8 Mindsets for Success
Are you ready to achieve a new level of success in some aspect of your life?
It seems an easy enough goal to aim for, right? After all, you’re smart and motivated. And there is no shortage of advice about what to do to reach your goals or live your dreams—and thus experience this greater success.But after several attempts to make change or implement said advice, why do you experience only mixed or varied results?
And why do these results, more often than not, feel haphazard (at best) or like the consequence of “luck” rather than an outcome based on a process that is both consistent and repeatable?
Tempting as it may be to blame the problem on the advice, on how you implement it or on some other external factor, to do so would be a mistake. The problem isn’t you or outside of you, but within you.
The problem is with your mindset—the rarely discussed, but critical, underlying component of every successful achievement. Yet despite this fact, few people realize success is not based strictly on whatyou do or how you do it. Instead, it is directly connected to how you think.
Ultimately then, it’s your thoughts—including your beliefs—that serve as the basis for all your subsequent actions, choices and behaviors. All of which either contribute to your success or lack thereof. Thus, it’s only by shifting your mindset and then aligning your actions accordingly that you begin to follow a success paradigm, which creates consistent results.As such, here are eight powerful mindsets that highly successful people live by—and which you’ll want to begin to cultivate within you too:
Mindset #1: Think Abundantly.
When a mindset is based in lack or limited thinking rather than one of abundance, it causes you to react to “what is right now” rather than respond to your vision of “what can be.” This means you determine what is possible based only on your current available resources. As a result, this severely limits and inaccurately “pre-determines” what you can achieve.
With an abundant or responsive mindset, however, you not only have a vision of what is possible, you develop and then follow a clear-cut strategy to achieve it. This strategy also includes being open to or identifying innovative ways to bring those necessary and needed resources into your life—even if you can’t see how to do so initially.
Mindset #2: Think Differently.
Your current thinking is what has created and led to your current level of success. Thus, if you want to live a bigger vision for your life you need to think differently, especially as this directly influences your choices, behaviors and actions steps too.
However, most people continue to follow what’s worked for them in the past and mistakenly believe it will take them to the next level of success. Because they continue “to do the same thing over and over again yet expect different results” they end up disappointed (and inadvertently live out Einstein’s definition of insanity too!). Frustrated, they wonder why nothing changes or improves for them—and over time, are likely to give up on their goals or dreams altogether.
Mindset #3: Think Big.
Yes, this mindset seems obvious. So much so, it’s almost become the official platitude for success. Nevertheless, the truth is most people think and start small in the hope they will eventually achieve and then live their bigger life goals and dreams.
However, it’s best to think big right from the start and then create the success strategy needed to reach that goal. In this way, your vision and your strategy influence your action steps—and it’s thesedirect action steps towards your goals or dreams, which determines what you can and will achieve.
Mindset #4: Think Positively.
This mindset seems (almost) overly simplistic that you may feel tempted to discount it. Don’t.
In addition, its regular overuse as an inept platitude to offer encouragement when one encounters difficulty or struggle has diminished its perceived value too. This, however, doesn’t mean it isn’t without worth.
Instead, a more skillful way to understand, “reframe” and then apply this valuable mindset would be to reference Henry Ford’s quote, “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.”
Mindset #5: Think Decisively.
When setting goals or pursuing a dream, make sure they are something you truly want to do, be or have. Then make a firm and fully committed decision to pursue them.
If you’re not one hundred percent decided and passionate about your goals or dreams, then when challenges arise (and they will!), you’ll likely waver. Nothing stops the flow or experience of success faster than hesitation and indecision.
Mindset #6: Think Faithfully
The faith or belief in your ability to be, to do or to achieve something greater (or different) than what you have now must be present before you experience success, not after.
It’s this inner sense or inner feeling that you are capable of so much more which helps build the bridge towards greater success, but if—and only if—you regularly act in accordance with your faith or belief.
Mindset #7: Think Commitment
Goethe once said that “the moment one definitely commits oneself then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.”
He’s right. A strong, unwavering commitment contains within it the power to initiate a flow of serendipitous events. This includes, but is not limited to, the necessary resources or opportunities needed to support your pursuit of greater success.
Mindset #8: Think Gratitude
Gratitude is an often misunderstood, but powerful, success mindset. It’s not something you expressafter you achieve your goal, but a mindset you maintain while in pursuit of it.
As such, worry and doubt are replaced with both a trust and faith that your goals and dreams are not only possible, but already achieved—and successfully so. All that’s left, for you to do, then, is to take the necessary steps to transform your “gratitude” into reality.
And then…to enjoy your newly created success.
