Why your Mindset is so Important for Success in Business

Mindset….it’s become increasingly trendy to talk about in the online space in recent years, but so many people still don’t know exactly what mindset is, what it means and how completely important it is


We often feel we’re beholden to our thoughts, that they run the show and we’re powerless to change them. That whatever ‘lot’ you’ve been dealt is what you’re stuck with, so suck it up buttercup and deal with it!


And that’s just not true. We actually have a huge amount of control over our thoughts and when you not only realise and understand that, but decide to take advantage of that, the whole game changes


You see, changing your thoughts is a fairly simple process, but it isn’t easy and it does take time, work and commitment, and for a lot of people they don’t understand or see the difference simple daily actions can take, so they don’t put in the work that’s required to change their thoughts, but prefer to get stuck with the thoughts they already have.


We have around 60-80 THOUSAND thoughts a day – thats a lot! And around 80% of those thoughts are on repeat. We pick up our daily thoughts and beliefs (a belief is simply a thought repeated enough times that it became ingrained as a belief) mainly through childhood where we don’t have much of a filter and everything goes in as fact. After around the age of 8 we start to develop some filters and start questioning the world around us, but that’s based on the thoughts and beliefs we have already developed in early childhood.


A lot of our thoughts are simply bad habits – thoughts we’ve repeated that many times it’s become natural for us to believe it, whether or not it is true


And so that brings to me to why your mindset is so important for success in business.


Your mindset is the collection of repeated thoughts and beliefs that dictate your PERCEPTION of your reality.


Note I say – your PERCEPTION of your reality, not your actual reality. An example of this is rainy weather. While one person snuggles in a cosy blanket with a nice drink and a good book and gives gratitude for the situation, another could be staring out the window feeling thoroughly miserable – they both created their own perception of their reality by their thoughts on the situation.


To quote one of my all time favourite sayings by Henry Ford “if you think you can, or your can’t you’re right” and that perfectly sums up the difference your mindset can make


If you believe you won’t succeed in business, you won’t have any resilience. You won’t be open to new ideas, or ways of doing things and you’ll give up as soon as it gets remotely hard, further fueling your belief


Whereas if you believe you can succeed in business, you won’t quit. You’ll reevaluate when things don’t go to plan and you’ll learn all you possibly can. When things get tough, you’ll keep pushing through and quitting is not an option for you – you keep going until the success becomes inevitable


The only difference between the two scenarios is the belief of whether or not success is inevitable – and that belief is formed from your thoughts


But what if you don’t think it’s possible for you? What do you do to change that narrative?


Firstly, do a bit of digging. Where does this belief come from? Maybe you struggled in school, or as a kid you were always criticised. Maybe your success was never recognised so you developed a belief that trying hard is pointless. Maybe you suffer from low self confidence or low self worth and don’t believe anything works out for you.


Once you’ve done some digging, you should have a good idea of your underlying beliefs, so the next step is to work on these. My favourite way to do this is with positive affirmations – literally positive statements you repeat to start to rewire your subconscious. To figure out your positive affirmations literally flip your beliefs, so I’m not capable of running a successful business would become “I AM capable of running a successful business”. Yes it will feel weird at first, and it’ll take time, but positive affirmations are so powerful. You’re just flipping the script, and instead of telling yourself ‘negative’ affirmations – which is what you’ve been doing up until now, you’re now telling yourself ‘positive’ ones!


Find evidence for your new belief – that success is possible. If you don’t have many of your own successes to draw on, look around you and find people in a similar line of business and use their successes to fuel your belief


Don’t see setbacks and things not going to plan as failure, but as LESSONS. Ask yourself ‘What can I LEARN from this?’. Being in business is always a learning experience and the more easily you embrace this, the quicker you can progress


Don’t take things personally. Because 99.9% of the time, it won’t be personal. People are making decisions based on what’s best for them, and they have every right to do that – go find the people who DO want what you have to offer and build new relationships, rather than staying stuck in the past


Your success in business is down to your thoughts – and thoughts can be changed. You just have to be willing to take the time to do the work


Working on your mindset daily should be as much a part of your business strategy as posting on social media or growing your audience is, because your mindset can make the difference between success or failure


Decide you CAN and you will find a way – and that all comes down to your thoughts


If you’d like some help with your mindset I’d love to invite you to join my group on facebook: The Positive Mindset Tribe, where I share top tips and life lessons: https://www.facebook.com/groups/positivemindsettribe/


You can also get my free guide “10 ways to think more positively (even when you’re fed up with life)” right here: https://bit.ly/thinkmorepositively