Have you ever heard that what you think is a self-fulfilling prophecy? Your thoughts have a huge impact on your actions and how you navigate life. If you don’t believe that you are able to achieve something, you probably won’t. You won’t be taking intentional actions towards something if you don’t think it is possible. Also, people will be able to see by your actions that you lack the confidence or the drive to get something done.
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Evaluating your mindset
As Michael Jordan says, “Some people want it to happen, some people wish it would happen, and others make it happen.” If you were dealt a bad hand in life, that is completely out of your control. It’s not your fault, and it doesn’t mean you have less value than someone else. However, if you decide that you will not go after the things that you want in life based on your current or past circumstances, than that is a mindset issue.
Escaping a victim mentality
I interact with so many people who live their life as a victim and claim that if things were different, they would have `more success. The harsh truth is that nobody cares about could-a would-a should-a’s. You have either done something or you haven’t. If you could have done something in the past what is stopping you from doing it now?! Once you are an adult and you are in a position to make your own choices. This means that you are responsible for your own happiness. You have to do what is best for you because you have to live with the positive and negative consequences of your actions.
How to go after your goals
If you want something in life, go after it! Consider the pros and cons then do an analysis of the risk and reward. Do you want to ask someone out on a date? Do it! The worst thing they can do is say no. Are you interested in making a career or lifestyle shift? Go for it. The worst think that can happen is it not working out. If it doesn’t work out, pick yourself up, learn from it, and regroup. Once you accept that failure is a part of life, being told no is not something that you should run from.
One goal of mine this year was to run towards certain things I could potentially be rejected for attempting. Every time I executed these tasks was a win because I wasn’t doing them before because I feared rejection. The great thing about it is, I actually received very few rejections and the ones I received I was able to learn from.
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Leaning into rejection
Getting use to rejection is like building a muscle. By flexing that muscle and getting used to the potential outcome of rejection, rejection itself becomes less significant. Getting over the fear of rejection is critical to becoming successful. No one is told yes all the time and if you are afraid of the idea of no, you have already lost.
The way I like to think about it is if something is important to me, I go after it. Period. If I am not willing to go after it than it can’t be that important to me. The idea of being told no is not worth not going after something that I want. By not going after what I want, I am losing more than if I didn’t go after it. At least I know the outcome by going after what I want but if I don’t try, I will never know.
“We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”
Jim Rohn
Building discipline and forming habits
Once you determine which habits you need to build to become successful, you have to stay dedicated to them. As Jim Rohn said, “We must all suffer from one of two pains: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret. The difference is discipline weighs ounces while regret weighs tons.”
Focus on Priority Management to Achieve Your Goals
As adults we have a million different priorities and it is very easy to make an excuse for why you don’t have time for something. Evaluate your current obligations and see where you can carve out time to achieve your goals. Remember, there is no such thing as time management, there is only priority management.
We prioritize things in our life that are important to us. We prioritize our family, friends, and jobs so we also need to prioritize our goals. Make a list of the goals you want to accomplish, rank the goals and select the top three to focus on. Once you have achieved those goals you can go on to the next set of goals. This will help you organize your priorities and make it so that you do not get overwhelmed and give up. The beginning of the journey is usually the hardest part but with hard work and time it does get easier.
Nothing worth having in life comes easy. Staying committed to a specific goal and taking the actions to achieve success is usually the most difficult part of reaching your potential.
What habits are you working to build or break to achieve your goals this year? Let me know in the comments!
Disclaimer: The content in this post is my opinion and should not be considered financial advice. I am not a financial expert or advisor. This content is for informational and educational purposes. For more details please visit the Disclaimer Page.
