Mindset Matters: A Guide to Achieving Success in Your Personal Growth Journey
In writing a previous article, Don’t Compare Your Beginning to Somebody Else’s End, I was thinking about how you can keep from getting caught in the trap of thinking that you should be as good as someone who has been doing that thing for years. I have found myself in that thought process many times. Giving additional thought to why that tends to happen, I surmised that it is about our mindset. It is how we look at the scenario that can make all the difference. Here are some ideas to help shift your mindset away from feeling like you may be falling short at your start when comparing to another’s end.
Be realistic in your expectations
When you find that new idea you want to try, whether it was from a video you watched, something you read in an article or book, take the extra time to do the research. What I mean is, dig deeper than just the outcome someone is speaking to. They are explaining the outcome of their actions, but not everyone talks about the rough spots at the beginning of their journey. You can find additional supporting information that may point to some of the challenges they faced at the start of what they are now sharing as a fully realized idea. Keep your expectations realistic based on the time frames. The simplest examples maybe exercise and diet. Someone says they did this program and lost 20 pounds (9.07 kg). That didn’t happen in one day. It took time to define their plan and how it would work for them. Exercise and weight training is the same way – no one bulks up overnight. It takes time. They started with the ten pound weight at one point as well. Keep your expectations grounded in your reality to get you started.
Know you can succeed, but know it will also take time
Time is the most important element of that reality. If you are committed to this new activity and desired outcome, believe you will get there, and then understand what the real timeline will be for you. The expectations and timing must be set for you. Everyone learns and makes changes at a different pace. If we use our diet or exercise examples, not everyone can (or should) lose twenty pounds in five weeks or move from bench pressing fifty pounds to two hundred in six months. That is OK. The most critical part is that you are true to yourself and that you are moving towards the goals you have set for your situation. This is where the power of yet comes into play.
Everything you do and learn has value for the future
You will learn along the way on any new journey you embark upon. When you begin something new, regardless of how great it looks from the video or what you’ve read, it seems like an exciting adventure. However, as you head down your path and experience obstacles, new information, or a changing situation, you may need to course correct or even thoroughly change plans. That is OK. The experience and learning that does come from the journey so far can be used for future expeditions in personal growth. I am a firm believer that sitting around doing nothing is a waste of time. Everything else is a learning opportunity that can be applied to something you want to achieve – either now or in the future. Get started. And get to learning.
Success has an ever-changing finish line
Most new things we undertake for our development or experience will never have a fully defined finish line. Unlike projects that have clear starting points and a defined ending point, learning has an ever-changing finish line. We can establish milestones and markers for where we are at, but those lead to new opportunities that move the finish line to a new point. That is what makes our development journey so exciting. We can know where we want to go today, but as the horizons open up, we realize there is still more to find, learn, and experience as we move ahead. Embrace that, let that be the motivation that gets you moving in the first place. And never let that be the piece that holds you back from taking the next step.
How you think about what you want to accomplish truly is more than half the battle. Our mindset is what can set us up for success or become a barrier that cannot be overcome. We have that choice. Much like attitude, our mindset is entirely within our control. We set our own course, expectations, and paths to follow for success. Do not let other outside influences take away what you want to do. And tying back to that previous article – do not mistake someone else’s ending point with your beginning point. We all start somewhere. Everyone has a beginning, middle, and ending. We define what those look like and the pace at which we will reach those milestones. Journey on.
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Photo by Alexandru Goman on Unsplash