Achievers are those people who give value to themselves and work hard towards self improvement in whatever they choose to pursue
. You would rarely find self directed people grumbling about anything or regretting having done or not done something. They live for the best moments of life and never losing their vision of a bigger and brighter tomorrow.
In complete contrast, failures spend the larger part of their time wallowing in regret, shame and worry. Quite a number of them live in self-blame and never make an effort to correct the mistakes that they have done. This is a sure recipe of failing to achieve self improvement. They assume a lugubrious attitude which is contagious and hence makes their very presence quite irritating to optimists. If you are to attain self improvement then you and optimism should be twins.
A self directed person is one who lives to fear nothing but who lives to influence his surroundings. It is said that you either control the turn of things or be controlled by the happenings of nature. If you only believe in the ability to control and influence your surroundings then you will have an easy time in the furtherance and achievement of self improvement.
A bold freethinker and a self directed individual, discovers something which any other Tom, Dick and Harry cannot see. He becomes the distinguishable entrepreneur and leader who revolutionize the industry within which he operates.
Therefore, you have to focus and believe in your capability that is if you desire to be successful in life. Otherwise if you relax and assume things will turn out well then you will lose focus and hence will carry out your affairs in a desultory fashion resulting in failure.
To attain self improvement you must never allow your circumstances to hold you back. It does not matter what your life background was, we all have equal opportunities to make something good out of our lives.