Believe in Yourself

Being successful is as much about self-confidence as it is about 
anything else. People who constantly doubt themselves often 
can’t reach their goals because their negative thoughts act as 
saboteurs, preventing them from doing the things they want to 
do. That’s why the first step of the success mindset is believing in 
yourself.

Dealing with Naysayers and Self Doubt
When you set a goal, you may find that people in your life express doubts or dismiss your goal as unreasonable or unattainable. You may also hear a little voice in your head that says you can’t do what you want to do. If you want to succeed, you’ve got to find a way to silence both the naysayers in your life and your negative inner critic.

Listening to either can sabotage your best efforts and ensure you don’t achieve success.

With the naysayers, you’ve got three options:

1. Ignore them and let their negativity roll off your back
2. Talk to them and convince them not to be negative
3. Avoid their company

The right choice may vary from person to person. Sometimes, 
friends and family don’t realize they’re being negative. When 
that’s the case, a simple, “Hey, I’d appreciate it if you’d find a way 
to be positive about my goals” might do the trick. Some people might be unwilling or unable to curb their negativity. 

When that’s the case, you’ll have to decide if you can ignore it or 
if you’re better off avoiding their company. Choose the option 
that’s right for you.

Avoiding the inner critic is more challenging because you carry it 
around with you. A good option is to reframe the negativity and 
imagine that instead of talking to yourself, you’re talking to a dear friend. You wouldn’t be rude or insensitive to a friend, so don’t treat yourself that way either!

Identifying Your Strengths

Believing in yourself is easier when you recognize your strengths. 
We’ve all got things we do well, so why not celebrate them? You can cultivate a mindset of self-believe by making a list of the 
things you do best. Are you a great salesperson? An innovator? A 
team builder? 

Write down your strongest traits and abilities and then turn them 
into affirmations. When you’re heading into a meeting or 
negotiation or planning session, read the list and remind yourself that you’re a terrific negotiator or a strong speaker. It’ll put a 
spring in your step and help you maintain a positive outlook.

Overcoming Fears and Negative Thoughts

The flipside of acknowledging your strengths is looking at your 
fears and negative thoughts and finding ways to overcome them. 
We’re all afraid of something. What sets us apart is how we 
handle those fears.

With negative thoughts, try reframing them as things you would 
say to a friend. You can even write out your negative thoughts 
and then rewrite them with a positive spin. Fears are a little trickier.

You’re going to need to face them. Look for ways to give yourself the tools you need to overcome your fears.

For example, someone with a fear of public speaking might 
join something they can get critiques and encouragements from 
fellow members.

Building a Business Plan

Sometimes people fail due to a lack of planning. You’ll have a 
better chance of achieving your goals if you lay out a concrete 
plan for achieving them. Writing a business plan takes time and effort. You’ll need to think about your specific goals and break them down into actionable steps. Decide what resources you’ll need and how you plan to get them, and create immediate, short-term, and long-term goals.

The benefit of writing a business plan is that it will:

1. Help you clarify your goals
   
   
2. Make it easier to tell if you’ve got a goal that’s too ambitious or not ambitious enough
   
   
3. Help you fine-tune your ideas
   
   
4. Serve as a template for approaching investors, partners, and others to talk about your business

It might be a lot of work, but the time you spend on your business plan will help you achieve a success mindset.

Getting Inspiration from Successful People

When you’re aiming for a lofty goal, it’s easy to get discouraged. 
It’s also easy to look at other successful people and tell yourself 
that you can’t do what they did – or that they were never where 
you are.

The truth is everybody struggles in some way. You can find 
inspiration by seeking out stories about successful people who 
overcame negative thinking or other obstacles.

One example is the novelist Stephen King. One of his earliest 
novels, Carrie, was rejected by more than 30 publishers before it 
was finally accepted. If he’d given up, he wouldn’t be one of the 
most famous and successful authors in the world.

Did you know that Bill Gates had a failed company before he 
started Microsoft? And that Walt Disney was fired by the Kansas 
City Star because his editor said he lacked imagination and had no good ideas?

The point here is that if you let the naysayers hold you back, you 
won’t be successful. The only way to succeed is to believe in 
yourself.