Consistency & Flexibility: Success & "Happiness"​ Solved.

Success and happiness are probably the two most sought after things/states in our society these days. There is no shortage of books, podcasts, videos etc on how to achieve these elusive goals. With all of these resources come a lot of confusion that often leaves us more confused and frustrated than when we started.

My aim with this short article is to distill what I believe to be the basic building blocks of Success and "Happiness". The themes are heavily influenced by the works of Cal Newport, Malcolm Gladwell, Brett McKay and Simon Sinek (do yourself a favour and familiarize yourself with their work).

Let's start with "Success". First of all, we all need to define our own measure of success. Is it money, status, how much weight you can squat or how far you can drive a golf ball? Everybody's measure is different and doesn't necessarily need to be career oriented.

Talent aside (which, at best is a accelerator in most cases), CONSISTENCY is the critical factor in getting to that measure of success (you could argue that the true success is actually found in the process). Having the discipline to get up every day and do something you may not really feel like doing over and over again is what keeps things moving forward and accumulates those small incremental wins. Caution: Make sure that your "consistency" is thought through and effective. Nobody wants to waste time doing the wrong thing over and over. Effective programming in barbell training has really made this apparent to me. By building a framework of exercises and progression in weight and reps I can easily measure my incremental successes (consistently making effective Value Propositions to customers would be a good example for a sales person). This transfers to virtually anything else where there is a "current state" and a "desired state". Sales, leadership, music, fitness etc.

Time to unpack "Happiness". I think as with "Success" it helps to define what "Happiness" really is. I subscribe to "Fulfillment" as my version of "Happiness". Some would argue that they are different but I figure that at the end of the day, if I feel as if I had accomplished something, even if I was "less than smiley" in the process, I feel good (fulfilled) and thus "Happy".

This is where "Flexibility" comes into the equation. I have been fortunate in my career to have the opportunity to take on different rolls (many in the form of "stretch assignments") within the organisation. At first, I felt frustrated with the lack of stability/routine but I soon realized that I was learning far more than I would have under "normal" circumstances (some rolls included being a SME-Subject Matter Expert). I get to be part of different projects and see my influence on others successes (very Fulfilling). Not to mention that my professional network was exploding and my value to the organisation at the same time!

I want to stress that being Flexible is not the same as being weak and easy to manipulate. The key is to know when to stand firm and when to be flexible (we never want to be taken advantage of). A good way to think of this is if you have ever ordered "your regular" at a restaurant and the server accidentally brought the wrong dish. Many would immediately send is back and demand what they ordered. On occasion, it is worthwhile to accept what was brought out. You will be less angry and you may just discover your next "favourite"! - (Road Less Travelled kind of thing)...

Being Flexible exposes us to new situations, environments and learning opportunities. All of this increases our Value to our organisations and industries. It also gives us options as our careers progress which can equate to "Freedom" which is often closely associated with "Happiness". Imaging how "Fulfilling" it could be when you have the "Freedom of Options" and how much "Happiness" would result!

In conclusion, instead of worrying about your level of "Passion" and how that relates to Success and Happiness (or Fulfillment) in your work, try to focus on being Consistent and Flexible. This shift in mindset can presents a lot of new opportunities and prepares us to take advantage of them. Hard not to feel Successful and Happy...