What the mind believes
One of the most enduring pieces of advice I ever received occurred in the weight room of some long forgotten gym of my youth. While chatting with a veteran of many years of gym-wars, I lamented that I’d never be able to bench press 250lbs. His response: “The body achieves what the mind believes.” Of course, this mindset was in addition to all the other things I’d need to do en route to pushing the big plates, like eating right, building my core strength, etc.
My confidence grew as I saw myself progress and eventually I was able to push what at the time was some significant weight. Over the years I’ve since learned that this simple mantra is the core to all success. Simply put: say it, live it and believe it. Being successful in life and business is no less of a challenge than working out.
Program yourself for success and you will be a success.
Say it, live it, be it
To that end I agree with Joshua Becker when he says, “The words we use with ourselves, both aloud and in our mind, begin to define the reality that we live.”
This is not necessarily news. Scores of psychiatrist-writers have carved mini-fortunes for themselves with variations of this theme. The public continues to have an appetite for this, so I don’t expect the market for the power of positive thinking to diminish any time soon.
Steps for success
Of course, if it was that easy we’d all be walking with a bounce in our steps and a smile on our face. Positive self-talk is a challenge because so much of the world around us is negative. But you can beat the odds with a few simple steps for success.
Start in the morning
At the beginning of each day, make it a practice to speak positive, encouraging words into your life. Heck, don’t stop there. Self-talk is good all day long.
Stay focused
Remind yourself of your personal end game. Personally, I leave myself notes: in books, on the mirror, in the car. It helps keep me focused.
Accept set-backs and learn from them
Deal with it: you’re gonna fall down at some point. It happens. The difference between success and failure is picking yourself up, dusting yourself off and moving forward.
Repeat, repeat, repeat
Someone once told me it takes 21 days to form a habit. I don’t know if that’s true or not but I do know if you repeat your personal mantra every day and stay focused daily on your personal end game, you’ll be off and running.
Other things can help like associating with like-minded individuals, exercising and setting short and long-term goals. But redefining who you are and who you want to be starts and ends with YOU.
