Getting Yourself in the Right State of Mind: Step 1



Your state of mind is everything. If you're discouraged and pessimistic you will not do well. That kind of attitude blocks you from taking action. The action you do take will be halfhearted and unlikely to turn out well. You will be in that vicious downward spiral.

On the other hand, if you are courageous, optimistic and believe in yourself, you'll take more action. You will be confident and perform better. It will be easy for you to go out and talk to people. People will sense your confidence and be attracted to you. You will dramatically increase the chances of successfully achieving your goals. Your mindset is a vital key to your success.

So how can you go from a weak to a strong mindset?

Here's how to get yourself in the right state of mind so you can make next year a better year, even your best year yet.

The first step is to get rid of the junk. By junk I mean the thoughts that drag you down and prevent you from doing your best. I'm talking about internal self talk, your internal critic. You also need to stay away from the naysayers, those who say you can't do it. There are people who will put you down in subtle ways. It might be their way of building up their own self-esteem , or they might be afraid if you become successful, you will no longer associate with them and they'll lose you.

It's a human trait to remember our mistakes and things that did not go well for you. To get rid of that trash, make a list of all the things that went badly for you last year. Why should you do that? Because there are some valuable lessons to be learned from those mistakes. Things you should not do again. Steps you can take to prevent their recurrence.

After listing your negative experiences, you need to let them go. Put them out of your mind. Each time you find yourself thinking about something discouraging replace it with something positive. If you find yourself thinking about the sales you lost, replace that thought with the sales you won. Also, hang around people who support you and build up your confidence by realistically reminding you of your strong points. This is a good reason to hire a coach

Getting Yourself in the Right State of Mind: Step 2

This brings us to the second step, list what went well for you, your successes. Dwell upon your successes. This is the key. It's what you dwell upon, what you fill your mind with, which will create your mindset.

This is especially important just before you undertake an important activity. Think about your successful sales just before and during your prospecting activities.

When reluctant to reprimand an employee, review why it's important for you to get high-performance from your workers. Next remember a time when you are confident, assertive and self-assured. Now you're ready to interact positively with that worker. You will find yourself becoming a stronger leader.

Some people find it very effective to install a trigger which evokes a powerful state of mind. A trigger is something they use to put themselves in a positive state. They will recall two or three specific incidents when they really felt good and were effective. During their recall they will touch themselves in a special way. This creates a conditioned reflex, which triggers the desired mindset. Then all they have to do is touch themselves in that special way and they are transformed into that powerful state of mind.

The reason why changing your mindset is so powerful and profound is that you are not changing your behavior so much as you are changing who you are.

Think about who you have to become to achieve your most cherished goals. What characteristics do you need to have? If you need to be a strong leader, then you have to develop the leader's mindset. If you need to be more tactful then you need the mindset of a diplomat. If you need to be disciplined about the use of your time you need a mindset that ruthlessly rejects distractions. Passion and enthusiasm is all about attitude or mindset. Who do you have to become to achieve everything you desire?

Practice these steps consistently for 14 days. At the end of that time, they'll become a habit. Being in a positive state of mind will improve your performance and dramatically increase your successes. Next year will be an awesome year.

Best wishes for a rich and rewarding business and life,

~Stan