You Have Made Your First Big Achievement, Beware Of This Common Setback

You have worked for long hours, you have shed blood and tears. And you have made your first big achievement. You are happy. In fact, you want to host a party to celebrate it.

It is a good development. It is a development that anybody yearning for their first break wants desperately. But you must be careful about this new achievement.

Because even though you are happy you made your first achievement, it is still the beginning of the journey. It is a little milestone compared to your big dreams.

Many people set big dreams but they become complacent when they make their first big achievement. They revel in the adulation showered on them by their co-workers or their clients or even their customers.

Businessman Andy Grove said: “success breeds complacency. Complacency breeds failure. Only the paranoid survive.”

The adrenaline flow that accompanies their first achievement make them satisfied. There is nothing wrong about being satisfied about the achievement itself. The problem rears its ugly face when you become satisfied with your new status in your field.

There are many examples of people who become satisfied after making a big achievement in their field. Most of the things they produced after this big achievement pales in comparison to the big achievement. There are many musicians who only had a single hit before their journey back into obscurity.

It is difficult to maintain the drive that led to your big achievement. Maybe you have gotten most of the things you wanted after your first achievement.

You wanted money, or fame, or respect. And you got all of them in your first big achievement. In fact, you have been touted as the next best thing in your field.

You are the next Michael Jordan of your field. You are elated that you must be very excellent and you settle into complacency.

You may really be the next Michael Jordan of your field. It is however only a potential. It is a mirage that deceive many into the shackles of complacency.

Let us consider basketball. How many ‘next Michael Jordans’ in basketball in the past 20 years actually came close to the level of Michael Jordan? Very few.

One thing you cannot deny is that most of the players given that label were actually very good when they began their career. Many probably had similar statistics to Michael Jordan when he was young.

But many begin to tail off when they make their first big achievement. For some, making it into a big NBA team was their dream. They begin to tail off after making that achievement.

Many after being exposed to a lot of money become careless about their craft. They hide under their first achievement and the potential for the future.

Let me tell you one truth that you probably already know: the world is a ruthless and unfair place. If your big achievement becomes your shelter, it is unable to protect you after a period of time.

The people who praised you are the same people who will be fast to say they were misled by your first achievement. It must surely have been a fluke.

Yes. Fluke. If you fail to build more achievements on your first big achievement, the big achievement is quickly labelled as a fluke.

No matter how big your first achievement is, the expectation of people who praise you is that you continue making those achievements consistently.

Complacency is an enemy of consistency. If you make a single achievement and rest on it or slumber, your reputation takes a hit.

Who did you become while making your big achievement? You must continue to be that person. Maybe you have an illusion that after your first big break, everything becomes easy. Unlike before your achievement.

This belief is at best untrue. If you have reached a level, it is hard work to maintain that level and only more hard work will lead you to greater height in your career. You must always seek to deliver the achievements.

Why do lottery winners usually go broke? In fact, a study has shown that lottery winners are more likely to declare bankruptcy within three to five years than the average American.

Most people when they win the lottery are unprepared for that huge amount of money. Because the person that won the money is incapable of controlling such huge amount of money.

That is why it is said that when you become a rich man or a successful man, the most important benefit is not the money or the success but the person you become while achieving it.

The person you have become before your first achievement is someone who shed tears and blood. Making relaxation on the beach your new hobby takes you back to the abyss of failure.

Continual struggle is the next line of action. This is what builds trust and respect from your clients, fans and co-workers.

What next after your first big achievement?

Set a new goal

The best time to set a new bigger goal is after you have just made a big achievement.

You have a lot of confidence in your ability because that is what your big achievement gives you. Setting another goal also put your brain to task on your next task.

Your big achievement is good but it is now history. What are you going to do next? If you hope to be a leader in your field, one way is to be a consistent performer.

The easiest time to become complacent is after a big achievement. Because you have succeeded right? Maybe. But success is a journey in itself and not a destination.

Success is a continuous journey and it is vital that you continue in that journey even after your first achievement.

There are already many achievements in the world labelled flukes. You must be careful to avoid becoming the next fluke.

Let your first big achievement push you into more achievements, not lull you into a false sense of security and invincibility.

Never forget how you made your first achievement

When you make your first achievement, the hype that comes your way may deviate from what led to your success in the first place.

For instance, after working your ass off to make your first achievement, someone may call you a natural. They may praise you as someone who can do your job effortlessly. This may make you feel that it is only natural that you will get to the next level.

In an interview of Ryan Holiday, author of Ego Is The Enemy, by Forbes, he said: “Because we overestimate our abilities, because we become consumed with ourselves, we end up subjecting ourselves not just to the inevitable stumbles or difficulties of life but catastrophic, painful failures.”

You know you applied a lot of effort to make your first achievement. If you begin to believe that you can continue to make achievement without applying effort, then you have started deviating from what led to your first achievement.

Analyse what you did right to make your first achievement. You can also detect aspects that had space for improvement.

Through this analysis, you can build a more robust system for more achievements.

Conclusion

Making a big achievement is a reason to celebrate. But you must know that the best time to be careful is when you are joyful or sad.

You must continue the shedding of tears and blood that got you your first achievement. This way, you can build a bigger reputation and achieve your dreams.

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