How’s your new year going? Is it kicking along just like you planned or have you already had to make a few adjustments or pivots? I know for myself, I’ve been running several experiments.
We are into our second month of the first quarter. If things aren’t going exactly like we wanted them to go, our mindset can slip a little. We can start questioning things or things may be going really well, and fear can step in.
The fear often shows up as resistance or might sound something like, “I was really excited about this plan of action, but I’m not really sure now if I’m that into it”. Have you ever felt like that? This can also cause our mindset to slip a little bit.
It’s An Inside Job
Success as an entrepreneur is an inside job. It all starts with your mindset. Is it positive, focused on what is happening, and staying on course with your ultimate goal? Yes, the path you take, may need a few adjustments or turns, but how you weather these turns depends largely on your mindset.
Do you think you can? I used to hear Mary Kay Ash say, “If you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you’re probably right”. There is a lot of truth to this quote.
It’s perfectly normal to feel fear when you are going for something new or bigger than you have done before. Although, the key to moving through your fear successfully, greatly depends on the mindset you have.
Success is a mindset.
Here are 5 steps to get you started:
- Self-Talk: Pay attention to your self-talk. Your self-talk is the conversations you have with yourself. I know sometimes you can have a conversation with yourself that you would never have with a friend. Make sure your self-conversations are loving, forgiving, and encouraging. Tell yourself, “I’ve got this”, “I know I can figure this out”, “I am capable of finding the answers”, and “I am fully supported”. These are just a few examples. Be your own best friend.
- Set clear intentions: What are your intentions for the year, month, week, or day? Start the day out taking a few minutes before everything gets going to set your intention for the day. What are the results you would like to see, what do you want to do, how do you want to feel, and how to do you want the people to feel after being in your space. This is something I do every morning before I even get out of bed. I don’t know if it’s the same for you but once my feet hit the ground there is very little quiet time.
- Grit: I wrote a blog last October, “Do You Have Enough Grit to be Successful”. Grit is about digging deep and sticking to what you want, your dreams, and being willing to do what ever it takes (moral and legal of course). Creating something great takes grit. It takes putting yourself on the line to go out and make your dreams happen. What are you willing to do to get what you want?
- Get a Plan of Action: Put some planning in place. Get an idea down of how you are going to go from point A to Point B. This, of course, won’t be a perfect strategy, it’s a place to begin from. It’s a path to get started. Then correct course, adjust, or pivot as needed. Sometimes you may just need to run a few simple experiments to make sure you are on the right track.
- Action: Get into action. Implement your strategy. Decide what are the most important actions that you need to do on a daily basis, to get to the result you are working towards. Focus on the action needed, and then evaluate your results. Once you have enough results, you can then decide if your action steps need to be adjusted. There is just something about getting into action that creates excitement and tempers the fear.
Take time each day to nurture your mindset and keep yourself focused on what you are creating and how much you will be able to serve the people you want to serve.
I’ll leave you with a quote my children’s books are based on, “If you have a dream in your heart, you have already been given the ability to achieve that dream”.