“The happy person often walks, unshaken, along the path that a thousand unhappy people insist is wrong.” – Sir David Baird
Happy people are different from everyone else because make the rules we live by.
If you’re not happy with your life right now, chances are you still live by rules that others made – ones that don’t work well and actually keep you from happiness and success.
You need to stretch yourself outside your comfort zone and change the habits that no longer work for you.
If this sounds like you, you’re in the right place. In today’s article I’m sharing the five mind-hacks you need to replace those old habits and adopt a whole new way of thinking geared to propel you towards not only your long term goals but a happier, more successful life.
Use Affirmations Effectively
If affirmations don’t work for you, consider the fact that you may be investing your energy and hope into (a) unrealistic ones you don’t really believe or (b) generic affirmations that are too vague.
The key to making affirmations work is two-fold:
- Be specific. Take your affirmation from pie-in-the-sky platitude to something you can achieve.
- Make sure you believe in the message at a gut level.
Anyone can say, “I am a millionaire right now”, but that is not really an affirmation – it’s wishful thinking.
On the other hand, telling yourself daily, “I have a millionaire mindset” can be a powerful boost to your confidence and outlook, if you pair it with a plan of action.
Change Your Glass
Are you a ‘glass-half-empty’ person? If so, call yourself on these negative, doom-and-gloom self-messages.
Say, “Oops, that’s a glass-half-empty thought. Let’s turn this around and transform this thought into a glass-half-full thought.”
It may not feel true and your heart may not be in it 100% at first if you’ve been dealing with stress or personal challenges lately – but if you continue to be aware of your thinking on a daily basis, you will soon discover that deliberately changing glass-half-empty thoughts to glass-half-full thoughts also increases your:
- Gratitude
- Empowerment
- Optimism
- Productivity
And ultimately – your success!
Cut Toxic People Out of Your Life
As humans, we can’t help but be influenced by what the people around us say and do.
Inevitably, toxic people come into our lives – people who drag us down instead of building us up (or at least, not helping us!).
If someone drains your energy, makes you question your confidence, or makes you feel bad about yourself, cut off contact!
I know, that is easier said than done because we all want to be loved or at least liked by everyone. Trust me, I know how you feel, I was in an energy sucking marriage for many years.
But it’s critical for you recognize when this is happening. Try applying this checklist. Ask yourself:
“Does this person…
- Talk only about themselves?
- Focus solely on what you can do for them?
- Make you feel stressed or heavy at the thought of interacting with them?
- Suck you into a negative mind-frame?
- Make you doubt your abilities?”
If you answered yes to even one of these, time to either change your responses – or cut the cord.
Reframe Negative Thoughts
The damage may be done but it’s not too late to reframe the outcome.
A negative family environment or significant relationship may have left you with poor self-esteem or poor thought process.
Or maybe it was a toxic company you worked at for many years.
No matter what caused you to adopt an “I’m doomed, I may as well give up: Happiness/Success is not for me” mindset, you can make the decision to change that – starting today.
One successful way to do this is called “re-framing”.
Here’s how you do it:
- Take a negative, habitual thought
- Filter it in an objective manner through the lens of reality
- Replace your negative thought with a positive but realistic, corrected version
You can do this with any type of thought – business or personal.
For example, change “I always screw up” with “Sometimes I make mistakes, like everybody else – but I learn from them.”
Avoid “All-or-Nothing” Thinking
One of the worst types of self destructive self-talk is know as “all-or-nothing thinking”.
To make sure you’re not doing this, pay attention to the words you use like ‘always’ or ‘never’ in self-talk.
For example, “I always fail at everything I do” or “I’ll never learn how to start my own business”.
All-or-nothing thinking is just another way of beating yourself up because it strips away your personal power and confidence.
If you catch yourself making an all-or-nothing statement, reframe it instantly to a more realistic, empowering thought.
E.g. “Lots of people learn how to start their own business. I can choose to figure it out and take my time, ask for advice from others that have done it before me and do it till I get it right.”
Does this resonate with you but you’re not sure how to apply it to your life? Why not book a FREE strategy call with me?
It’s 100% cost and commitment FREE. You have nothing to lose and your future self to gain.