1. Complete the past to embrace the future
One of the biggest reasons why we find it difficult to move forward in life is because we haven’t properly dealt with the things that are holding us back. Are you holding onto past hurts, past anger or fear, or past incompletes? Releasing these anchors could be the final step you need to complete your past and embrace your future. I’ve known people who have forgiven their parents and doubled their productivity and ability to achieve their goals, almost overnight. I’ve known others who have finally sat down with an accountant and got their financial numbers in order – and doubled their income in a matter of months as a result. I even know someone who spent the weekend cleaning out his garage once – and scored a new dream client the following Monday!
2. Embrace change
When you resist that change, you risk being swept away by it. But when you choose to embrace change wholeheartedly as an inevitable part of life, looking for ways to use new changes to make your life richer, easier, and more fulfilling, your life will work much better. You will experience change as an opportunity for growth and new experiences, rather than a potential source of discomfort or fear.
Take some time this holiday seasons to consider your life and decide where you neet to grow.
- What’s changing in my life that I’m currently resisting?
- Why am I resisting that change?
- What am I afraid of with respect to this change?
- What am I afraid might happen to me?
- What’s the payoff for my keeping things the way they are?
- What’s the cost I’m paying for keeping things the way they are?
- What benefits might there be in this change?
- What’s the next step I could take to cooperate with this change?
- When will I take this step?
3. Transform your inner critic into an inner coach.
Research indicates that people talk to themselves about 50,000 times a day - and that 80% of that self talk is negative.
So if you have a voice inside you that says things like, “I shouldn’t have said that… they don’t like me… I’m never going to be able to pull this off… I’m a fraud… I’m so disorganized… I’ll never be good enough…” you are certainly not alone.
The problem with all this negative self-talk is that we actually BELIEVE it. Such thoughts affect our attitude, our motivation to act, our physiology, even our biochemistry.
4. Commit to developing four new success habits a year.
Your habits determine your outcomes. Successful people don’t just drift to the top. Getting there requires focused action, personal discipline, and lots of energy every day to make things happen.
So if you want to create higher levels of success, chances are you are going to need to drop some of your current habits – such as not following through on your commitments, staying up too late, watching too much television, making sarcastic comments, eating fast food too often, smoking, spending more than you earn – and replace them with more productive ones.
For example, if your goal is to get to the gym every morning, you might develop the habit of going to bed one hour earlier every night. If you want to be more productive at work, maybe you’ll get into the habit of identifying five main tasks you want to accomplish each day – then not leave the office until they’re complete. Or if you want to improve your relationship with your parents, maybe you’ll get into the habit of calling them at the same time every week just to chat.
5. Stay motivated with the masters.
Achieving personal transformation can be challenging work – and without daily motivation, it’s all too easy to backslide.
One great way to stay on track is to seek out external motivation to keep your thoughts and attitude oriented on success. In my experience, truly successful people commit to lifelong learning and are always reading, watching, or listening to books, videos, or audiotapes that inspire them to keep moving forward.
If you spend even fifteen minutes a day listening to motivational talks, learning a valuable new skill, or discovering the success secrets of the world’s most powerful entrepreneurs, artists, athletes, or other professional titans, it will inspire you to pursue your own incredible success.
