Image by Belfegore
In life we need to take advantage of the small edges in order to succeed. These small edges present themselves, more often than not, to those who take initiatives and are aggressive in pursuing their goals. We do all know that very little will come our way if we remain passive and just “hope” for the best. This is common knowledge. I am pretty sure everyone reading this blog knows that they need to actively pursue their goals in order to reach them. Yet, how many of us are actually being aggressive in going out there day after day and achieving our goals? It’s a tough world out there and everyone is looking at getting ahead, hence, if we want to achieve our goals we just have to:
1. Ask for what you want. (Whether it be a sale, testimonial, referral etc)
2. Push against any sort of resistance until you break through.
3. Do not take “no” as a final answer.
4. Stand firm on your beliefs and values.
5. Make short term sacrifices for long term gains.
6. Take center stage whenever possible.
7. Be assertive in your communication style. (without being rude)
8. Broaden your personal network on a regular basis.
9. Body language has to be in sync with our mindset.
10. We need to work towards overcoming our fears & inhibitions.
There is a fine balance between being aggressive and overly aggressive. When the balance is tipped in either direction, whether one is not being aggressive enough or being overly aggressively, there will be consequences! We have to find that level of equilibrium ourselves, and this is dependent on one’s personality and environment.
I would really like readers to add onto this list. How do you pursue your goals? What actions do you take? What has shown results and what has not. I look forward to hearing from you all.
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Usman,
You mentioned that there is a difference between being aggressive and over agressive. I totally agree.
In the past, I had the tendency to be passive agressive. I would go along to get along until I couldn’t get along anymore. Then I would agressively try to get out of the corner I’d painted myself into.
When it comes to goals, I’m comfortable being agressive. But when adding people to the equation, I’ve found that they respond better to me when I’m assertive rather than agressive.
“I’ve found that they respond better to me when I’m assertive rather than aggressive.” This is very true. People tend to close up and become overly defensive when we become aggressive. It makes it very challenging to solve a conflict or a difficult situation. When we choose to be assertive, there is a much greater probability to resolve the problem at hand.
I wonder if people even know what ‘agressive’ truly implies. Do you realize that you just have a hundred years (and in most cases, far, far less) to play your game, and then its an eternal vacation? Its not just your job, or your puny ambitions or your family: its LIFE, which once gone can never come back!! so push, push, push, push, and look to nothing but the highest conceivable to you.
it’s one-f-ing ride, and we’ve gotta scream as hard as we can while we’re still on it.
Interesting point of view Jim. It is definitely important to keep the larger picture in perspective.
Looking forward to hearing from you a lot more.
Hi Usman, great post. I definitely agree with you on the importance of being aggressive when chasing a dream. Just wanted to point out (since I work with a lot of Gen Ys) that if you are building a new startup, the basis for you to even start being aggressive is the quality of product/service you are providing. It better be good! If it’s good and you are confident in it, then the sky is the limit. You can walk up to anyone and ask for their business or ask them to patronize you because you are confident!