answers to all the above questions and see if you can repeat what went right.
If it doesn’t work, re-ask all the questions to see what changed. Rinse, repeat. It might be trial and error. Life is about learning. When things go right, that boost of confidence is sometimes all we need to learn a more steady path to success.
Enduring Success
This writing mentions two scenarios, but this can applied to so much more. If you want to find success and make it last, if you want to know how to repeat results when things go right, apply these questions to all areas of your life.
You got to work on time – great! What was different today? Was traffic different or did you drive a different route? Did you sleep better?
You nailed that interview – awesome! How did you answer questions? Were you relaxed? Had you eaten that morning?
You got along with a coworker – good to hear! Was their demeanor different? Was yours? Did you find common ground? Were you listening more than talking?
You managed your emotions during a difficult call – excellent! Did you use a grounding technique? Did you step away when able to decompress? Did you focus on the task? Did you plan to speak with someone after? Did you plan to speak with someone after? (Not a typo folks.)
Small wins mean big opportunities for bigger wins. So, when we analyze when things go right, we can find a clearer road to more success.
Look back on your past success right now, whether you flipped a perfect pancake or landed a perfect job. What happened? Dig deep. Can you do it again?
Want to Connect to Learn More?
We’d love to help you with this here at FRC! Reach out to a coach and let us help you find out what went right.
You can also simply celebrate your successes in our Facebook Community!