Recalibrate your thinking habits to that of super successful people and start improving your performance right away.
Being successful starts with your thoughts. Thinking habits drive behaviors. Good or bad, productive or useless thought precedes action. However, self-defeating thoughts can derail a career whether it’s leadership, selling, entrepreneurship… you name it.
Therefore, clear, rational and optimistic thinking leads to eventual success. To reach your career goals, adopt the mindset of the top 5%. Develop these five thinking habits to advance your career:
1. Initiative
Without question, the super successful are self-starters. They wait for no one and they have no need for a cattle prod. Their minds crystallize their vision and they are emotionally connected to it. In addition, they are self-motivated to initiate each activity. They adapt to difficult situations. They navigate around unforeseen obstacles without waiting for supervisory instruction. Take some time to reflect on these questions regarding your own career:
- What is your vision for your career?
- How well does it align with your core motivations?
- What credentials do you need to continue on your career path?
- What are the three biggest obstacles that are slowing you down?
- Who can help you advance in your career?
2. Personal Accountability
This thinking habit prevents making excuses for a bad decision. The superstar’s brain enables them to be transparent with themselves. They make every effort to try and identify the cause of that bad decision. Their focus is more on correcting the problem to ensure future success than on protecting themselves from other people’s opinions. Their focus is on learning from their mistake. Therefore, saving face is not as important. Actually, not making the same sales mistake and doing better the next time rules the day.
- Do you shy away from transparency?
- Who in your life will tell you the truth about yourself?
- Can you handle the truth about your areas of development?
3. Integrative Processing
They have the cognitive ability to break down each problem into manageable pieces. From that, they discern which are the critical components. They can assimilate all the variables of a situation into a single homogenous concept. As a result, they use this to concept for planning, resource allocation, and solving problems.
- Do you struggle with being overwhelmed by problems?
- What is your process for breaking down a problem?
- Who do you trust to help you think through problem-solving?
4. Emotional Distance
Mega successful people can remain emotionally neutral (unaffected) by positive or negative experiences with others. Their mind does not internalize flattery or rejection. As a result, they are largely indifferent to surface level emotions directed at them. Instead, they focus their attention on the mission, following their plan, listening, learning and problem solving.
- Are you easily derailed when hearing criticism from others?
- Do you seek validation or affirmation from others?
- How is this affecting your ability to stay focused on your goals?
5. Self-Belief
Finally, their mind communicates success back to them. They visualize succeeding at each step of plan. For example, a superstar salesperson believes in their ability to execute the sales process. This includes prospecting, building trust, qualifying, analyzing needs, presenting solutions, negotiation, closing sales, etc.
They believe in their abilities with accuracy. Their mind is absolutely convinced they will succeed – regardless if the prospect buys or not.
- Does your belief system reinforce achievement or defeat?
- What skills do you need to develop to achieve your goals?
- What do you believe about yourself that is not true… and is holding you back?
Take time to think through your thinking.
“Do not be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind…” – Apostle Paul
What you feed your mind feeds you… and will reveal itself in the person you become.