How to encourage yourself to be successful.
Success is a huge topic of discussion nowadays and something everyone wants to be. I could write on what success really is but that’s not the point of this story. So, for the sake of time let’s just do this. Success is whatever you want it to be. You have to define what success is for yourself. Don’t let anyone else do that. Once you have defined it…then we can get started.
To start, it is true that basic psychology states that you will start to become more like the people around you. We all agree with this. One view that is not as widely accepted is that the items you surround yourself with effect you, or the music you listen to will affect you. Recently I listened to the book Peak Performance by Brad Stulberg, and Steve Magness, and one of the opinions they shared based on the research they cited was that the environment you put yourself in will also dictate your level of success. I am truly a believer in this as I have had a lot of success implementing it within just a week of using the suggested methods. So, let’s talk about some practical ways that we can do this.
Once you have decided who you want to be and what your definition of success is, imagine it and research people who are like that. Then start with the most basic and simplest thing. The art in your space. The art and things that we see with our eyes all communicate with our subconscious and help us to get into that mood. An example would be, if you want to be super rich, it might be a good idea to put some pictures of hundred dollar bills or some type of art that has to do with money on your walls. If you aim to be someone who is super focused and accomplishes a state of Flo, you might want to consider many images of nature, or people whom you admire in that field in their meditative state. If you think of it and an image comes to your mind, that’s probably what you should use because everyone is a little different and has since childhood has tied feelings and emotions to images and environments.
Next, and this one is hard, depending on the level of dedication you have to achieving your goal and to the level of control you have over the situation, you should cut out of your life the people that are directly contrary to your goal of success. Almost no matter what your goal is you should try to avoid hanging out with pessimistic people. Pessimistic people will really hinder your personal growth in any field. This is something that I want to make clear. I understand that many people have direct family members that may be like that. I don’t recommend being a total jerk to them and completely blowing them off, because I personally am a big proponent of family and I love my family, but I too have people in my family that just bring my mood down. Those people I try not to spend as much time with. I am strategic in planning how much time I spend with those particular people.
Music is a huge deal too. Music really speaks to people’s souls. The type of music you listen to will lead you to being more like that type of music. From the lyrics to the tone of the music. Happy music will help you to be more positive. I don’t know about you but I personally have many different moods and listen to different music at those times. I have noticed in particular with country music, there are a lot of depressing songs about break-ups and those songs really lower my energy and happiness. So, I guess what I am saying is really be deliberate in choosing the things you are surrounding yourself with. They all have an impact on you.
Along with that last thought of being deliberate, choose your workspace. When you have a certain job that you do consistently and often, try to have a sort of ritual or certain set up when you do it. For example, if you are trying to write a book, you can go as far as to only use one laptop designated for the writing of your book. If you don’t have those kinds of resources, try always writing at the same coffee shop and perhaps the same time of day. Maybe play a certain song before or playlist during the writing of that book. All those things that you can make more consistent will help your brain automatically shift your energy and attention, including your subconscious into accomplishing your goal, making you more effective.
Another really important factor is rest. You cannot constantly push yourself to exhaustion and then slam more coffee. (I must confess today I have been kind of guilty of doing just that; too much coffee). You need to have not only breaks from long periods of writing or focusing on the task at hand, but you need to have a solid sleep schedule. Everyone reading this has at least at some point of their life seen rest and sleep as weak, or a sign of laziness. The truth is that in order to be truly successful we need to put a much higher priority on sleep. We are not machines; we need time to rest and essentially recharge the batteries. If you want to see yourself as a machine see yourself as a phone. We all know that no matter what type of phone you use, it runs low and dies at some-point. Or at the very least if you’re like me, you are constantly seeking to keep it at 100%. So, remember to take small breaks and try to keep a solid and steady sleep schedule. This will help you immensely. Trust me!
To recap, define your idea of success, surround yourself with art, images and people who are like what you want to be, with caution and careful discretion remove pessimistic people from your life, or those who are contrary to your ideal person, or best self, and last but not least, rest. Keep your battery charged.
