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Nothing is possible without it & everything flows easy when you get it right π― Wednesday Win
Published 5 months agoΒ β’Β 4 min read
The most surprising lesson to learn is the our struggles with reaching our priority goals are not due to external forces. It's not the world around us keeping us down and holding us back. Sure there are challenges all around, but what really makes the difference to whether you'll find a way through or not? Your attitude.
The good news? You have everything you need to turn it around.
This may sound strange. When life feels off track, we all are likely to look for a reason outside of ourselves. When we don't like our bank balance, it must be because of the economy, our boss, customers, taxes, or inflation. Or if our health and fitness is just not right, it's due to our schedules, work demands, food prices, or how hard it is to get to the gym.
We just keep coming up with how it's someone else's fault we aren't living up to our goals, but that's never going to help us succeed.
What happens to us, happens to just about everybody and yet many find success despite those same challenges.
That's why fixing our attitude is the right place and really the only place to start.
Let's look at what other leaders have to say on how to get this right:
1. To have more, you must become more
Jim Rohn described this need simply. If you want to improve your life, you must change your philosophy. Everything you believe and every aspect of how you view yourself and the world has gotten you to your present moment in life.
If you aren't satisfied with that, your philosophy, your attitude, your view of the world must change in order to embrace new opportunities, take new actions, and achieve new results.
Let go of excuses. They don't serve you
Take ownership of your current and future situations
Be gentle with yourself. This is not about regret, but renewal
When I talk about these topics, I often hear from people who say, "sure, that might be easy for you, but you don't know how hard I've had it."
I'm not suggesting this is fair, but only that there's no other way to move forward except by shedding the excuses. They are only going to keep you from making progress.
Don't give those bad experiences power over your life.
2. Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right
Henry Ford famously made that quip about self-confidence and it teaches something useful today. We must have confidence in ourselves first in order to achieve.
When we allow external reasons to block our path, we have failed before we've even gotten started.
Brian Tracy suggests there are two powerful ways to bolster our confidence in our plans to reach our goals:
We have previously achieved this goal and can do it again
Someone else has achieved this goal and we can see it can be done
Believe in yourself or borrow a little self-confidence from the success of others. Either way, don't get blocked by doubt.
3. Start with why
As Simon Sinek highlighted in his book, Start with Why, massive success comes when emotion backs action. This happens when we align our goals with our fundamental personal motivation.
Everyone has a deep-seated purpose in their lives, but only rare individuals take the time to reflect, define, and focus on that purpose. Find your why and massively accelerate your success.
What do you value?
What motivates you to action?
What values are essential to you?
Focus on your driving causes or beliefs that are most meaningful to you. You will struggle if those don't align with your goals and plans.
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
4. We do not attract that which we want, but that which we are
James Allen, wrote that sentiment in his classic, As a Man Thinketh. The world doesn't provide what we desire or even what we need. It only provides what we deserve.
This is why it's so critical for us to do the necessary work, to keep commitments, and build positive, healthy habits.
"When your identity is rooted in current commitments, rather than your Future Self, your actions are weak and unaligned with your goal. The only way to realize your future self is to be your future self now.β
Our minds only allow us to succeed when we believe ourselves to be the kind of person who accomplishes goals like those
Don't let your current actions define you if you don't like your current condition
Elevate your self-view in order to elevate your results
You must first start acting and seeing yourself as a person who has fully achieved your goals and only then will you start seeing the results of that commitment.
Be Your Future Self Now: The Science of Intentional Transformation by Benjamin Hardy
Action Summary
It many not seem obvious at first, but if your results aren't good, the first place to check is your attitude. It might be time to reset and take command of your philosophy. What hasn't served you, discard. And, whatever you've been missing, build up.
Drop your excuses and take ownership of where you are today
Focus on the "why" behind your latest goals. Is that motivating enough to keep you powering though the toughest challenges?
Resolve to build the skills in advance to become the kind of person who succeeds in reaching goals like these.
First, become the person you wish to be in your thoughts and let that perspective drive your actions
Nothing much can be achieved if your attitude won't support it. Refresh your philosophy and watch the impact it can have on your life.
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How has a change in attitude impacted your life? Reply to this email and let me know.
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