Have you ever wondered why some people are so unstoppable in the pursuit of their dreams? whether it’s an athlete’s pursuit of their favourite sport, a student’s unwavering zeal to study or an actor’s strong pursuit of their art. What drives them to achieve their goals? Is it just mere luck? Is it just how they are wired? could it be a trait like dedication?
According to Locke and Latham (2002), some defining characteristics of dedication can be understood as making persistent efforts to achieve challenging goals. These goals need to be specific and a bit challenging. If the goals are very vague you might not have a clear vision and a path to achieve these goals and if they are not challenging, you might not be persistent in achieving them.
Dedication is extremely important for achieving great success in your professional life. With a great level of dedication and self-control, you can achieve long-term organisational goals and you will be more persistent in putting in effort (Baumeister et al., 2007).
Dedication is not only beneficial to your professional life but it is also extremely important for your overall well-being, dedication can help you achieve that flow state which fosters positive emotions (Luthans & Youssef, 2007; Csikszentmihalyi, 1990).
There are 10 signs that you are dedicated, according to psychology
- Consistent Goal Setting
- High Level of Focus
- Resilience and Grit
- Growth Mindset
- Delaying Immediate gratification
- Self-Discipline
- Effective Time Management
- Adaptability and Flexibility
- Strong Work Ethic
- Passion and Enthusiasm
1. Consistent Goal Setting
One of the signs that you are an extremely dedicated person is that you constantly set up
goals and challenges for yourself. You set a very specific and measurable goal, which
provides you with a clear vision to achieve your goals.
Moreover, setting challenging goals helps you to become more resilient and persistent in your pursuit of goals as they require great effort and sometimes you may even meet some setbacks or difficulties which you need to overcome (Locke and Latham 2002).
According to Ryan and Deci (2000) setting goals that are more aligned with your intrinsic value system, you are more likely to pursue them with great dedication.
2. High focus or the Flow State
Have you ever noticed that you become so immersed in your work or an activity that everything seems to flow effortlessly? You might forget the world around you as your actions become almost automatic. If you’ve experienced this, you may have entered a “flow state,” a concept described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in 1990. This state is crucial for dedicating yourself fully to any activity.
When you are in that flow state you tend to invest all your attention and energy on that task. Usually, you don’t care about the outcome or the reward you’ll get after completing the task because the act of engaging in the task itself is highly rewarding. Again, pursuing goals that align with your intrinsic value system will help you to achieve this flow state seamlessly.
Read More: Discovering Blissful Focus: Get into the Flow State
3. Resilience and Grit
Grit has two components, perseverance and passion for long-term goals. If you have ever
invested sustained efforts and interest over the years despite failures or setbacks and plateaus in progress, you may be a dedicated person.
A resilient person doesn’t give up easily when they encounter setbacks and failures rather they perceive failures as an opportunity for learning. All of these factors contribute to a person’s dedication to pursuing their goal (Duckworth et al., 2007).
Read More: Are we prepared enough to cope with failures?
4. Growth Mindset
A growth mindset emphasises the fact that skills and intelligence are not something static but rather can be improved by consistent effort, learning and persistence. Individuals with a growth mindset believe work towards continuous improvement in their craft, which in turn leads to better performance and outcomes.
When you adopt a growth mindset you are more likely to seek challenges and move out of your comfort zone to learn and improve your skills and knowledge. (Dweck, 2006)
Read More: Psychology Behind Growth Mindset
5. Delaying Immediate Gratifications
The ability to resist temptations and immediate pleasures requires a lot of self-control and
discipline. Dedicated individuals are usually able to look past and resist these immediate
pleasures and temptations to achieve long-term goals. The ability to resist short-term
pleasure often leads you to achieve more significant and bigger rewards (Heckman & Kautz, 2013).
Read More: Children better at delaying Gratification are more likely to be better in Academics
How many times has it happened to you when you have made a schedule for an uninterrupted study session and you get that urge to just pick up your phone to look at that one reel or that one message? If you have resisted that urge and continue to focus on your studies, you may be a dedicated person, and think about it, it also would have led you to achieve bigger and more significant goals.
6. Self-Discipline
If you have high self-discipline you are more likely to have structured routines that help
you to manage your time and tasks effectively, this helps you to reduce procrastination and in turn, increase your productivity and dedication. If you have self-discipline you are more likely to put sustained efforts into your work.
Read More: Gita’s secret of self-control
7. Effective Time Management
If you tend to plan and organise your time, you are more productive and less stressed and as a result, it increases your dedication. It helps you to prioritise what tasks need to be dealt with urgently and allows enough time for other projects as well. This reduces stress by preventing last-minute rushes and also ensures quality work.
8. Adaptability and Flexibility
Adaptability and flexibility are important signs of dedication as they showcase the
individual’s commitment to pursue their goals despite the changes and challenges in their
way. High adaptability also requires individuals to swiftly change and adapt their strategies
to continue working, which is an indicator of a high level of commitment (Pulakos et al.,
2000)
9. Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is the belief that you have the skills required to achieve a goal, this belief can
enhance your motivation and dedication. if you are high on self-efficacy you are more likely to overcome obstacles and difficulties in your work (Lent, 2000).
10. Support network
The presence of supportive friends, family and even mentors can help to become dedicated
towards your goals. They might encourage you to pursue your goals or even provide valuable feedback and constructive criticism which will help you improve. Positive feedback and appreciation can make you feel that your dedication and consistent efforts are recognised (Steinberg & Monahan, 2007).
Conclusion
Dedication is an essential trait that works as a driving force for success. It’s marked by
consistent goal setting, high focus, resilience, and a growth mindset. A dedicated person
delays instant gratification, has self-discipline, and a strong sense of self-efficacy. A
supportive network can also reinforce dedication. Recognizing and developing these qualities can lead you to achieve your most desired goals and overcome challenges.
References +
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). “Building a practically useful theory of goal setting
and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey.” American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717
Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., & Tice, D. M. (2007). “The strength model of self-control.”
Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 351-355.
Luthans, F., & Youssef, C. M. (2007). “Emerging positive organizational behavior.” Journal
of Management, 33(3), 321-349.
Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). “Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.” American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.
Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., & Kelly, D. R. (2007). “Grit: Perseverance and passion for long-term goals.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(6), 1087-1101
Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Random House.
Heckman, J. J., & Kautz, T. (2013). Fostering and measuring skills: Interventions that
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Research. http://www.nber.org/papers/w19656
Pulakos, E. D., Arad, S., Donovan, M. A., & Plamondon, K. E. (2000). “Adaptability in the
workplace: Development of a taxonomy of adaptive performance.” Journal of Applied
Psychology, 85(4), 612-624.
Steinberg, L., & Monahan, K. C. (2007). “Age differences in resistance to peer influence.”
Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1531-1543.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., & Hackett, G. (2000). “Contextual supports and barriers to career choice: A social cognitive theory perspective.” Journal of Counseling Psychology, 47(1), 36-49.
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