By Paul Hendrickson –

One of my first managers used to say that most people fall into two categories – those driven by a desire to succeed and those driven by the fear of failure. That was twenty years ago, and it still rings true today. So which are you? Not sure? Ask yourself the following five questions.

Do I Compare Myself to the Bottom or to the Top?

People driven by a desire to succeed are always looking at those doing better than them in their field. What are they doing that I’m not doing? How can I reach their level of success and surpass it?

Those driven by the fear of failure measure bottom up. Well at least I’m doing better than so and so. It could be a lot worse.

Are My Goals Too Easy?

Another sign of someone driven by a desire to succeed is the way in which they set goals. They are not happy with simple goals that take minimal effort. They want to dream big and go for broke. No risk equals no return.  I want to sell more units than anyone else in my division this month – and for the year.

On the other hand, those driven by the fear of failure will set goals they know they can easily achieve with minimal effort. They want to show they can do something and hopefully better than someone else. I want to sell at least a few more units than the other salesperson I always beat each month. Last place will not look good when bonuses come out.

Do I Redefine Missed Goals as Successes?

People driven by a desire to succeed will not be content until they reach all of their goals. Nothing short of achieving exactly what they set out to accomplish will suffice. I missed that goal, but I am going to keep working until I achieve it!

Those driven by the fear of failure will often rewrite history when it comes to goals. A missed goal is left in the past and new ones are quickly created. I didn’t hit my goal, but accomplished a few things. Not too bad considering everything going on. I’ll call it a win and move to the next one.

Am I Fully Invested?

Those driven by a desire to succeed are fully invested in their career, project, or personal goal. They want to see success no matter how long it takes. They will often put in extra time to reach the result they want. They are also good at finding ways to work more efficiently to conserve time and still hit their goal. I need to find a way to make this work. It may be hard, but it will be worth it in the end.

Those trying not to fail will put in the minimal amount of work needed to show forward motion. They don’t mind being fourth or fifth because the people above them are spending too much time and effort trying to be first. Put in your time, go home, and then do it again tomorrow. The key is to stay off management’s radar.

Am I Focused More on Process or Results?

People driven to succeed may have repeatable processes they use to achieve their goals, but they focus more on the results and not on the process. They realize their goal may require them to get out of their comfort zone and change how they do things. The process is not working, but it can be fixed. We have to hit our goal and the current process is keeping us from doing that. Our customers care about results.

Individuals driven by the fear of failure will often see completing steps in a process as their success versus the end result. They want to be able to show they checked off boxes. Completed tasks mean progress even if the end result falls well short of expectations. I realize we missed our goal, but we were able to complete the first five steps. That’s something. Maybe we can do the others next quarter and hopefully the results will look better. At least we did better than the other team.

Fluctuating Motivations

Now that you have done some introspection, consider this – people change. When you were younger and had less experience, the goals you set probably looked different than the ones you have today. Your motivations were different too. Don’t cling to an old goal that is no longer relevant. It may keep you from succeeding in other areas.

Although people generally fall into one of the two categories, you may fall into both depending on the context. For example, you may be driven by a desire to succeed in school, but driven by the fear of failure when it comes to certain subjects. It is helpful to understand your natural tendencies in this area when setting new goals.