How do we make ourselves move and act? It is when we are motivated, encouraged, and determined.
Self-determination is a person’s ability to make decisions in managing their life. It means that being self-determined is a feeling that you have greater control of your own life instead of being controlled by people and the environment surrounding you.
People are mostly motivated to act if there are things that influence it. A sort of means to increase the drive of a person. For instance, financial rewards and promotions are called extrinsic motivation. It is the same when a person is motivated from within, like by beliefs and personal values which is called intrinsic motivation.
Extrinsic motivation is also useful, however, what motivates a person the most is intrinsic motivation. Why? Because we feel more determined when we know that we are in control of our values and behavior.
One great outcome of being self-determined is that it greatly contributes to success. In this post, you’ll learn what are self-determination skills that greatly contribute to one’s success according to successful people who build their own companies and businesses.
Why is self-determination important?
The use of self-determination skills can help all age groups and whether or not a person has a disability to have full control of their life choices. Although most people say that, self-determination is not about control. It is making your vision work by taking action to get the things you need and want.
Also, this is important in contributing to you knowing what success tastes like. Sure, it will take time, effort, and hard work. However, it’s all up to you. Self-determination is a quality one must have by “themselves”. It means that you yourself should be the captain of your own life.
On the other hand, “No man is an island”, right? So, seek help if needed, but do not let those people who helped you influence your principle and values in life. Stick to what you believe unless there needed.
11 Self-determination skills that are useful to be successful
- The ability to make a choice.
The ability to make objective good decisions is a valuable trait of a worker. It contributes to the person’s success and the company’s as well. This is one of the skills if a person wanted to become self-determined.
Rikin Shah, the CEO of Get Sure, says the same thing, “In my perspective, the ability to make choices refers to an individual’s capacity to express their preference between two or more available options and to exercise control over their actions and the situation in which they find themselves.”
The same expert opinion of the Managing Director of The Fitness Circle. “Self-determination relies heavily on the ability to make choices in various situations. This requires evaluating the available possibilities, taking into account the repercussions of each choice, and selecting the alternative that is most likely to result in the end that is desired. Follow-up questions are welcome,” he says.
It means the ability to make choices is a useful skill that leads to being self-determined and eventually becoming successful.
- The capacity to analyze and resolve issues.
Identifying the problem and finding ways to resolve the problem is one skill when someone wants to become self-determined. Your capacity to analyze and resolves problems is a challenge that you need to take on and so you become self-determined to do even more and do more to come up with great results.
According to Tia Campbell, a Director of Marketing at Practice Reasoning Test, “In my opinion, in order to handle a problem in an efficient manner, it is necessary to first assess the nature of the problem that is at hand, come up with a number of solutions that are plausible and become aware of the potential benefits and drawbacks that are associated to each prospective solution.”
One factor of this skill is being able to prepare for the worst-case scenario, weighing down all the possible results whether it is a benefit or not. Regardless, it all boils down to wanting to solve the issue.
- The ability to set goals and accomplish them.
“My opinion is that the development of skills that lead to agentic action and self-direction must begin with the establishment of goals and continue with the accomplishment of those goals,” says Wikijob Director, Edward Mellet.
A person will be focused and more driven if he knows how to set goals and especially knows the strategies to accomplish them. Of course, a goal is not just a goal. Your goals define what kind of person you are. And how you accomplish them will define how determined you are. Either way, it is a step to advancing on your way to success.
- Focus on self-awareness
It always starts in ourselves, we are determined because we are self-driven. Focus on your own strength and weaknesses and use this as a way for you to be able to manage yourself even better.
There is an expert insight from the CEO of Ditto Transcripts, Ben Walker that says, “ Self-determination skills are critical for success as a CEO and business leader. As a CEO and business leader, these self-determination skills have been crucial in helping me achieve what I have today. Through self-awareness, I have been able to identify my strengths and weaknesses and work to improve in areas where I am lacking.”
When you are self-aware, you know what to do and what steps to take, and lastly how you implement these steps to be able to achieve your objectives.
- One must be adaptable and resilient.
Adaptability is the ability to respond to changes and new challenges. This is very similar to resiliency which is the capacity to overcome and quickly recover from any kind of difficulty.
This is one of the self-determination skills a person must have. That is why Joseph Hill, CEO and owner of Classy Women Collection says, “ A CEO must be adaptable and resilient.”
We are talking about self-determination, and we should have the skills to be able to demonstrate this. The fact that adaptability is about being able to manage oneself regardless of the condition. While resiliency is able to bounce back no matter what happens, there is no doubt that these two aspects are greatly needed if a person is wanted to call themselves “self-determined”.
- The ability to express needs and wants with assertion and take immediate action.
This is self-advocacy which is the ability to express your needs to others. But before that, you should understand first your needs, and then know what kind of support you need.
In this self-determination skill, a person should be assertive in communicating their needs. Most people know that most successful people are those who are self-determined in the sense of being forceful with anything they think would benefit them.
It means when you want and need something, take immediate action to make it happen. It may take time but with patience and perseverance, the outcome is worth the wait.
“Self-advocacy is self-determination skills. In my view, includes assertiveness and the confidence to stand up for one’s own interests when necessary. The ability to advocate for oneself, or self-advocacy, is defined as the skill of expressing one’s own preferences and requirements in a clear and convincing manner and then taking appropriate action,” says Alex Contes, the co-founder of Review Grower.
- The ability to create useful and unique solutions in any challenging situation.
Have you ever experienced being prepared for something and suddenly there are things needed yet it was not one of what you actually prepared? You don’t have a choice but to find a way, or solution to find or aid that missing thing. And that is, you need to be resourceful.
“Another important self-determination skill is resourcefulness. It is the ability to use whatever resources are available to get the job done. I am constantly looking for new ways to work smarter and to use the resources I have to maximum effect. This skill has enabled me to keep costs down and to be more productive,” says the CEO and co-founder of Qooper Mentoring, Omer Usanmaz.
What does it mean to be resourceful? Yes, from what is mentioned above, it’s about being clever, smart, quick, and crafty. But most importantly, to be resourceful is to be able to create useful and unique solutions. Useful means, the solutions should be logical, practical, and realistic. Unique means the solution is unexpected, creative yet effective.
Indeed, this is a skill one should have if one aims to become more self-determined.
- Skill to stay focused and avoid distractions.
“Another important skill is the ability to stay focused and avoid distractions. In this fast-paced world of business and ever-increasing distractions, it’s crucial to stay laser-focused on your objectives,” says Alan Carr, the founder of Webpop.
A focused mindset is one of the abilities we should learn. It is not easy to avoid distractions. That is why we need to master this skill. Why? Because when we are focused we are more driven and determined to accomplish what we need to accomplish.
Given that it is not easy, then how can you have a focused mindset? You need to develop these three important aspects of yourself:
First. Your mind. We cannot deny the fact that the mind can do such amazing things. Even things that cannot be explained in human words. What your mindset makes who you really are.
It allows you to perceive things, allows you to feel the emotion and the mind allows you to know the difference between right from wrong. By training your mind you will definitely succeed in having a focused mindset.
Second. Your body. The body is just as important as the mind. Why? Because it is the body that does what the mind wanted to do. The body must be healthy to carry the things you wanted to do. When you are physically healthy, you will also be mentally healthy and so will have a focused mind for success.
Lastly. Your Spirit. This is a very sensitive aspect of being a human. The spirit is about what makes you a person. Yes, not all people are religious. But think of your spirit as a part of you that either feels at ease or the other way around. If your spirit feels uneasy, you will easily be distracted and your mind will be affected and feel unnecessary emotions that will keep you from a positive focused mind.
Nothing is disregarded, everything we have in us plays an important role. Indeed, we really can’t deny the very existence of these aspects in us that are all connected to each other.
- The ability to manage time.
Time is essential to everything that we do. Time can be a factor and can affect the course you take.
A COO of the company called Everyday Power, Veronica Thompson says for leaders time is crucial, and consider it as a self-determination skill. “Time management is a very crucial self-determination skill every CEO and business leader should have. The ability to manage time, delegate work properly, and do assessments for your subordinate’s tasks can make you and your company successful. A good business leader and CEO knows that he cannot do all tasks and he knows how to identify the tasks that should be assigned to his workers so he can focus on more important things,” she says.
We are self-determined because we want to achieve and get something we want and so we should be able to manage time in deciding what goals we need to set. These goals should be time-bound– doable and realistic.
- The capability to take risks.
It is not all the time that things are in our favor to us and so one of the skills one should have is the willingness to take risks. You may not know how things will go if you do not take a chance, right? We may fail, but let that failure be a motivation instead.
A business leader applied this skill to students that must have self-determination at all times as well. As I’ve said, self-determination is for all ages. Concerning this, Mark Williams, owner of The Automobily says, “For students, doing anything new is frequently terrifying. Encourage your kids to take risks in the classroom by allowing them to attempt new things. Teach kids how to take calculated risks without making decisions that jeopardize their safety.”
When we always challenge ourselves to take risks that come upon us, we will have the confidence and courage to try out new things. With self-determination, it will enable us to persevere more even when the results are not what we’ve hoped for. It also encouraged us to always take risks even though failure seemed to be the outcome.
- The ability to assess and evaluate oneself.
This is self-reflection which means that a.k.a personal reflection. Basically, it is you evaluating and assessing your own behavior, attitudes, and desires.
According to Rhett Stubbendeck, the CEO of LeverageRx, Inc., “I believe that self-reflection is the most crucial self-determination skill that I have as well. It is important that, as a business owner, I reflect on myself and identify areas for improvement. I learn from my mistakes and ask for feedback from my employees in order to keep improving,” he says.
When you self-reflect, you come to know and admit what areas in you need improvement. You become more open-minded not just to your own evaluation but you are also open to suggestions from other people.
He also added, “Through self-reflection, I am able to gain a thorough understanding of my strengths and weaknesses, as well as the areas that need improvement. I continuously make adjustments to my leadership approach, which leads to better outcomes and, hence, success for me and my business.”
In other words, you understand and know yourself even more and make this an opportunity to be better.
With self-reflection, it allows you to gain a logical perspective. Self-reflection is not an easy task because your emotion may cloud your judgment and lose grip on what truly matters. Always look deep, and don’t just base everything on the surface level.
Self-reflection allows you to take a step back and gain perspective on what is important and what can be overlooked.
Are you ready to be successful?
Success can actually be achieved by both working smarter and harder. For you to do so, start checking yourself. It always starts with “YOU”. Make choices that matter by never forgetting to always be ready to take risks. You may fail along the way, but instead of letting that failure drag you down, make it a lesson and make it an advantage.
Self-determination comes from always having a positive perception of everything, whether or not it’s an obstacle. Mindset is everything. What you are and what you have right now is the product of your mindset.With this guide to success, practice and emulate these self-determination skills. Then after doing so, take time in assessing yourself. Remember: “ Everything starts with yourself.”
