I used to give up pretty easily and just move on with my life. After a while I realized how strong my willpower could be if I really wanted something. I guess we all know that feeling when you really want to achieve something in your personal life or you want to get a promotion or raise at work. In these times we are able to fight, give other things up and focus on our goal. For a long time my goal was to get a promotion and become a people manager. I worked really hard, spend hours thinking of what I needed to do to get there and I put a lot of pressure on myself.
It really took a lot of strengths to go through that period of my career because I was trying so hard. I was never sure if I was doing the right things and it started to stress me out. After a while I realized that I couldn't go on with that level of stress and the pressure I put on myself and took some time to think things through. It was that time when I also realized that my mentor once told me to focus on some key strategies to get where you want to be.
Sometimes life can move too fast or we start trying to hard and forget that there are things that can actually help us to focus on our goal.
In the end I got my promotion by using the following techniques that I want to share with you today:
1. It pays to be a winner
Studies reveal that we say 300 to 1,000 words to ourselves every minute. That’s an awful lot of thinking going on in our brain. The strongest minds swear on the strategy to always try to think positive. If you are already convinced that you are going to get something, you are half way there.
If there is something that keeps you from thinking positively, go outside for a moment and remember the good things that happened to you today or in this week. As human beings we are exceptional good in focusing on the bad things and we remember them more easily because our mind wants to make sure these things never happen again. It will take some time before you can confidently say that you are a positive thinker.
2. Use the 40% rule
Do you know the book of world records? There are people who have done over 4,000 push ups in 24 hours! That’s crazy, right? To keep going for so long does take a lot of willpower. A normal person who would try to achieve something like that would need to focus really hard and probably fail after just a couple of minutes. The reason for that is that our brain will tell us to give up. It will drive us crazy because it will send out signals to make sure every additional push up feels much harder.
The secret to achieving such an impossible thing is to remember:
When your mind is telling you you’re done, you’re really only 40% done
This statement can be applied to a lot of things. I usually get that feeling when I am doing an exercise class and your brain starts telling you that you’re exhausted and can’t go on. The moment you overcome that fear, you realize that there is much more power in you and you can go on.
It’s the same reason cyclists are able to compete for Olympia when they are cycling 30 km of hills and their body tells them after 15km that their legs are all jelly and they can’t go on. We often underestimate the power of our mental health. Everything in our life seems impossible, until it isn’t.
3. Setting daily goals
If you’re trying to achieve something really big then it is good to spilt your goal into smaller daily goals. It’s much easier to focus on something on a daily basis then to keep looking at the long term success. Set yourself 1 or 2 things that you want to accomplish on a daily basis and that will help you to get closer to what you want. A study from Harvard showed that people who have goals are ten times as successful as those without any goals. Writing down your goals also ensures that you are more successful.
You should also make sure that you celebrate small successes along the way. If you fail, you should simply start over with a new daily goal.
4. Join forces
To achieve something big you sometimes need to work together with somebody else. You can’t do it all alone. A lot of people think that successful people achieved their big successes all-alone. Great achievers usually work with others to help them get where they want.
Be strong enough and ask for help if you need it. It will get you much closer to your goal and will take away some of the fear that you have. It is totally fine to ask for help and accept it. To reach for big goals you shouldn’t be afraid to reach out to friends or family.
As somebody who has greatly benefited from mentorship, I can only recommend to build a good network around you. It is also very rewarding for mentors to help you achieve something. These relationships work really well because both sides gain experience and expertise.
5. Visualize your goal list
After writing down your goal list, you should start visualizing how you will get there. It is usually more effective to visualize the way that you need to take to get to your goal instead of visualizing the actual success. Through visualizing your journey you can improve your willpower and build up your self-confidence to make sure you stay strong.
A great list and a very valuable post.
One of the things I have noticed that holds people back is a common error of thought - catastrophising - it is common in dieting for example - you make one mistake and eat something you shouldn't and you pack the whole thing in. You tell yourself "It's ruined" or "I may as well give up" - well if you just accept the mistake or setback and then move on without giving up you start to realise that this kind of thinking is pointless.
Setbacks, hurdles, roadblocks call them whatever, are a normal part of life. As long as you accept them and keep going you can achieve anything.
Anyway. All the best I look forward to reading more of your posts and have added you to my follow list.
Yes! Sound advice.
Learning from others here that are successful you find that they are ambitious, hard working, and able to efficiently manage their time.
The third part has been my downfall. Fear of missing out has stopped me from writing my best posts or dedicating enough time to learn something new. I need to invest my time wisely to be successful, because if you don't have goals and run full steem ahead (pun intended), you will have spent lots of time and energy without the results you are probably hoping for.
Every needs to read this post great work super girl!
Thanks @carlidos!
A fantastic post well done, I really enjoyed it.
Thank You @mrgrey!
i like super girl, thanks
Highly effective people collaborate with others to achieve their objectives. Its important that we understand that by harnessing and synchronizing all our efforts we could do more
Hey @inboundinken Great post and I've been using these techniques for years. The first time I read Think and Grow Rich it changed my life and planted the seed to set goals and strive to achieve them. So congrats on all your success. Keep Steemin on my friend.... @kbargold You got my Upvote today!
Great! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks @kbargold :)
My secret, is lack of empathy in the work place. #machinelife
Comfy
The monitoring of my conscious thought process for subconsciously implied suggestions is my own technique. It involves monitoring all my thoughts and actions for the implied subconscious self-suggestions that may limit me - and which I'll avoid. I've described this mechanism a few weeks ago: https://steemit.com/subconscious/@alexgr/the-subconscious-observer-and-its-effect-on-our-life-and-human-potential
Thanks for sharing @alexgr!
Great post, straight to the point. Upvote
Thanks @crypto-fan!
Thanks. I didn't know about this 40% rule before. And 300 to 1000 words every minute? That seems quite a lot. How you count this?
Thats really true! Completely new to me was the rule of 40%. Thank you very much, @inboundinken!
My secrets are simple. More raw and fresh food, inspiring communication and spiritual practice. Though actually a lot of things :) I do love articles like this! ;)
It's always very difficult for me to work together with others... I'm much more comfortable when I work all alone. Somehow in my mind I know I have to go out there, ask for help and cooperate, but I don't feel safe with this, that makes me really uncomfortable.. Guess that is the comfort zone I am still not willing to get out of. :/