We can achieve what we can conceive and believe. ~ Mark Twain
One thing that all successful people have in common no matter what their career or talent is that they see themselves as successful and they have an abundance of positive energy toward their goals.
Anyone can choose to be successful. Success begins with a positive attitude and the belief that you can do what you need to do to be successful.
OK. If this is true you ask, then why isn’t everyone successful? Here is the challenge. It is simply not that easy for many of us to BELIEVE that we can be successful, that we have the ability, the talent, the temperament, the drive for success. For in our minds, we actually believe the opposite, and therefore, we consistently sabotage our efforts. Our subconscious mind is hardwired with self-doubt and negative thoughts and beliefs from our upbringing. Our conscious mind, however, does have the power to re-program our thoughts and create a new positive reality. We have the power to make the choice.
If you believe you can or if you believe your can’t…you’re right. ~ Henry Ford
The very first step to a successful attitude is to plant the positive thought in your mind and embrace this thought wholeheartedly.
In the words of Mahatma Gandhi:
Your beliefs become your thoughts.
Your thoughts become your words.
Your words become your actions.
Your actions become your habits.
Your habits become your values.
Your values become your destiny.
Simply changing our language can help to re-program our thoughts over time.
Here are some tips for putting a more positive spin on the “put-downs” in your head.
- Be aware of your language. Eliminate phrases such as “I’ll try” or I’ll attempt that” or “I’ll do the best I can”. What are you saying after all when you use this language? That you will stop short somewhere BEFORE you are successful? Eliminate the word TRY and replace it with WILL and see how powerful that sounds.
- Eliminate vague language such as “kind of” when speaking about your goals and actions. Show your commitment and feel the power of using “I will”.
- Speak in the present tense when speaking about your intentions. Embrace the feeling that you have achieved your goals.
- Be decisive. Instead of “I would like to get that done this week”, use “I will complete that project this week”.
- Ditch all the negative statements such as “If I promote myself and my business, people will consider me pushy and won’t like me”. Statements such as this are limiting your behavior and therefore sabotaging your success. Re-frame the negative statements so that they work for you in a positive way. Try this instead. “When I promote myself and my business, my message is compelling and interesting and people remember me. There are many opportunities out there for my product/services and I will spread the word in order to get more business and be successful.”
See how this works? We are re-programing our minds by using positive language.
We need to be aware that we often sabotage ourselves with self-doubt and negativity. Once we recognize this behavior as limiting, we can choose instead to move forward in a positive way and choose success.
First and foremost, success is an attitude. It’s your choice.
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Cheers Bonnie, this a good line – “…we consistently sabotage our efforts.”
This is something I see in a lot of people around me.
Great article Bonnie!
We don’t have to believe, live with or accept any prior negative conditioning. It’s time to take back control of our thoughts by witnessing, addressing and altering our patterns of self talk.
Shann
Agree completely. I took a course in my twenties – college drop out with two kids and divorced. Totally turned my life around. I raised my sons, put them through college and now own my own business which is very successful. I now know I can achieve anything I set my mind to. Belief is the key – and you can create that with positive imaging.
Michael,
Congratulations to you! You are a great example of how you can achieve what you set your mind to.