12 Limiting Thoughts About Success Revisited
How we think about success determines our level of success
in both good
and challenging times. With unstable world events and stressed
economics, you may have even more difficulty seeing opportunities
or imagining the possibilities for your career or your business.
See if
you can identify common limiting thoughts that may be dampening
your
spirits.
1 I CAN ONLY BE SUCCESSFUL IN A BOOMING ECONOMY.
How is it that some people are successful despite economic
depression?
Read the newspapers and watch the trends, but trust that you
have the
resources you need to be successful. If necessary, regroup:
Look for
new opportunities that are being created from current events.
Choose
to keep your vision alive by taking consistent steps to make
it a
reality. Stay determined. Don’t give up.
2 IT TAKES HARD WORK, SACRIFICE, AND STRUGGLE TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
If that were true, then everyone who works a 70-hour week
would be
successful! Burnout is more likely. When you’re confident
and passionate
about your work, it’s not work. It’s play. If
you’re making choices that
are in alignment with your purpose, then there is no such
thing as
sacrifice. You’re simply compelled to do the "work."
Struggle shows up
when you get frustrated or doubt yourself. Success is enhanced
when you
stay focused on your preferred results and look for the joy
in each
task. With joy, you’ll feel the support of the wind
at your back.
3. SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE ARE MORE INTELLIGENT AND TALENTED THAN
I AM.
Anyone can be a success. According to the Carnegie Mellon
Institute,
star performers do not have high IQs; they use their determination
and
commitment to make the most of the talent they do have. Michael
Jordan
is an excellent case in point. He didn’t start out being
the most
gifted player on the team; he just had the greatest desire
for
excellence.
4. SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE MAKE NO (OR FEW) MISTAKES.
Actually, the opposite is true. The more mistakes you are
willing to
make, the faster you will learn what works and what doesn’t.
Remember,
Babe Ruth struck out many more times than run-of-the-mill
players but
achieved an extraordinary number of home runs. Edison learned
over 300
ways not to build a light bulb but eventually was successful.
So fail
often to succeed faster! You’ll be in great company.
5 .IF SUCCESS COMES TOO EASILY, IT DOESN’T COUNT.
You may feel that success needs to be deserved, that you must
work for
years before you can claim it. Who says it can’t be
easy? I submitted
a poem to a national poetry contest for the first time, after
having
just started writing poetry a few months earlier. To my surprise
and
delight, I won first prize! There is absolutely no reason
to take your
joy out of any success you experience. You deserve to feel
successful
right now.
6. IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL, I HAVE TO PREPLAN EVERYTHING.
A certain amount of planning and strategic thinking is important;
however, you can’t know what the future will bring.
Follow opportunity.
Success is enhanced when you can take risks and feel comfortable
in
the realm of the unknown. Give yourself permission to allow
each step
to unfold in its own timing. Stay in the moment, listen to
your inner
wisdom, and become your own best compass.
7. IT TAKES LUCK TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
Luck is a natural consequence of positive core beliefs. Everyone
can
create luck. It’s a skill that can be developed by shifting
your
beliefs to match your preferred outcome. You need to know
what you
want, believe that you ARE lucky already, and let go of your
attachment to the results. In other words, be open for luck
to show
up without needing it to arrive by a certain date.
8. IT’S NOT SUCCESS UNLESS I DO IT MYSELF.
Success rarely occurs in a vacuum. An interesting fact about
highly
successful people is that they openly recognize the important
people
in their life who serve as mentors, advisers, and coaches.
When you
let go of the Lone-Ranger mentality and create synergy with
people
who guide, support, and have the courage to challenge you,
you
achieve much more and experience success in many more aspects
of your
life.
9. IT’S ONLY SUCCESS IF I’VE MADE LOTS OF MONEY.
This definition of success probably won’t serve you
well. You may
need to wait for a long time (or forever) to experience success
if
you set it up for yourself in this way. There are plenty of
successful
people who aren’t rich, and plenty of rich people who
don’t feel
successful. Success breeds success. You’re better off
feeling
successful after every minor milestone, harnessing the energy
that
you feel, and investing it in moving further along your path
to
fulfillment. Success is a by-product of doing what you enjoy.
10. IT’S ONLY SUCCESS IF I’M WELL KNOWN IN MY
FIELD.
You can make a huge impact on the lives of hundreds, even
thousands,
of people and still not be recognized as a leader in your
field. Does
that mean that you haven’t been successful? The people
you’ve impacted
don’t feel that way, so why should you? Learn to appreciate
your
contributions without needing validation from your colleagues.
It may
never happen during your lifetime. Some of the best artists
and
greatest thinkers in the world weren’t truly appreciated
until they
were no longer on the planet.
11. IN ORDER TO BE SUCCESSFUL, I HAVE TO BE DOING SOMETHING
ALL OF THE TIME.
Our culture promotes the belief that to be productive we must
always
be doing something. In Taoist philosophy, it is said that
"a truly
good man does nothing, yet leaves nothing undone. A foolish
man is
always doing, yet much remains to be done." The concept
of doing
nothing is foreign to Western culture. It means balancing
the doing
with the being. It means regenerating. Allow yourself some
time out.
Go to the beach and just be with the sun, sand, and ocean.
Or get a
massage and allow yourself to zone out. Once you’re
back, you’ll get
twice as much done. (If you don’t have a habit of doing
this
regularly, you’ll need to take several days, not just
a few hours, to
recharge your batteries.)
12. LIFE WILL BE GREAT, ONCE I’M SUCCESSFUL.
Success is not a destination. It’s a continuous journey.
You’ll still
experience the ups and downs of life that you had before.
If you
haven’t learned how to appreciate yourself and each
day, such as it
is, then you will still be stressed and unhappy. Real, lasting
success
comes from within you. It comes from being prepared, listening
to
your inner guidance (your pure heart), clearing the clutter
from your
mind, feeling your joie de vivre, and optimistically acting
on the
opportunities that are in front of you right now.
Copyright © 2003, 2005 by Barbara McRae. All rights
reserved.
If you wish to reprint this article, please contact me at
barbara@enhancedlife.com. Thank you!
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