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5 Mindset Strategies For Success And Prosperity

by | Strong Mindset

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Today we’re covering 5 mindset strategies for success in both life and work. And we’re focusing specifically on those strategies that will help increase stress resilience and improve your leadership skills.

Because, although your mindset isn’t the only thing you need to succeed in life, it’s impossible to truly succeed without the right mentality. And the good news is that it’s within your control. By using simple, proven mindset strategies, you can rewire your mind to:

  • Learn from setbacks (so that you can leverage what you learned),
  • Be resilient to stress, and
  • Achieve more (working less, smarter).

Why Mindset Strategies For Success?

What does being successful mean to you? I’m sure at least a portion of your definition includes money, achievements, and material possessions. And it likely includes how others perceive you (as a high-achiever, it’s normal to want to earn the respect of your peers and colleagues).

But where do you fit into the equation?

Being successful on paper isn’t enough. Real success and prosperity includes feeling content in who you are and how you’re making decisions.  And that means that it begins with mindset mastery. . .

Understanding Your Mindset

Despite the fact that mindset has become a buzzword, I find that most people don’t have a good understanding of what it means (or why it’s so important).

Your mindset is the mental attitude with which you approach something. It’s a collection of your thoughts, assumptions and beliefs.

The right mindset (what I call a success mindset) is what:

  • Convinces you to start before you feel ready,
  • Motivates you to keep going (even though you know you might fail),
  • Keeps you focused so that you don’t get distracted or procrastinate, and
  • Empowers you to learn from and bounce back from setbacks (instead of giving up discouraged).

For more about why your mindset is so important to your success and happiness, read about Why Mindset Is Everything (The Key to Success & Happiness).

The Importance of Mindset

It’s important to note that having the right mindset doesn’t guarantee success. Contrary to the claims of many, you’re not able to *poof* manifest success within your business or your personal life just because you have the right mindset.

But your mindset does determine how you perceive the world, the people in it and your role within the world. And how you perceive yourself and the world heavily influences your behavior (including your habits). That’s obviously going to impact your results – as well as your happiness.

 

Importance of Mindset Graphic

 

Even though having the right mindset doesn’t guarantee success, having the wrong mindset is almost certain to lead to failure. It’s easy to get distracted and discouraged when your mindset isn’t right.  This is why it’s so important to learn the right mindset strategies for success and happiness.

Types of Mindsets

Now that we’ve established the importance of your mindset, let’s talk about the different types of mindsets that you might have. So that you can figure out what mindset strategies you want.

Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset

There are two basic mindsets (that are talked about a lot in the personal development world): (1) a growth mindset and (2) a fixed mindset.

A growth mindset is when you believe that your traits, talents and intelligence levels aren’t set but can be improved.  Someone with a growth mindset will see problems as challenges to be solved while focusing on what can be learned.

A fixed mindset is a belief that your talents and traits (and – to some extent – your intelligence) is fixed.  You might believe that you could learn, but only to a point.  Someone with a fixed mindset will try to prove themselves based on current knowledge and skills, instead of focusing on developing their skills further.

These two mindsets are opposites of one another.  And it’s important to note that most people have a mix of both.

Other Mindsets

I don’t believe that there are only 2 types of mindsets out there.  There are others, including:

  • Fear Mindset: a focus around what could go wrong and what others will think.
  • Leader Mindset: a willingness to make your own path and be independent.
  • Service Mindset: wanting to serve others and make a difference in the world.
  • Follower Mindset: preferring that others make decisions so that you can go with the flow.

Like with growth and fixed mindsets, it’s likely that you have a combination of some of these (and it will depend on the circumstances as to when they tend to come into play).

How to Know What Your Mindset Is

It’s not always easy to spot when a negative mindset is taking over. That’s because you think it’s just the truth or being real. But it’s not (it’s just your inner critical voice telling you that an opinion is truth).

So, how will you know? Be on the lookout for hyper-critical, fear-based and self-limiting statements within your head.

Here are some of the most common negative thoughts (and how to turn them around):

 

Reframing a Negative Mindset Into a Positive Mindset Pinterest Image

 

What Is A Success Mindset?

A success mindset is a combination of:

Growth Mindset + Service Mindset + Leader Mindset

Here’s what a success mindset will help you to do:

  • Be resilient to stress.
  • Think calmly and creatively when under pressure.
  • Learn from mistakes and failures.
  • View problems as challenges to be solved.
  • Act despite fears and doubts.
  • Be decisive.

A success mindset triggers strategic thinking, builds self-confidence and empowers you to correct when things don’t go as planned.  It’s what enables you to live your life to the fullest and not have regrets.

 

Picture of drawing about how mindset affects your attitude, behavior and results

 

5 Effective Mindset Strategies For Success

Here are 5 powerful mindset strategies for success that will increase your ability to be both happy and successful (in all areas of your life).

 

question marks

 

Strategy #1: Be Curious

Being curious is your first mindset strategy for success. Curiosity will open your mind to the many possibilities, focusing on what can be learned (not what you supposedly know to be right).

You won’t be attached to only one way of doing things, one answer to a problem or one path to completion. That means that you’ll be willing to get (and accept) help. And you’ll be less likely to take setbacks personally.

Instead of seeing new problems as barriers, you’ll see them as challenges to be solved (excited to see what happens). Hence, you’ll be more nimble when complications arise and circumstances change (and much less likely to get stuck in worry or discouraged).

How To Be More Curious

To encourage curiosity, work to tame your inner critical voice and act despite fears. That voice is what often stops you from engaging your curiosity.

Luckily, I have written an article 5 Effective Tools To Stop Living In Fear and Worry that will help you tame your inner critic, diminish your fears and live alongside them.

Additionally, it’s important to remind yourself that you don’t have to be the expert at everything – and that you’re not perfect. Perfectionism isn’t attainable, and will only create worry around not being good enough (stimulating a fixed, fear-based mindset).

And to get your creative juices flowing, start asking questions (just like the ones you used to ask as a child). Ask how, why, and why not.

 

lightbulb on top of a head in the rain

 

Strategy #2: Learn From Failure

Remember that a growth mindset embraces learning. And that includes learning from mistakes, setbacks, difficult circumstances and failures.

That means that you’ll need to ask yourself (often) what you’re learning – even when you’ve failed. By doing this, you’ll be able to better identify growth opportunities and will be less likely to see setbacks and mistakes as absolute failures.

Please note, I’m not talking about being unnaturally positive or trying to find a silver lining when one doesn’t exist. And I’m not saying that you should ignore mistakes, failures and setbacks. Instead, you’ll be learning from them so that you don’t get stuck and can instead leverage them. They’ll fuel future success.

There’s a lesson to be learned from everything – even mistakes, setbacks and failures.

[Recommended Reading: How To Be Confident Again After Failure].

 

Picture of calm woman who isn't stressed

 

Strategy #3: Practice Self-Compassion

Conventional wisdom says to continually build your self-esteem so that you can be more confident. But guess what? Conventional wisdom is wrong about this.

Building your self-esteem doesn’t necessarily make you more confident (and focusing obsessively on self-esteem can increase narcissism). What matters is your self-compassion (which is why practicing self-compassion is your third mindset strategy for success).

Self-compassion is about acknowledging mistakes and then forgiving yourself for them. Practicing self-compassion will help you to let go and move on from mistakes (so that you can learn and implement strategy #2 above).

Want an unexpected tip for how to be more self compassionate?  Say no more often.

Here’s the thing: saying no isn’t really about the no. It’s an enforcement mechanism to uphold your boundaries. And boundaries are for the purpose of meeting your needs and upholding your priorities.

When saying no to others, you’re saying yes to yourself (an act of self-care and self-compassion).

For help with saying no kindly (yet firmly), listen to my Life & Law Podcast episode about How To Draw Boundaries.

 

Picture of woman writing

 

Strategy #4: Use Positive Self-Talk

Your inner voice can be your best ally. Positive self-talk can motivate you in the face of a challenge and keep you focused. But it’s not just about helping you do more because positive self-talk will also boost your performance.

The key is to use positive self-talk correctly. Because being overly positive doesn’t work. And saying something over and over (that you don’t really believe) won’t magically change your mind.

Here’s how to make positive self-talk work for you:

  • Be real (no false silver-linings or lies);
  • Narrate a story as to WHY you believe it (citing evidence for it);
  • Talk to yourself in the second-person (“you can do it” instead of “I can do it”); and
  • Talk out loud.

Talking to yourself in the second-person increases both your willingness to perform and your actual performance. And saying it out loud makes you more likely to retain information and learn.

Crazy as it may sound, research backs this all up. So, if you love to talk to yourself out loud (like me), you’re not crazy.  You’re smart!

 

Picture of women having coffee together

 

Strategy #5: Ask For Help

It’s easy to feel like you have to do it all when climbing the success ladder. You want to prove your worth, lead with confidence and be the person others rely on.

But the thing is, you’re not supposed to do it all. And human beings aren’t meant to go solo all the time. There’s a reason that everyone has their own unique skills and strengths.

That’s why it’s important to understand your strengths and weaknesses. Delegate where you can and get help where you’re weak.

Strong leaders aren’t afraid to ask for (or accept) help. In fact, the best leaders understand the importance of collaboration and highlight the strengths of others for the benefit of the team.

Moreover, success can feel lonely. Leadership has its benefits, but makes it difficult to find the support you need. That’s why it’s important to have mentors, trusted colleagues and friends that you can turn to.

It’s Time To Implement Your Strategies For Success

Today you’ve learned:

  • That success includes being happy.
  • Why success is created from the inside-out.
  • How to cultivate a success mindset using 5 (simple) mindset strategies.

Now it’s time to incorporate these 5 mindset strategies for success into your life.  So that you can create the success and prosperity you want. And be happily successful (because otherwise, what’s the point?).

Additional Resources


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Hey there, I’m Heather

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FORMER BIGLAW LAWYER (FOR 18+ YEARS)

LAWYER LEADERSHIP & BUSINESS COACH

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CANCER SURVIVOR

I’m here to help purpose-driven lawyers and other professionals (like you) build the career you want so that you can enjoy your successes (and ditch stress, perfectionism and overthinking for good).

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