Personal Development
Our view of the world, our attitudes, beliefs and expectations all come together to form the “inner game” for each of us, the place where our decisions and choices are made, and ideas are launched. This mental part of achievement is not just a factor in determining the the outcome, it’s the biggest factor.
If great leaders, successful people throughout history and current science has taught us anything, it’s that 95% of whatever we get in life depends on what’s going on in our heads; our beliefs, expectations and attitudes, not where we started or who we know.
To be sure, some of us start out with advantages over others. Still, we have to learn skills, make decisions, and take action to succeed in any field of endeavor. Having the wrong attitudes, beliefs or values can derail your chances at success. They can persuade you it’s pointless to do the work, that you’re not capable, it’s just too hard, etc. which stops you before you ever get started. Yet the right ideas can make you bounce out of bed in the morning, certain that reaching your goal is a simple matter of persistence and determination applied consistently over the necessary period of time.
Things like (a) How do I view failure? (b) What are my beliefs about my ability? (c) What goes through my head when I make a mistake? (d) What do I believe about how others view me, etc. all play an important role in the results you get. If you find yourself thinking “this will never work!” or “they are so much better than I am “, or “I screwed it up again”, you’ve got to consider changing those ideas and beliefs before you go any further.
For me at least, possessing successful attitudes and beliefs is a dynamic journey, not a destination. Keeping the right kind of positive, supportive, healthy thoughts and ideas in mind reaps immediate and undeniable benefits in a better outlook, attitude and beliefes. Ignore those messages at your own peril though, because the insecurities we each have to one degree or another can inevitably result in self-doubt, hesitation, second guessing and procrastination. That’s why I think it’s important to make it a part of our system, our daily practices, to check (i.e. pay attention to) those internal messages regularly to make sure our inner game is as strong as the outer one.
Just to kick things off, check out this fascinating 18 minute video about “the surprising science of motivation” by Dan Pink at this years’s TED conference.
The talk is specifically directed at career related motivation, but it speaks to motivation on a broader level and if you are interested at all in the topic, or care at all about the science of motivation, I promise you’ll be entertained and enlightened. Might be the best 18 minutes you’ll spend today.
Video: Dan Pink at TED
In addition, stop by the video page for a random sampling of the kinds of attitudes, perspective and wisdom that right thinking can provide.
