How to Build a Success Mindset in Four Simple Steps
It’s not as complicated as you might think.
Photo: Create & Cultivate
So, you’re ready to take on the workday. “Cute outfit? Check. Phone and laptop? Check. Coffee? Check. Wait. Am I missing something?”
You might feel like you’ve checked all the boxes needed to be successful but still find that next level of achievement to be elusive.
Here’s the deal, mindset is often the deciding factor between an individual’s success or failure. It’s the invisible “X factor.” We see this in life, business, with our clients, and in our own lives. Every action we take starts in our mind, making it essential that we maintain a mindset that will propel us in a direction of positive growth and the accomplishment of our goals.
While you’re probably familiar with this topic, what most people don’t talk about is exactly how to create the right kind of mindset to get the results we’re all looking for.
It might seem like successful people just instinctively know how to do this, but when we take a closer look, it’s not something that is reserved for the chosen few. It can be cultivated, and it’s not as complicated as you might think.
Ready?
Here are four simple steps to help you build the mindset that will set you up for success.
1. Check Your Input
What are you feeding your mind? Just as we focus on what we feed our body in order to feel our best and maintain good physical health, we need to give the same attention to the information we consume to maintain good mental health.
So many people watch, read, and listen to content without giving any thought to the impact it’s having on their life. According to this study, adults in the United States spend a daily average of 12 hours and 21 minutes (over 50% of their day!) consuming some form of media...and that doesn’t even account for reading printed content!
Consuming information isn’t the problem, because that’s just part of life; rather, it’s all about the kind of information you are taking in. What we focus on shapes who we become.
Use input to help you build a success mindset by intentionally seeking out good, positive material that will help you grow personally and professionally. Wondering where to start? Look for a good book, an inspiring podcast, or attend an event.
Get in the habit of asking yourself: Is this {show, book, music, movie, etc.} helping me to get better, filling me with positive emotion, and adding value to my life? If not, think twice before investing your time there.
2. Establish Healthy Habits
Habits are incredible time savers, helping our brains to make decisions easier by avoiding conscious deliberation about what to do. Consequently, habits make up a large part of our daily activity, and the right ones will fast-track us to success.
Here are four that we recommend (we like to call them the four power practices): gratitude, setting goals, positive affirmations, and reflection. We make it a habit to practice these every morning and every night. Though simple, they are powerful tools for creating a mindset that produces growth and achievement.
3. Cultivate Your Community
It’s been said that you are the average of the five people closest to you. One of the ways that we can build a success mindset is by intentionally investing time with people who inspire us to be better, think differently, and achieve more. Do your close friends make you feel encouraged and uplifted when you are around them?
Are you making connections with new people? Not only does this add excitement and fun to life, it also helps us to broaden our perspectives and stay inspired.
Connecting with a community is a crucial component to maintaining the right kind of mindset. Surround yourself with other like-minded, high achievers who will support and propel your ambitions forward.
4. Reevaluate Your Self-Talk
Ok, admit it, you talk to yourself. The truth is we all do, and our words have power. In order to build a success mindset, we need to first become aware of our internal dialogue. What do you say to yourself when you feel pressured, make a mistake, win big, or when you are trying something new? It can be easy to encourage a friend, yet sometimes we don’t speak to ourselves as kindly.
Catch yourself when you start to think “Ugh. How could I have messed up again? So stupid.” and switch your self-talk to something more encouraging like, “That’s alright. I can do this. I’ll get it next time!”
Reading and saying statements of positive self-talk can help to dilute the negative and make these positive beliefs about ourselves our first response.
We believe in you, and now it’s time for you to believe in yourself too.
Remember, the best version of you, in both life and work, is closer than you think, and these four simple steps to a success mindset will help you get there!
“...So, let’s try this again. Cute outfit? Check. Phone & Laptop? Check. Coffee? Check... Mindset? CHECK! Let’s do this!”
Photo: Courtesy of Candice Henry and Lauren Henry
About the authors: Candice Henry and Lauren Henry are success and influence strategists for the next generation of leaders and co-founders of Aretios. When these sisters aren’t in the classroom teaching leadership and personal development as professors, you’ll find this dynamic duo traveling the world, living out their dreams, and teaching other young professionals how to do the same! Ready to start living your best life? Connect with Candice and Lauren at aretios.com and @aretiosofficial.
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Follow Your Dreams, Err No, Your Gut—and Other Clichés of Success We Need to Ditch
Reality check this way.
Photo: Smith House Photo
Chances are you’ve heard one of the following clichés at one point in your life when seeking out career advice: “If you can dream it, you can achieve it;” “Pursue your passion;” Work hard, dream big;” and “Follow your dreams.”
It might have been at your high school or college graduation, or at a conference from a motivational speaker. You may have seen it emblazoned on the front of a greeting card to commemorate one of your life accomplishments, or on Instagram where the post has garnered thousands of likes and reposts.
They are clichés intended to make us feel inspired to go for the next big thing, a reminder to stay focused on the grand prize of that imaginary picture of success we all have. But how do these clichés work in the real world where things are not as simple and clear-cut?
It is time to get real about what it means to achieve in the real world and move past the clichés. Your success depends on it. Let’s take a look at the most famous clichés rewritten as real-world advice.
If you dream it, you can achieve it adjust accordingly.
It all starts with a dream–the dream college, the dream job, or the dream life. Knowing what you want and being able to imagine it first is essential to achievement. If you can dream it, more than likely you can map out a plan to go after it.
The first step in moving past this cliché is knowing that following your dreams will often involve detours, failures, pitfalls, and disappointments. It often involves dismantling the “master plan” and having to create a new one. It means revisiting who you thought you would be and accepting you might want to be something else.
Know that dreams will change throughout your life and you will be in redrafting mode often. Dreams evolve at the same speed that you are evolving as a person. One minute you can have a dream of owning a house and a car and another minute you are dreaming of traveling the world—and this can be said for all other dreams you may have.
If you can dream it, you will learn that real life will make you adjust accordingly when you begin to face obstacles and setbacks on your journey. When you have an epiphany about that dream job you thought you always wanted or that life you always chased after, you will be faced with going back to the drawing board.
Being able to pivot and draw wisdom from the trials and tribulations is what will make your accomplishments so much more meaningful in the end. Accepting that it won’t be linear is the first step in maintaining your focus on any dream.
Know that in real life, you can continue to dream as you evolve and adjust those dreams to your new realities. It won’t mean you’ve failed in achieving anything, it just means you are accepting you will always be in a state of growth—an essential place to be to make strides in success.
Pursue your passion purpose.
Everyone has a passion. It can range from politics to non-profit work to the arts. Our society has always been enamored with the idea that simply having a passion and focusing solely on that can grant you the key to success. Just pursue what you are passionate about and everything will fall into place, right? Wrong.
We’ve all heard the stories of people who have tried to follow their passions and have had to switch gears in order to make a better living or maintain a family. Just because your day job does not revolve around your life passion does not mean you haven’t unlocked the key to success.
Having a passion in life and being able to make a living off of it is wonderful, but oftentimes that is not the case, especially if you are just starting off in your field. Know that this is okay. The good news is if you cannot pursue your passion to make a living, you can always focus on pursuing your purpose.
You can find your purpose by analyzing some of your passions. Does your passion involve helping others? Does it involve contributing a special skill? What can you take from your passions and make relatable to your current situation? Take a closer look at your passions and you will find there is often a deeper purpose that can translate to any job you may have.
By finding your purpose you will open more doors and possibly find you have more than just your passion, but rather a mission that can carry you through many careers and down many paths in life.
Work hard, dream big then, work harder.
“Work hard, dream big” is one cliché that almost nails it, but in the real world it goes more like this: Work hard, then work harder. Following this revised version is where you will start to see the fruits of your labor.
Finding success at any stage of your life means putting in the extra effort. Going above and beyond the expectations and going the extra mile. When you work harder, you shine brighter.
When you bring your all to a job, you establish yourself and your brand at the top tier level. And in order to maintain this status, you will have to continue to work harder every single time as you raise that bar.
Every step up, you will be required to outdo the last. So, yes, keep dreaming big but know that you will be tasked with working even harder as you inch closer to achieving that dream.
Follow your dreams gut.
As noted earlier, your dreams will evolve. You will change and your notion of what real success means will also change. This brings me to the final cliché reworded for the real world: Follow your gut.
As you move throughout life, do not depend on the dreams you have drafted to be the definitive guide, because they will change over time. Instead, follow your gut as you move through jobs, friends, and life and use it as your compass. It will never fail you. Your inner voice will dictate what direction you are being drawn to and oftentimes there is a good reason for it. It is taking you to a place you belong to.
Learning to trust yourself is the key to achieving success on your own terms. You are the only person who will know what is best for you. You are the one who will determine what true success looks like.
At the end of the day, your life and dreams cannot be captured in a cliché; they are far too complex. Remember to stay agile with your dreams, find your purpose as you analyze your passions, work harder every single time, and follow your gut; this is real-life advice that goes beyond the clichés to help you move closer to what you really want in life.
About the author: Brenda Duran is a writer, communications specialist, and creative. She can be reached at bduran5@yahoo.com and at bduran.com.
This story was originally published on September 18, 2019, and has since been updated.
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Why It’s Important to Have Women in Your Life Who Succeed
"Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are."
Source: Darling Magazine
Looking back over my teens and twenties, I realized that many of my close friends happened to be strong, successful women. I don’t know if I was drawn to them because of how inspiring they were or if our paths just collided that way, but one thing I know is that their influence in my life has helped shape me into who I am.
Aren’t you always fascinated by what makes people the way they are? What is it that successful women do differently that sets them apart? I think the best way to find this out is to surround yourself with them; people who are just being amazing at life, and who will encourage you to be amazing at it, too! There’s a lot to be said for humbling yourself and gleaning from someone who’s living out their dreams already; their wisdom is invaluable.
Learning how to celebrate other women’s successes is a beautiful quality and something that will benefit everyone involved, but it’s not always easy. Sometimes, instead of feeling inspired we can feel insecure, or even jealous. We’ve all been there, and it’s an easy trap to fall into. If you find yourself in this situation, don’t beat yourself up. It’s what you choose to do with those feelings that really matters. Try countering your negative thoughts by acting in the opposite way; this is powerful and can help you to form new habits.
Having women in our lives who are going after something big, who are believing in who they are, and who are using their strengths encourages us to do the same. By embracing their achievements we can let their stories become models for our own successes.
Here’s why I think we need successful women in our lives:
They inspire us.
Often successful women are full of innovative ideas. They think creatively and don’t let themselves be limited by what others say can or can’t be done. They’re good for exchanging ideas with, and can give us valuable tips that could have taken us years to learn. Usually, these women are doing something they’re passionate about and naturally want to share their inspiring stories with us. They take risks and expect us to, as well.
We become like them.
Who we surround ourselves with is a good indicator of who we will become. Women who are good at what they do often got there by surrounding themselves with others who were already achieving. These type of women will most likely push us to be our best and to accomplish more than we might on our own. Whether our dream is to become a CEO of a large company, a nurse, or a mother, we will be a benefit by being around women who are living it out already.
"Who we surround ourselves with is a good indicator of who we will become."
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They understand us.
Every successful woman started somewhere and has probably been where we are at some point in their journey. They might just know the next step we need to take. High achievers have usually learned a lot about the work-life balance and may be able to offer advice and wisdom that we can apply to our own lives. They often understand the struggle and challenges involved in getting where we want to be and can offer guidance.
They motivate us.
In order to move forward, we need to have motivation. Women who are successful are often action-oriented, which can give us just the kickstart we need. They are natural problem solvers and can offer practical solutions to our challenges or situations.
They see what we will be.
Women who are succeeding generally have high expectations of themselves and others; when people expect a lot from us, we tend to live up to it. Having women in our lives who see the best in us can be a huge factor in our success. These type of women can often see talents and skills that we might not be able to see in ourselves and can help to draw them out.
From my experience, there is a richness to opening ourselves up in vulnerability to those who we are inspired by. Their confidence and passion is contagious, so let’s start an outbreak of women who believe in their own greatness.
"Confidence and passion is contagious, so let’s start an outbreak of women who believe in their own greatness."
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Who would you consider to be a woman like that in your life?
This piece originally appeared on Darling Magazine.
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