How to go from Desire to Success
Back in 2006, when I still lived in Brazil, I had set a goal in my mind which was to work on a project abroad. I already worked as a consultant and had a good experience to back up that dream. I started looking and talking to everyone I thought could help me achieve that goal. Unknowingly, I cultivated a success mindset when I decided failure wasn’t an option, planned a strategy and started taking action towards it with a clear goal in mind.
The opportunity came in 2007 when an acquaintance connected me to a US-based consultant company, they interviewed me, got me a work visa and from there it’s history.
For me, once I got into that plane with a consultant job in the US under my belt, that was success. After over a year of making connections that lead me to the right people with the power to help me, and waiting for a lengthy process of getting a work visa, my dream of snatching a consultant job abroad came true. Turns out I ended up staying (but that’s a story for another post!).
What is success
Success is achieving whatever you determine your goal to be. It could be getting a better job/pay, getting into a better love relationship, improving your health, or any other area you want to improve in your life. It should reflect what matters to you. Better yet if it is well defined and as specific as possible. Building a vision board is a great way to visualize your goals and imprint them on your mind.
My success goals now are different and as you move on and achieve new ones, yours should change too. It’s a natural evolution to set new goals and adjust your definition of personal success as you grow.
What does it take to achieve goals?
Many people would answer this question with: a clear purpose (goal), a plan of action (strategy), and taking actions. And all of these are crucial. However, if you don’t have a success mindset, your chances of achieving success are minimal.
What supports you going through these stages is how much you believe in yourself and your ability to persist in the face of challenge and setbacks. A strong success mindset is what will carry you on to not give up on your dreams. Without it, your mind will be your worst enemy. Your thoughts of self-doubt, insecurity, fear and lack of self-confidence will have that much more power to halt your best efforts and stop you on your tracks before you are able to reach your goals. The rate of small business that fail in their first five years is at a steady 50%.
If you want to increase your chances of having success, you need to develop a success mentality.
What is a success mindset
A successful mindset is a mentality that supports your positive beliefs, your self confidence, and an unwavering faith in your ability to reach your goals. That requires a growth mindset: when you believe you can learn and improve yourself to be able to achieve your goals, even if you think you don’t currently have what it takes. What matters is that you believe that you can become the person who does. You are goal oriented and have a positive attitude that will move you toward your goals.
How to develop a successful mindset
The way to develop a growth and success mindset takes some effort but is achievable by anyone who wishes to. Below are some steps that are involved in shifting your mindset to one of success.
Practicing positive affirmations
Based on the science of autosuggestion, the practice of positive affirmations support the shifting of your limiting beliefs to ones that support your abilities to achieve your goals. I love surrounding myself with positive affirmations that remind me how powerful my mind is. Check out Blissful Road’s shop for some great inspiration for you.
Eliminating negative self-talk
Pay attention to thoughts that tell you “I can’t”, “I am unable to”, “I lack the resources”, or anything that puts limits you seemingly cannot move past. Are these really the truth?
Replace these limiting thoughts with ones of empowerment and faith. What you say to yourself matters.
Looking for successful examples
If your goals are realistic, have others attained them in the past to set the example? What did they do to move past these difficulties? Look into examples of people who achieved similar goals before you and study them. These people weren’t necessarily geniuses or “special” or natural born talents. What they probably had was a success mindset.
Protecting yourself from naysayers
Often the closest people to us are not our biggest supporters. If this is your case and you have close friends or family members who tend to discourage you from reaching your goals, or not believe in your capabilities, find different people to discuss your goals with. You don’t need to distance yourself from them when just changing the subject will resolve the conflict. But you will need a circle of people who will support you on your journey to inspire and motivate you. Find these connections.
This is different than not accepting constructive criticism. The ability to course-correct when you are heading toward a clear disaster path is obviously important. But make sure the people advising you know what they are talking about.
Creating a vision
As mentioned above, having clear goals and utilizing visualization are powerful tools. Check this article on Vision Boards for a more detailed explanation on how to use these tools and why they are beneficial.
Practicing gratitude
One of the most powerful tools for shifting your mindset to a more positive one is to practice gratitude. By being grateful daily for the good you already have in your life, you set yourself to receive more things to be grateful for. It is similar to the “cup half full” mentality. The advantages of practicing gratitude daily are described in this article.
Keeping your mind open
When you define your goals and set yourself on the journey that will lead you to achieve them, keep your mind open to the possibilities. Be flexible. Challenges occur and changes of plan are part of the course. If one method didn’t work, try another. If some opportunity came up that you were not expecting, consider it. It might be the Universe’s way of showing you a shortcut.
Taking action
Achieving goals is a lot about mental work – but also takes action. If you have a goal of becoming more physically fit, you will need to implement a plan that includes working out and being more active. If you want to get a better job, you will need to do research and reach out to desirable job opportunities. Taking the first step is always the hardest! But if you keep that end goal in mind and have a success mindset in place, you will be unstoppable.
The importance of a success mindset
Hopefully by now you understand that, to achieve the goals you set for yourself in life, a success mindset is essential. Also, that it is not impossible build a successful mindset. It does not come naturally, though. Following the steps defined above, you should be able to shift your mentality to one of success and positive attitude that will end up representing most of the groundwork towards your dreams.
Ready?
Set…
Go!