What is success for you? Do you know the winning effect? Do you know why success calls for success?
In this Psychology-Online article, Does success call for success? The winning effectwe talk to you about the concept of success and explain the biological reasons why one victory generates the next.
What is success?
The word success has its origins in the Latin term exitus, which means output and is understood as the final satisfactory result of a circumstance. The established definition of success is he happy result of an action taken or an event. In this way, success is understood as the fact of freely obtaining what one wants, achieving a purpose or achieving a goal.
We can consider a success every time we achieve something we wanted to achieve, since it is the final purpose of all the projects we undertake in any area of our life. However, the meaning of success is subjective and relative to the goals, objectives, beliefs, expectations and circumstances of each person.
It is worth mentioning some phrases about success that certain personalities have proposed:
Success is learning to go from failure to failure without despair. (Winston Churchill). That is, it is necessary to make mistakes, learn from them, and above all, maintain an attitude that promotes success.
Success is achieved by turning each step into a goal and each goal into a step. (CC Cortez). He is not the only author who relates success to perseverance and perseverance.
Success and happiness
Is success the same as happiness? It depends on each person’s perspective, but in general, no. They are not the same, however, they are very related. Success is getting to the topwhile happiness consists of enjoying the journey. While success consists of achieving what is desired, it implies a broader sense of well-being and satisfaction with oneself. You can be successful without being happy, however, when you are happy, you are successful, since you have achieved the goal most desired by humanity.
The effect of success
Physiological effect of success
At a physiological level, the effect of success, like other rewarding stimuli, such as food, drink or sexual intercourse, is related to the brain reward systemthat is, the brain areas in charge of motivation.
The person in charge of the reward system is the mesolimbic circuit, which is made up of dopaminergic projections that go from the ventral tagmental areaa group of dopaminergic neurons in the midbrain, toward the limbic system, that is, to a set of structures in charge of emotions. More specifically: the amygdala, which regulates emotions; the ventral palium; the hippocampus and the nucleus accumbens, which controls the release of dopamine and is responsible for the feeling of pleasure. The projections are also directed towards cortical areas such as the prefrontal cortex, responsible for making decisions and directing behavior, the orbitofrontal cortex and the cingulate. In the image below you can see these parts.
The dopamine It is a neurotransmitter from the catecholamine group mainly responsible for the feeling of pleasure and motivation. It has great importance in the mesolimbic pathway.
The objective of this system is to associate certain situations with a feeling of pleasure, making us learn what actions are good for us and be motivated to repeat them in the future. Its purpose is to adapt our behavior to the survival and evolution of ourselves and the species.
When you get something you want, dopamine rises, just like when you give a hug. Therefore, the fact of winning causes an increase in normal concentrations of the neurotransmitter in the brain, producing said sensation of pleasure.
Psychological effect of success
On a psychological level, success provides:
- Joy and positive mood
- Personal satisfaction and well-being
- Self-confidence and greater perception of self-efficacy
- Greater motivation
- Greater dedication and effort
Causes of success
Success is not achieved by chance. Below we explain the causes of success:
- Accept challengesaccept new experiences, want to innovate, be motivated and have initiative.
- Establish well-defined goals and objectives, that they are clear and, above all, that it is possible to obtain them. Know how to divide objectives into steps and establish short and medium-term dates.
- self-knowledge. Know yourself, know your own strengths to rely on and weaknesses to work on.
- The self-esteem, self-concept and self-image. Have a realistic image of yourself based on it and value yourself positively. Trust in yourself and in their capabilities. It is important that the person has realistic expectations and, above all, believes in themselves.
- The personality and way of being. There are beliefs, attitudes, values and strategies that allow us to generate habits and responses conducive to achievement.
- Work in a way smart and constant. Be attentive, observe, detect and channel your effort into what really deserves it in a uniform and prolonged manner over time.
- Take advantage of every opportunity. Know how to identify needs and find solutions. Turn problems into challenges.
- Be flexible and flow. Have the ability to adapt to situations and learn to change when the situation requires it.
- The resilience: develop the ability to learn and grow in the face of adversity.
- Commitment and perseverance. Be totally committed to the objective, being clear that you must prioritize what is part of its achievement and reject distractions, as well as pay full attention and make an effort.
- The experience, that is, having had the experience of success, since the experience of success leads to achieving it again. This is known as the winning effect. Below we delve deeper into this concept.
The winning effect
The experience of success improves mood, self-confidence, motivation, concentration and effort capacity. This state, together with everything learned, encourages success again. That is why it is said that success calls for success, because it feeds back and one success is chained after another. It has been proven that, for example, in the world of sports, the winner of a match has a 60% probability of also winning the next match or competition. Even students who have passed one test are more likely to pass the next one.
The author of the winning effect is Ian Robertson, a neuroscientist and clinical psychologist, who explains how, after winning a first challenge, the chances of winning the next one increase for physiological reasons. The experience of winning increases concentration dopamine whose effect of well-being and motivation prepares us to face the next challenge. It also increases the level of testosterone, increasing the speed of reaction and decreasing fear: promoting risk. All of this, ultimately, increases the chances of success.
The winning effect helps with success, but it is worth knowing that it can also be dangerous, as it can become an addiction, the main danger of which is excessive risk-taking.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Ian Robertson, “The Winner Effect” YouTube, 02/04/2016, available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asGZlHxsLY8
- Luna, M. (2015). Psychology of success. Run The Voice, sl
- Pásaro, MR (2002). Biological bases of happiness (Vol. 18). Sevilla University.