The achievers dilemma

For achievers, the desire for success never ebbs - it only evolves. As a new year dawns, here's looking at what drives the victorious ON and how they chart the way forward

Have you ever been pushed - really pushed - to achieve something? A grade, a medal, a supply order, a position, a certain number on the scales. The 'top' has always been designated the place 'to be': the ultimate goal. our individual Everests, if you will. But after the celebrations die down and the back-slapping has ceased, there's almost a sense of anti-climax, because what follows is the inevitable question: what next? Where do you go when you're already at the top? Sardonic replies suggest "there's no other way but down, of course" - but consistent achievers beg to differ. To paraphrase Loren Allred in her utterly captivating The Greatest Showman vocal performance, the achiever's bent is this: it's never enough. There's always more that can be done.

US-based Dr Carl Beuke says as much in his Psychology Today post, when he notes that high achievers are "often marked, unsurprisingly, by a strong motive to achieve". It was certainly a unanimous perspective among all the folks we spoke to for this piece: all their lives, they can attest to a constant desire to succeed.

Jordanian expat Helen Al Uzaizi recalls how, even when she was at school, she wanted to "do more" than the other kids and "go beyond what was expected". It might come as a bit of a surprise, therefore, that the CEO of Bizworld UAE (who was also named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in the Arab World by Arabian Business last year) was an average student who struggled through both school and university. If there's anything she's learnt over the years, it's that attitude is everything. "I don't consider myself to be 'at the top'," she says, self-effacingly. In fact, she adds, throwing in an altogether alternate perspective: "There's no such thing as 'the top'. There's always going to be someone better than you, and the only thing that can keep you grounded, despite achievements, is having the humility to acknowledge that you don't know it all - and that there's always something to learn."

The road to where she is today has been "very twisted, with lots of ups and downs". The 37-year-old says she can't think of a single year that "wasn't a rollercoaster" - but she has learnt to embrace the journey. "When you're younger, the rollercoaster feels like a hurdle. But as you grow and appreciate the learning you get from each experience, you see it as an opportunity to explore something new. Personally, I've come out stronger each time, with a lot more insight into who I am and what I can do to impact the community and society. So, now, I look forward to the next rollercoaster."

A triathlete and mountain climber too, Helen puts her multiple achievements down to being extremely goal-driven. She has her 'big dream' all written down - to, some day, build a school that offers quality progressive education that's accessible to all and not just the elite few. In the meantime, she's okay to keep "falling, trying and learning".

On the subject of the latter, Helen reveals she's also going back to university this year, having enrolled at the London School of Economics to study international development. Talk about an admirable direction? "You're never too big to learn," she counters. "People try too hard to be perfect. But the minute we realise we can do more, we can achieve more; the world then becomes a better place, because everyone is striving to do better. Without that, all you have is a complacent society with no one trying to effect any change."

No room for fear

As a medical practitioner, Dr Rohit Kumar is well familiar with the importance of never resting on his laurels. The head of surgery at Dubai's Medeor 24X7 Hospital notes that despite the "tremendous surgical training" he's already undergone, getting comfortable cannot be part of the plan - not even as the medical director of a hospital, a post he gained quite recently. Why? In one word: technology. With advancements in his field a constant, and the human body an endless subject of study, there is a definite need to constantly 'keep up'. "First, it was keyhole surgery; next, it's the era of robotic surgery... It never ends."

Aside from being open to learning new things, achievers are able to keep climbing up the proverbial ladder because they're also not afraid to take risks or to fail, he notes. Trying to avoiding failure - which, if we're being honest, is what many of us are content to do - is not the goal. "You cannot be successful if you're scared. You have to be ready to take on new challenges. The best part is the process also teaches you to manage stressful situations over time. So, for us, we don't call it failure - whatever goes wrong is just another step in learning." As for his own vision going forward, what's next for someone sitting at the top of the management chain? Dr Rohit says the goal is to lead a chain of hospitals ("not just one") - as well as generate more leaders like himself.

Great expectations

For many achievers, the motivation comes from personal gratification. But there's no denying the pressure that builds up from the weight of expectations once you've set the bar high. Society, inevitably, expects you to go higher - or be relegated to the dusty pedestals of has-beens.

Emirati innovation specialist Reem Syed Al Marqouzi is best known for being the first UAE citizen to receive a US patent for an invention: at the age of 23, she designed a car that can be driven without hands. Today, the 28-year-old has no desire to slow down and is currently waiting for three other patents she's filed. "I think it's harder once you've achieved what you set out to do, because then you want to keep coming back with new stuff. If you can't keep it up, you'll be easily forgotten - and I'd hate to be known only for a short while for my first project."

The candid young woman sounds rather unimpressed with herself when asked how it felt to be the first in the country to set the record she did. "I'm happy, but I don't think it's anything to be overexcited about," she deadpans. "Of course, in the UAE, the achievement carries some weight, but internationally, I'm just an ant. People make me out to be a guru but, let's be honest: I'm not one. People who make discoveries - they're the ones to watch out for." Reem - who says she wants to come up with something new altogether ("like the guy who invented the TV or the camera") and wants to compete at a global level - believes there's also a cultural motivation to her endeavours. "My work doesn't bring me a lot of money. Not everyone will chase a dream, but if I can show Arab women that I can do this, perhaps it will inspire them too."

The world is your oyster

karen@khaleejtimes.com