I often describe the “running away” personality and the “runningtowards” personality.

When the running away person is awoken by their alarm clock,they immediately hit the snooze button. Ten minutes later, thebuzzer goes off again. “Just ten more minutes,” theysay to themselves, “I won't exercise this morning.” Andagain, they activate their friend, Mr. Snooze.

Motivated by fear

This could happen three more times, and each time they determinethat they will skip a vital activity in order to enjoy a few moreminutes slumber. They have already decided to miss breakfast andthey will shave/put on make-up in the car on the way to theoffice.

Finally, a full hour after their first alarm call, theyleap out of bed, the image of their boss standing outsidethe office door, purple with rage at their continual poortime keeping is just too horrible to contemplate and it actsas their spur. These people are motivated by fear.

As someone famously once said: “Some people make thingshappen whilst others just stand and watch what happens.”

My take on that is: “A very few people make things happen,others just watch what happens. But the vast majority wonder whatthe heck happened!” The running away mindset fallsinto the last category.

'Running towards' personality

Let's look at the other side of the coin; how a running towardspersonality handles their relationship with their alarm clock.

To begin with, our running towards person has invested some oftheir time the previous evening preparing for the next day: Theirclothes are selected pressed, shoes cleaned, and notes are preparedfor important meetings. In fact, all of the next day's objectiveshave been thoroughly rehearsed mentally and planned for.

When the alarm clock goes off, our running towards persontypically awakes refreshed and completes final preparations for theday. They have plenty of time for exercising, for bathing and toeat a proper breakfast with their family. They are in control. Theyarrive at the office before most of their colleagues (80 percent ofwhom arrive at 8.55 am, just in time, only because they fear theconsequences of being late) so that they can respond to emails andattend to essential administrative tasks, which would otherwisetake up valuable business time.

Life for these people appears effortless and relativelystress-free — because they have made it that way.

These people are “winners.”

Related: Are you a highly effectivesalesperson?