Maintaining
the success mindset isn’t easy. There are seven things, in particular, that
tend to shatter it. These challenges drag people down because they appear to be
barriers that cannot be overcome. Not so for successful people, as these
challenges never hold them back.
1. Age
Age
really is just a number. Successful people don’t let their age define who they
are and what they are capable of. Just ask Betty White or any young, thriving
entrepreneur. I remember a professor in graduate school who told our class that
we were all too young and inexperienced to do consulting work. He said we had
to go work for another company for several years before we could hope to
succeed as independent consultants. I was the youngest person in the class, and
I sat there doing work for my consulting clients while he droned on. Without
fail, people feel compelled to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do
because of your age. Don’t listen to them. Successful people certainly don’t.
They follow their heart and allow their passion -- not the body they’re living
in -- to be their guide.
2. Negativity
Life
won’t always go the way you want it to, but when it comes down to it, you have
the same 24 hours in the day as everyone else does. Successful people make
their time count. Instead of complaining about how things could have been or
should have been, they reflect on everything they have to be grateful for. Then
they find the best solution available, tackle the problem and move on.
When
the negativity comes from someone else, successful people avoid it by setting
limits and distancing themselves from it. Think of it this way: If the
complainer were smoking, would you sit there all afternoon inhaling the
second-hand smoke?
Of
course not. You’d distance yourself, and you should do the same with all
negative people.
3.Toxic people
Successful
people believe in a simple notion: you are the average of the five people you
spend the most time with. Just think about it -- some of the most successful
companies in recent history were founded by brilliant pairs. Steve Jobs and
Steve Wozniak of Apple lived in the same neighborhood, Bill Gates and Paul
Allen of Microsoft met in prep school, and Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google
met at Stanford.
Just
as great people help you to reach your full potential, toxic people drag you
right down with them. Whether its negativity, cruelty, the victim syndrome or
just plain craziness, toxic people create stress and strife that should be
avoided at all costs.
If
you’re unhappy with where you are in your life, just take a look around. More
often than not, the people you’ve surrounded yourself with are the root of your
problems. You’ll never reach your peak until you surround yourself with the
right people.
4. What other people think
When
your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from comparing yourself to
others, you are no longer the master of your own destiny. While it’s impossible
to turn off your reactions to what others think of you, you don’t have to hold
up your accomplishments to anyone else’s, and you can always take people’s
opinions with a grain of salt. That way, no matter what other people are
thinking or doing, your self-worth comes from within.
Successful
people know that caring about what other people think is a waste of time and
energy. When successful people feel good about something that they’ve done,
they don’t let anyone’s opinions take that away from them.
No
matter what other people think of you at any particular moment, one thing is
certain -- you’re never as good or bad as they say you are.
5. Fear
Fear
is nothing more than a lingering emotion that’s fueled by your imagination.
Danger is real. It’s the uncomfortable rush of adrenaline you get when you
almost step in front of a bus. Fear is a choice. Successful people know this
better than anyone does, so they flip fear on its head. They are addicted to
the euphoric feeling they get from conquering their fears.
Don’t
ever hold back in life just because you feel scared. I often hear people say,
”What’s the worst thing that can happen to you? Will it kill you?“ Yet, death
isn’t the worst thing that can happen to you... The worst thing that can happen
to you is allowing yourself to die inside while you’re still alive.
6. The past or the future
Like
fear, the past and the future are products of your mind. No amount of guilt can
change the past, and no amount of anxiety can change the future. Successful
people know this, and they focus on living in the present moment. It’s
impossible to reach your full potential if you’re constantly somewhere else,
unable to fully embrace the reality (good or bad) of this very moment.
To
live in the moment, you must do two things:
Accept
your past. If you don’t make peace with your past, it will never leave you and
it will create your future. Successful people know the only good time to look
at the past is to see how far you’ve come.
Accept
the uncertainty of the future, and don’t place unnecessary expectations upon
yourself. Worry has no place in the here and now. As Mark Twain once said,
"Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe."
7. The state of the world
Keep
your eyes on the news for any length of time and you’ll see it’s just one
endless cycle of war, violent attacks, fragile economies, failing companies and
environmental disasters. It’s easy to think the world is headed downhill fast.
And
who knows? Maybe it is. But successful people don’t worry about that because
they don’t get caught up in things they can’t control. Instead, they focus
their energy on directing the two things that are completely within their power
-- their attention and their effort.
They
focus their attention on all the things they’re grateful for, and they look for
the good that’s happening in the world. They focus their effort on doing what
they can every single day to improve their own lives and the world around them,
because these small steps are all it takes to make the world a better place.
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