Will You Achieve Success This Year?
As we close in on the end of the first month of the new year, it may be obvious, that if you want to achieve success this year you will need to be persistent in your actions for the remaining 11 months.
Yes, we all want to achieve success and that requires we be tenacious and persistent in spite of any obstacles we may face. For many of us, this means we must put a laser-like focus on our actions.
However, persistence in action will only take us so far if we don’t pay attention to the underlying beliefs, thoughts, and words that are driving those actions.
Achieve Success By What You Think?
What you think, is as important as what you do, they are symbiotic, meaning they work together.
If we take actions to achieve our goals, but they are incongruent or misaligned with our underlying thoughts, it will simply be a matter of time before our behaviors realign themselves with what our beliefs. For example, if you take actions to create wealth but your underlying belief about wealth or money is that you don’t deserve it, you may unconsciously sabotage yourself.
Years ago, a group wanted to see what would happen to a homeless person if they gave him $100,000. The only stipulation was they could follow him and record his behavior. He started slowly, buying only small things he needed which then grew into bigger and more expensive things for himself and others. Eventually, he blew through all the money and then quietly disappeared. Why? I believe his actions found congruence with his underlying belief about himself, money, and being homeless. He obviously didn’t believe he deserved it!
While this example may be a bit extreme, I think it exemplifies the importance of making sure are actions align with the beliefs necessary to achieve success at the level we want in our life.
Achieve Success By What You Say?
One way in which we can observe some of our underlying beliefs is by paying attention to our words. Why? Because our words reflect what we think internally. Watching our words and making sure we speak from a positive perspective, especially when it comes to ourselves, is critical if we want to achieve success.
Fellow Coach and colleague Shawna Schuh, is an incredible coach and watcher of words on our 5:15 AM group accountability calls. She helps us be aware of just how easily those negative words and thoughts can creep into thinking and our vocabulary and I always adore her for that! Well mostly, until she points out how those negative words crept back into my languaging again…ugh!
Creating Self-Imposed Obstacles
For years, I had never noticed how frequently I would use words like: struggle, hard, difficult, painful, tough, etc. until one day when I had an epiphany.
After years of unconsciously making my life harder than it needed to be, I came to the realization that growing up, I learned that my self-worth and value was tied to how hard a task was. Meaning, that if the actions I took to complete a task were hard, what I was doing had value, and if what I did had value, I had value!
Of course this was unconscious, but the harder I made my life, the more perceived worth I had. Like all of us who want to be valued and loved, I simply made things harder than they needed to be!
Crazy, I know and I’m sure I’m not the only child that learned this self-sabotaging behavior.
I had to examine my underlying belief about where my value came from, realign it with the truth and I had to stop using language that reflected that old belief!
Where Do You Start?
In order to achieve success, we need to be aware of our thoughts and words that create those self-imposed obstacles and glass ceilings.
You can start today by making a commitment to watch your words. Notice if you have a tendency to lean towards negative or self-defeatist language. If you need a list of positive words to start weaving into your vocabulary here is a link to 250 Positive Words. Pick 3 that you like and start using them today!
Another option is to look at the areas of your life and identify where you are not getting the results you desire. Ask yourself, what do you really believe about that area of your life (honestly, deep down when no one is around)? It doesn’t matter whether it is parenting, marriage, success, money, happiness, your career, etc.
I believe that if you are totally honest with yourself, you will see your results in that area are in alignment with your true belief. Next rewrite and reframe your belief so it supports the results you want. Now use this as a morning and evening affirmation.
It may take a little time and you might not do it perfectly, in fact you won’t do it perfectly, you just have to do it, reminding yourself again and again that the power to change yourself is within you!
Until next time…be safe and be positive!
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