Why is having a positive mindset so important ?
We often hear it said: “success is a state of mind”. There is a lot of talk about the need to have a positive mindset if you want to succeed. However, there are those who argue that success is the natural result of good planning, preparation and focused action, and there is certainly a grain of truth to this view – but there are also many exceptions that tend to disprove this “rule”. Have you ever wondered how two people can aim for the same goal in the same way and only one of them succeeds? Is it luck? Time schedules? No, it’s a person’s state of mind that determines whether they fail or succeed.What is a state of mind, anyway? Generally speaking, a state of mind refers to how you view life on a day-to-day basis. It’s what you think about, what you focus on and what you expect from your daily experiences. Think negatively, expect the worst, be pessimistic about your options and that is exactly what you will attract into your life. Likewise, think positively, expect the best and focus on success and you will get it most of the time.
It makes sense, doesn’t it? But how exactly does it work? Why is a success mindset so important? There are three main reasons:
Having a positive mindset is knowing how to get up quickly from failures, not letting negative events get you down and seeing the best in everything.
It’s not being naive and letting things happen, of course, but it’s learning to turn each situation around, to adapt events to our goal, to stop “suffering” life.
I am convinced that energy and good moods start with the decision to take ownership of these states of mind. Our happiness, our smile should not depend on external elements, but on our inner state of mind.
A POSITIVE STATE OF MIND NEVER COMES FROM THE OUTSIDE, IT IS A DECISION THAT WE TAKE
Being happy, according to the greatest Greek philosophers, is the ultimate goal of every human being (and frankly who wouldn’t want that!).
And if I put energy and good mood at the center of my business, it is because I am convinced that to be happy, it is not enough to create the environment conducive to our happiness.
In reality, everything depends on our state of mind, our way of seeing things.
We can’t control the facts, but we can control our emotions
We hear it a lot: in life, we do not control what happens to us, we do not control the facts.
Facts are by nature neutral. This does not happen to you, nobody causes it to you. Facts happen, that’s all. That’s it. And you have no control over that.
What you can control is your reaction to the emotions these facts cause. You can control how you react to those facts, how you perceive them, how you use them.
1) A SUCCESS MINDSET BUILDS YOUR SELF-CONFIDENCE
A lack of self-confidence is usually accompanied by a sense of helplessness and futility, which is exactly the opposite of a success mindset. Lack of confidence means that you don’t see the point of trying to succeed, because you believe it won’t happen anyway. Obviously, this type of mindset is a recipe for failure in any business.
Having a true success mindset, on the other hand, means that you believe in yourself and your abilities. You believe that you can succeed at just about anything you try, and you’re willing to do your best. Better yet, the more you try, the more confidence you develop – until you are virtually unbeatable! You feel like a winner and act like one.
2) A SUCCESS MINDSET STRENGTHENS YOUR RESOLVE
Without a success mindset, one failure is enough to convince you that pursuing your goals is a waste of time. Tenacity and determination don’t exist in your world. If you don’t achieve resounding success the first time you try, you assume it just wasn’t meant to be. Unfortunately, few things are worth it if they are obtained so easily!
A success mindset, however, reinforces your awareness that failure is not the end of the story – it’s just that things didn’t work out the way you planned. In fact, the person with a true success mindset is aware that the only true failure occurs when they stop trying.
3) A SUCCESS MINDSET ENCOURAGES SUCCESSFUL ACTIONS
Have you ever found yourself going in circles because you didn’t know the best way to approach a specific goal? You may have had an idea of the best course of action, but felt put off by some of the necessary steps. As a result, you may have sabotaged your efforts by searching in vain for an easier or less scary way to reach your goal.
With a true success mindset, you will always know which actions are most effective and will lead directly to your goal. As already mentioned, you will also have the inner confidence and determination to pursue them, which is a sure recipe for success.
If I had to summarize how to develop a success mindset in as few words as possible, I would say this:
- Follow your dreams.
- Think positively.
- Believe in yourself.
- Believe you can do better.
- Learn, grow and develop.
- Be willing to take risks.
- Give it your all.
- Expect the best in every situation.
- Be prepared to fail.
When you fall, get up and try again
Keep doing this and you will not be able to do anything but succeed. The key to all of this success is perseverance because you can’t assume that the results of the work you do on yourself will be felt immediately. You have to persevere while maintaining the right mindset.
4) BASE YOURSELF ON THE FACTS (AND DETACH THEM FROM YOUR EMOTIONS)
Detach facts from emotions
Human beings are by nature emotionally based, especially their reaction to their own emotions or negative thoughts.
As we have seen, the facts around us are neutral. What is not, however, is the way we react to them.
When you react to something (something you are told, something you have been told, something you see), you are not reacting to those facts, you are reacting to the emotion that those facts trigger in you. You are not responsible for what happens to you, but you are responsible for the way you experience it (that’s a harsh sentence, but it’s the truth).
Here is a concrete way to use this tip in your daily life
First, separate the facts from the emotions. When you are going through a moment that generates a negative emotion in you, ask yourself:
What are the facts? (describe them objectively)
Why are you experiencing this reaction of discomfort/anger/frustration/fear, etc.? What does this say about you and why do you react this way?
Then, once you have completed this first step, choose how you want to react to it.
You have every right to react (we are not robots after all), but react with knowledge, by taking back control of your emotions and refusing to be manipulated by them.
5) ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE
So yes, I know you’ve already heard a thousand times “you have to look on the bright side”. And I’ll even put my money on the fact that you can’t get enough of that expression and that right now you want to bite me. 
And I also know that it’s rarely as simple as people want to tell us.
But the reason I’m quoting this tip here is because it’s the one that has helped me the most in developing my positive mindset.
How to do it in practice?
Every time something negative happens to you (or rather something that generates a negative emotion because, remember, facts are by nature neutral), ask yourself the following question:
“What do I get out of this that is positive?”
or
“What is the lesson I take away from this? “
So sure, it’s often difficult, especially at first.
But the more you practice this thinking, the more it will become a reflex and the more positive effects on your life and your state of mind will be felt.
Conditioning your brain to be positive
The beauty of this method is this little phrase:
“Having a positive mindset is about conditioning your brain to see the positive in everything. Thinking positively.
The more you practice this method, the more your brain will take this new habit and develop it until it becomes an unconscious reflex. At that point you will have gained everything, because you will be able to :
Get over a negative situation much faster.
Devote much less negative energy to this situation by focusing solely on the positive.
Detach yourself much more quickly and easily.
6) UNDERSTAND AND ACCEPT THE OTHER PERSON AND THEIR OPINIONS
Tip n°6 consists in understanding and accepting the other person and his opinions, without taking him personally. This is the same as detaching ourselves from the facts and the emotions they generate in us.
In reality, no one has an infallible science. And everyone lives and perceives things through the prism of their own reality, their own experiences, their own beliefs, their own life.
Understanding and accepting the other person and his opinions, accepting the fact that he lives through his own prism, and especially without judging him through our own vision of reality, is one of the keys to developing a positive state of mind.
It is necessary to detach ourselves from our own interpretations.
You don’t know what this person has been through, if he or she had a shitty day before meeting you, if you are picking up the pieces of many other people before you.
Don’t take anything personally.
That’s the beautiful lesson to learn from this tip. Once you understand this, you are immune to the judgments and actions of others and you can maintain your positive state of mind on a daily basis without letting the external facts get to you.
7) REFUSE TO TAKE THE BAG OF STONES
last tip to take our thinking a little further
Being kind, being tolerant, and being very optimistic are key elements to develop a positive mindset. Because they help us to soothe our own emotions and especially to detach ourselves, to refuse to suffer what we can’t control.
And I would like to take things a step further.
Having a positive state of mind, being in a good mood, having energy is good.
But it doesn’t mean being silly or manipulative! You can be adorable, but extremely firm.
The story of the bag of stones
Often others (and this is even more true when we see that you are doing well, that you breathe happiness) will rush towards you in emotional leech mode, will try to pump your energy and suck any happiness out of your body by spraying you with their own unhappiness.
They will try to pass on to you what I call their bag of stones.
The bag of rocks is the negative stuff we all carry around with us. A bag filled with the negative experiences we have had, our limiting beliefs, our prejudices, our frustrations, our failures, our limitations, etc.
We all have a bag of stones, more or less heavy, more or less full. And often people try to give us theirs, because it is too heavy for them.
In concrete terms, these are people who come and talk to you about their problems, criticize everything good that happens to you, put you down, give you something to do that is not your responsibility, or who will hold your leg and talk about their misfortunes for hours (we all have someone like that in our lives).
Refusing to take the bag of rocks
Let’s face it: you have the right to refuse to take their bag of rocks. And I would even say: you have the DUTY to refuse to take their bag of rocks.
First of all, because you have your own bag of rocks to carry around, which is heavy enough as it is (even if the tips we’ve seen so far will help you lighten it considerably).
But mostly because, take my word for it (I’ve been there), if you take this bag from them, not only are you going to get heavier but don’t worry that as soon as you take it they’ll go and get the next one to give it to you too!
And so we end up with two unhappy and weighed down people.
Whereas if you refuse to take the bag of stones, you are able to help the other person. You are able to refuse to take his burden, but to help him anyway.
Because by refusing to take his bag of stones, you ensure that you remain positive, light and therefore able to help him (you can’t save someone who is drowning by drowning with him).