Welcome to episode 15 where I talk about strategies for success in 2021.
You may feel that success is difficult to achieve right now given the pandemic but not everyone or everything revolves around Covid. Many of us want something else to think about. So I thought I would revisit some of the strategies that I’ve coached clients to use and they have applied consistently. These strategies achieve change and yield results. Here are some of the things I talk about:
I really believe our thoughts matter
Every one of us is thinking all the time. We are filtering events and considering their importance and running random thoughts around our heads all day. It is estimated that we think around 60,000 different thoughts/ day so it would be very difficult for us to intervene with these when so many of them are automatic.
But automatic thoughts don’t mean that we can’t control some of the way we think. Our thoughts are fuelled by our beliefs. These are beliefs you have about yourself, and how valuable you are and what a great job you do. They make such a difference to how you view things and the important contribution you make.
Our thoughts are not always real
Because of the speed with which we think, and the number of thoughts we have, many of them are randomly generated from events going on around us. We watch something on the news and we find a thread of that is going on in our heads. Then we might listen to a conversation, attend a meeting, or pick up our to-do list. A myriad of thoughts follow on from that. We cannot stop ourselves. But that doesn’t mean that everything we think is a fact. Often they are opinions, and if you stop and analyse them, they’re probably someone else’s opinion!
Focus is a great word but it literally means trying to start one job and finishing it before going on to another. This may seem so obvious but so many of us are readily distracted. We leave out masses of pieces of paper on our desk. That way we have an on-going to-do list visually in front of us, and we keep looking at our phones to check them. Mobile phones are such an essential part of our lives. But, it can be really vital to turn them over so that you don’t keep seeing the screen lighting up, or you deliberately avoid them for set periods of time.
What else matters?
At the end of every week I take half an hour to review the week. I list everything I’ve done, not everything I haven’t! This is very important. When I come to look at this list the immediate feeling I will get is satisfaction. Getting a sense of satisfaction is great and this boosts my energy levels and helps me unwind before I start my weekend. I don’t start the next ‘to do’ list until first thing Monday morning when I’m fresh and I deliberately end the week on a ‘high’ even if it’s been tough to achieve much that week
Stimulate your mind
Read, listen or watch books and videos by thought leaders and people you admire. Jim Rohn is one of the earliest gurus who taught self belief, and methods to improve your life and achieve more. His books ‘Take charge of your life’ and the ‘Art of exceptional living’ are on my audible account. I listen to him, or Tony Robbins every day. It’s easy to put my headphones in as I walk or run and allow their ideas to permeate the way I think. I believe in what I hear, and the most important thing Jim Rohn ever said was ‘invest more in yourself than in what you do. This may seem strange at first, but he recognised that the more you know the more you can do, offer, or help others. They in turn, value it. That earns you more money or respect, whichever you trade in.
As a client raises the bar on their thinking, their approach and therefore their life, they begin to want different things. These require drive and energy. It’s much easier to drive that energy if you believe in yourself and you like what you do and who you are.
This episode has hopefully left you with some food for thought and practical tips. I’ll follow it up with another episode from me when you need. Let me know if there are topics you are interested in by connecting on LinkedIn or email me sue@suefirthltd.com
You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Spotify and Google play – good luck everyone until next time
