What is a success mindset?

Things in common for successful outcomes

One of the main keys to achieving better is a success mindset. Your mindset is the foundation for your thoughts and actions.

The definition of mindset is a set of beliefs or a way of thinking that determines one´s behavior, outlook and mental attitude. Consequently, it is an obvious fact that if you set your mind for success, you stand a much greater chance of making it.

The starting point for this article about success mindset is:

"Thinking negatively is actually mentally rehearsing failure."

Accordingly, if you want to set your mind for success, favorable outcomes and achievements, you turn it around:

"Thinking positively is actually mentally rehearsing success."

All information on our personal development site is about you taking responsibility for your personal growth and development, for your thoughts, mind, behavior and actions.

And a success mindset begins with this realization; I take 100% responsibility for my life.

The traditional way of looking at success, especially in internet marketing I think, is to tell potential customers about

perseverance
hard work
taking action

and to some extent it is true for any kind of achievement, but I have realized it also takes so much more.

If you build on an unstable foundation, the building will eventually fall. You too need to start building a better you. That is your first step of action for your success mindset.  

Nowadays I think that a success mindset is a matter of re-programming your mind, taking personal responsibility, setting goals, positive thinking attitude, working on changing your bad habits and replacing them with good ones (part of re-programming your subconscious mind), defining what success means to you, applying a healthy approach.

A healthy approach to your road to success means you do not do exactly whatever it takes to reach your goals. That is just a cliché. You have to stick to your values.

We teach and advocate personal values development and think that your success mindset grows from your values.
Example: If you have decided to become economically independent, you do not engage in criminal acts, right? Obviously, you stick to what you can do with your abilities, time and ambitions.

Another example is losing weight. Some say that they would do anything at all to lose weight, but that is just another cliché, not truly a success mindset. If you stop eating, you lose weight, but you also lose your health, energy and eventually you will die, so that is not what you want at all! You have to consider your true values and build your success from there.

In other words you have to see through the clichés, see through the lies. You have to create a success mindset based on your true values and be realistic about it.

It is our clear goal here at personal-development-inside-out to provide personal development tools that have worked for us and that we can safely recommend to others.

A recap:

A success mindset is not the same for everybody. You are an individual and each success is individual too.

1. Define your success. You have to define what kind of success you strive for. There are a number of different kinds of success, and consequently the same template cannot be used for everybody. Do you strive for financial, physical, social, spiritual or mental success?

Do you want more money?
Do you want more time with your children?
Do you want a more interesting job?
Do you want better relationships with your loved ones?
Do you want to get healthier?
Do you want peace of mind?

2. Plan for success. Then you need to make a plan for your success. You will find excellent advice here at our other pages for strategies for success! Everything here is aimed at building a success mindset.

3. Goal setting. You do need to set your goals. It is easy for non-abstract things like saving money for a new bike. You look at your assets and expenses and see how much you can set aside each month.

One of the best personal developments tips ever is to set aside 10% of whatever income you have. Usually, you will find that by doing so, you do not waste your money on useless things, you survive without them and that relatively small percentage of your income.

The trick is to be realistic. Do not say that you want to save 50% of your income if you cannot afford that much. If you do, you will only feel discouraged and give up.

The trick is to reach your specific goal in small, doable, realistic steps. Then you will feel encouraged by your success and as you know "success breeds success".

You will get into a positive spiral of thoughts, actions, results. That is what you want for any kind of success mindset!

Another common example is weight loss. Too many people set off on their path to a slimmer life by setting unrealistic goals.  It is much more productive to set a goal of losing a little (perhaps 1-2 kg per month), and if you make it or even exceed that you will be happy and satisfied.

However, if you set a goal of losing for instance 10 kg per month, you will feel discouraged after the first month and probably give up saying to yourself "I am worthless, I couldn´t do it." And that is not what you want for a positive mindset!

Please refer to the goal setting section for detailed advice on for instance SMART goals!

S: Specific
M: Measurable
A: Attainable
R: Realistic
T: Time sensitive

Once you know this, it is so simple to set and achieve your goals. I am not saying it is done easily, but the process is simple and doable.

4. Reward yourself. Another often overlooked aspect of reaching your goals and building a success mindset is the power of reward! We perform better when we get positive feedback and some reward for our efforts.

In nearly all cases, the reward has to be provided by yourself to yourself! Yes, it is useless expecting feedback from others. If you are surrounded by supportive and loving people, great. But the truth is that you do the work and you have to look after yourself, which includes being loving, supporting and rewarding to yourself.

5. Taking responsibility. To most of us, this is a new way of thinking, but supporting and rewarding yourself is part of taking responsibility for your life. Often we are much more caring about others than to ourselves, but personal growth and development is not a selfish act, but a very responsible one. Like Stacey Charter says:

"Don´t rely on someone else for your happiness and self-worth. Only YOU can be responsible for it. You have to invest in yourself, or no one else will."

6. You can only change you, nobody else. Success is individual and means different things to us all. Nevertheless there is one aspect which is universal for every success mindset; never expect anybody else to change in order for you to be successful. You can only change yourself and your perception of the world around you.

Personal development and all its tools is about buildning a better you. The first step is to know you deserve a positive outcome and take action on it.

"Action is the foundational key to all success."

(Pablo Picasso)

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