Mindset for Success
With 2021 upon us and another year of uncertainty, change and flexibility required, it is the perfect time to take stock of our progress, goals and desires. Furthermore, to determine what specific habits will be most useful to thrive and succeed in the year ahead. While many people have already shown great skills in adaptation, resilience and changing direction, not everyone has been so successful.
These six exclusive habits will help you in every area of your life. Business, personal, relationships, health and accomplishments. Make these the foundation of your year for building grit, resilience, curiosity and perspective. Moreover, for future proofing your livelihood, well-being and health.
The first of the six exclusive habits
Curiosity
This habit underpins all the other habits. The energy of your mind is attention, so when you can shift your attention and focus on possibility and new solutions, many of your challenges and problems can be resolved. I have dedicated an entire article to developing the skill of curiosity and making it one of your exclusive habits. For now, here are six questions to remember and sprinkle into your day.
What am I missing here?
How else can I view this situation?
What do I really want to happen here?
If I say yes to this, what am I saying no to?
If I knew the answer, what question would I have asked?
What is my greatest learning here?
The second of the six exclusive habits – Courage
Whatever your preference for building resilience, you must develop your muscle of courage. Furthermore when you show courage you build what I call ‘Grit.’ And grit builds character and helps you tap into courage more often. Moreover, while questions help you see things differently, one of the quickest and most effective ways to find solutions and fast track results is to find a mentor or coach. One who can guide you, help you master your emotions and mental state and learn to manage the highs and lows, challenges and hurdles with more ease. Ultimately to develop mastery over your mental and emotional state.
Physical challenges are a great way to challenge yourself to push yourself to new limits and your body produces endorphins which help you feel good. Moreover, simple changes to your routines, such as cleaning your teeth with your other hand can help loosen up old comfortable habits.
Furthermore, this helps open up new neural pathways so your brain adapts and grows. Finally, with more grit and strength of character you are more likely to do the things you know you should but don’t!
Simplification
Yes, even clearing up the clutter and getting rid of excess baggage is helpful. Make a list of all the things you don’t need or would like to get rid of or sort out. Look around your house or workplace at the clutter, piles of stuff, current and unfinished projects. Next, consider the things you feel you have to do in your life each day. Write them all down and determine what is important.
What tasks or chores can you eliminate?
Which ones can you say no to?
If you find it hard to say no, imagine you could and then look at the list through this lens. Keep the list at the back of a book. Each week transfer two, three or four things you will commit to work on this week in your quest to simplify. Determine how many according to your current schedule and available time. When you clear the clutter around you, suddenly your mind becomes clearer. Furthermore, it works in reverse too. Break your projects into small tasks. Tick each one off when you finish. This will help you feel good. Moreover, it creates more space in your mind and increases your level of certainty in life.
Perspective is a vital and exclusive habit to develop
Your Mindset is the established set of attitudes you hold. Shifting your mindset and seeing things differently is one of the six exclusive habits to create. The definition of perspective is a particular attitude towards, or way of regarding something. Choose to have a perspective that always you to look for alternatives. Moreover, practice seeing at least three sides to every situation and choose the one that is the most positive and helpful. Remember you have the ability to choose whatever meaning you want to make of a situation.
Coupled with curiosity, when you practice seeing things from different perspectives, you will find it easier to resolve problems and find new solutions. Moreover, learning how to creatively change the meaning you put on an experience is helpful.
Furthermore, the clearer your vision and the greater clarity you have as to your goals and purpose. the easier it is to keep focused. Adding in consistency to all your do will also give you the competitive edge. Ultimately, it will be easier to stay strong in spite of what is happening in the world around.
Connection
In our technologically driven economy, we have forgotten the simple art of connection. This includes connecting with ourselves and knowing who are and what we stand for, as well as with others. You only have to look around when you at a restaurant or other social meeting place. How many people do you see glued to their phones, or glancing at them during a conversation? As if they just can’t help being distracted by their phone. A mere bing, beep or flash of a new social media post hijacking their attention away from being present? Furthermore, connection, the very thing we all crave, is one of our core needs. Yet we willingly sacrifice this for our often unhealthy relationship with our smart phones.
One of the five ingredients from Dr. Seligman’s PERMA™ theory of well-being is positive relationships. Yet too often we forget to prioritise this over our addiction to technology. Set some new rules and boundaries around how you connect with people and the use of technology. Moreover, schedule in alone time. This is a great way to observe yourself curiously. Only with more awareness can you discover your habits. Your thoughts, feelings and triggers that drive many of your behaviours. By becoming curious and aware you are then able to change your inner response. Change a thought, belief or choose to act despite a feeling of not wanting to do something. Good choices are what will help you take the right behaviours and create better habits.
The last of the exclusive habits – Flexibility
As humans we have a tendency to get in our own way. We are by nature, creatures of habit and easily fall back into our comfortable ways of being and acting. So we find ourselves stuck and unable to free ourselves. Our habits extend to what we believe and what we consistently think about and do. There has never been a more critical time in our lives to develop this exclusive habit of flexibility.
This includes how we think about and operate our businesses. How we show up with our families. And how can we change what isn’t working? Moreover, as many people are now working from home and spending more time in each other’s company, new boundaries may be required. The key to this is embracing a flexible mindset. Much of our conditioning and behaviours is driven from our subconscious mind yet this is the domain of our habits and settled ways of being.
Only with awareness, desire and practice can we shift the old and allow new habits, behaviours and attitudes to become established. A flexible mindset is part of having a growth mindset, or mindset for success. Moreover, this is the ultimate gift you can give yourself. Change your mind, change your life.
It is no surprise to me that the majority of my clients all came through 2020 stronger, wiser and many, even more successful than before.
So now it’s over to you. Start embracing these six exclusive habits into your life and decide which one will you start to cultivate right now?
About the Author
Mandy Napier is a Global High Performance Mindset Coach who is dedicated to supporting high achievers fulfil their potential and achieve extraordinary results professionally and personally. Transformations are the norm, and results guaranteed.
