Secrets of Success

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This is not the first time I’ve experienced a situation that matches those wise words, but the quote came in at such an apt time that it really sunk in.

“If you can’t, you must. If you must, you can.”

It’s a quote by Anthony Robbins. And when I read it a couple of weeks back, it struck me like anything; because of something that happened just a day before I came across the quote.

The difficulty - The “Can’t” part

Basically, I am a night person. Don’t jump to any conclusions there, I just meant that I almost always work late into the night to catch up on personal goals. I find it difficult to wake up in the morning, especially if I’ve not completed 8 hours of continuous sleep.

You know what? Deep down inside me, I have the wish to change my schedule such that I can wake up early - at about 5 or 6 in the morning - and complete loads of personal work before I leave for office. But it seems like a difficult task to me. Given the choice, I’d sleep some more and wake up just early enough to be able to reach office on time. That means waking up early is not dependable, and hence I’d rather do something late into the night than hope to do it in the morning. That way I don’t have to worry about losing time in case I do not get up early in the morning.

The situation - The “Must” Part

A few days ago I had an important milestone at office, and the team was required to reach office by 7 o’clock in the morning. Now that’s something I hate so much! But it wasn’t a matter of choice. It was very important, and we had to be there!

The outcome - The “Can” part

What do you think happened that morning? Could I not wake up even though I set my alarm clock to ring early? Was I late to office? Did it cause problems at work?

As expected, I couldn’t sleep early the previous night because my body was tuned into sleeping late. I went to bed early, but couldn’t sleep until much later.

And guess what? I woke up in the morning with a start, with eyes wide open and a short jitter of panic. Did I forget to set the alarm? Was it too late already?

Before I could think any further, the alarm rang. Yes, I had woken up just seconds before the alarm was set to ring. Out I jumped from bed, cutting out any lazy feelings, and I was the first one to reach office that morning.

Moral of the story

So, what happened?

From a “can’t wake up very early” difficulty, I landed up in a “must wake up very early” situation; and because I was in the must situation, I “could wake up early”.

And what’s the message?

If there’s something you can’t do, change the situation such that it becomes an obligation, which, if you were to fail at, would make things look real bad for you. Thus, when it becomes a must, you will naturally be inclined towards succeeding at it. When it is a must, you can, even if you normally can’t.

What have your experiences been? Can you think of a “must” situation that you have been in, which took you from a “can’t” difficulty to a “could” outcome? Do you consciously put yourself into “must” situations so that you can overcome your obstacles and achieve greater success? I’d love to hear your story.