What makes a person successful?
What sorts of successful habits do they cultivate?
While there are a myriad of self-help strategies out there, focusing on mindset is one of the most important.
Mindset determines your attitude when walking into any situation. Many “lucky” people only have a positive mindset to guide them. A negative mindset, alternatively, can cause a host of problems for people.
These are 8 successful habits that you can use to think yourself successful.
1. Affirmations
Think some positive thoughts about yourself. Eg. “I’m going to achieve my goal”. “I am a powerful, confident person”.
The most effective time to do affirmations is first thing in the morning. That way, the benefits carry on throughout your day.
2. Negative visualization
Born out of the ancient Greek philosophy of stoicism, negative visualization involves picturing yourself losing what you have. While that doesn’t sound positive, it’s a useful exercise. For example, imagine your car vanished out of the driveway and you weren’t able to replace it. Really imagine how that would affect your life. Next time you jump in your car, you’ll be grateful to have it. How is this a successful habit? You’ll begin to treat where you are in life as a gift. Your problems will be of small consequence because you’ll be so grateful for all the things going right.
3. Choosing love
According to Harvard researchers, “Happiness is love. Full stop.” Choosing to have loving relationships in our lives is a big key to success and happiness. When it comes to love, you’re much more likely to get after you give. Spend some time on building loving relationships with friends, family, and even your pets.
4. Gratitude
This habit is all about seeing the positive things in life. Being in a constant state of gratitude is what helps people carry on even in the toughest of times. Developing this mindset is as simple as keeping a gratitude journal. Simply write down three positive encounters that you had a part in creating, everyday. Your brain will begin to recognize positive situations unfolding and you can take full advantage of them. Gratitude also insulates you from the negativity in the world. If you only notice the bad things happening in life, it’s going to cause you stress.
5. Solution-oriented
Framing is the concept of viewing things from different perspectives. Most of us get stuck in a problem framework, where we see the problem and don’t search for solutions. A successful habit is to shift into using a solutions-based perspective. When a problem arises, don’t complain, dwell, or try to place blame. Simply start thinking of solutions to the problem and work at getting things back on track. Not only will this make you valuable in the eyes of others, it’s going to make you feel capable and confident.
6. Thinking flexibly
There’s a reason stubbornness is not considered a virtue. Inflexible people don’t lead effective lives. The more flexible you are, the more you will succeed. Consider this quote from Thomas Edison:
“I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have
succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have
eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will
work.”
Thomas Edison had a flexible way of thinking about failure. You can use the same concept to any roadblock you might encounter. Are problems insurmountable obstacles or merely challenges for you to overcome?
7. Curiosity
Being intensely curious is a massive part of success. Look at the most successful people today and this is a common trait you will find across all of them. Cultivating a curiosity mindset requires that you ask lots of questions, learn new skills wherever you can, and search for the silver lining in failure. You walk into new challenges, just to see if there’s some value to extract. You need curiosity to spot the opportunities that others won’t see and ultimately, to lead a fulfilling life.
8. Optimistic
We can’t be positive all the time but taking on an optimistic mindset is still worthwhile. Life rewards people who delay gratification and grind away at tasks. Without an optimistic mindset, you’re bound to give up early and often. You need to believe that the journey is worthwhile. It takes more than just thinking positive to adopt an optimistic mindset. It involves avoiding excessive negativity (like what can often be found on the evening news) and surrounding yourself with other optimists.
The reality is that we get one shot at life. A great mindset is the essential ingredient to a successful life. These successful habits will teach you to maintain an optimal mindset, regardless of the situation you find yourself in.