In a couple of weeks, the very long presidential campaign will be over. One party can claim to be successful. One will fail. However, successes or failures are not people. They are events.

You may succeed or fail at a particular task or at attaining a specific goal. As a person, you are never a success or a failure. Those are arbitrary judgments about personal characteristics and behaviors. They are never facts describing an individual or group. By birth alone, you are the most successful creature on the face of Earth.

At the end of political campaigns, we all know there are some people who experience numerically more successful events than failures. They do have certain attitudes and habits, which, when regularly used, result in the creation of their desired results. When the results we want actually occur, we label those results successful. When we do not reach our desired goals, we label those results a failure.

Most of us were never taught the psychology of success. There are, however, certain skills everyone can learn and practice, which increase the likelihood they will succeed. Here are some of the more important ones.

Specific goals

People who succeed regularly in their endeavors always have specific, written goals. To succeed in building a house, you first need to imagine the house you wish to build (your goal), and then you have to put that goal in writing (a blueprint).

The second step in attaining success is to answer the question, “What changes do I have to make within myself to bring about a successful outcome?” This step is often left out of our planning process. People who are regularly successful usually have some common personal characteristics.

The most valuable personal characteristic of a success-oriented person is a positive self-image. People who know how important and valuable they really are, generally behave in ways that generate success. When people realistically believe in their own talents, skills and potentials, they naturally behave in ways that lead toward success. Perhaps you need to upgrade your personal characteristics to be efficiently successful in any endeavor.

Those who succeed often usually have very detailed plans based upon gathered information. They work back from their envisioned and written goals to generate doable actions that increase the probability of goal attainment. For example, success at building a house begins with measuring and digging a ditch for a foundation. Taking measurements is gathering information. Digging according to plans and measurements is a small activity that increases the likelihood you will complete your house.

Focused attention and actions are what characterize the activities of those who are often successful. To complete your house, you need to attend to those activities required to erect a solid building and then persist in taking those actions necessary to complete the job.

It is rare that a person succeeds regularly in life all alone. Successful people are open, positive and genuinely care about other people. They know how precious other people are. They make friendships easily. They value personal relationships. They are the kind of people who are fun to be around. Their enjoyment for living is contagious.

Self-directed

Those who often experience successes are usually self-starters. They do not let fear keep them from risking new and unfamiliar behavior, especially if such behavior is promotional of their goal attainment. They are productive with their time. They engage in purposeful behavior and waste little time. They recognize time management is really life management.

The willingness to take full responsibility for their own thoughts, feelings and behavior is another vital characteristic of people who create successes. They own their own lives. They never blame others for their own errors. They understand their own autonomy and act from within, based upon their own values and principles. They are not sidetracked by, nor reactive to, external circumstance or others’ actions. Rather, they are responsive to their own awareness of what they hold valuable in their lives, including their chosen goals.

I wish each of you many, many successful events in your life. May you enjoy each and every one of them.