There is a crucial difference in the mindset of those who achieve their goals and those who don’t. Winners have developed a winning attitude. They accept and fully embrace full responsibility and ownership for their success. Those who fail to achieve their goals tend to look outside for reasons they failed. Reasons are just fancy words for excuses. Looking out prevents one from accepting responsibility. A winning attitude lets nothing stop us from reaching our goals except ourselves.
To develop a winning attitude, add these three simple processes into your daily practice:
- When results are not as hoped for or expected, ask first what we might have done differently given the same circumstance. Avoid looking to the occasion or others for what they may have done differently. We cannot control events or people, only ourselves. Example: LA (Losing Attitude) – I can’t believe Susie keeps eating my yogurt. She needs to respect my property. WA (Winning Attitude) – Susie keeps eating my yogurt. I better put it someplace she won’t find it.
- Ask for what we want and need to reach our goals. How much time do we waste waiting for someone else to give us what we need, unaware they have no idea we are waiting on them or even need their help? Most of us aren’t mind readers. Learn to ask for help. Express our needs. Example: LA – Can’t he see my arms are full, and I can’t open the door? How long will I wait for that stranger to finish his call and open the door for me? WA – Excuse me, sir, could you open the door for me?
- Look at time and money as interchangeable resources. There are no necessary tasks that we cannot all either learn to do or hire someone else to do for us. Everything we need to achieve our dreams exists in the world. A winning attitude knows this and finds no obstacle, lack of skill, or lack of knowledge enough to stop them. LA – I don’t know how to…. WA – I need to do X to succeed. Where can I learn how, or who can I hire to do that?
High achievers who succeed at creating their most successful lives choose a winning attitude. Our attitude drives our actions and, ultimately, our results. When we have the wrong attitude, we may take the wrong steps or, worse yet, no steps. Once we develop the mindset that nothing can stop us, the answers appear, our actions follow, and the results speak for themselves.
Build Your winning attitude
- Look around your home or work environment for things that annoy or irritate you and decide what action you could take to stop that annoyance.
- Review your skillset and find one thing you regularly do but are not that good at or don’t enjoy and employ someone else to take over that responsibility.
- Make a list of the tasks other people can help you with and reach out for help.
- Take our “How Winning is your Attitude” Quiz.
