When we focus on how to succeed, we generally look to the outcome. If we get the outcome we want (like the scale going down) then #winning. If not, #loser.
It’s an outdated view of success. Binary. Winning is left – largely – to chance.
In truth, your success depends on your willingness and ability to recognize all of the ways that you are winning.
Please do not gloss over that last sentence. Both willingness and ability are critical to you feeling super successful every day, no matter the outcome you achieve. Let’s break them down:
Willingness means not holding yourself to perfectionist standards. Maybe taking an ugly win. You were going for a 20 lbs weight loss this past quarter. You lost 3. Take the win. Acknowledge what you did to get there. Congratulate yourself that you didn’t gain 3, which was your past trajectory.
Yes, assess the failure. Learn. Refocus. Retool. And go again. But go into it feeling like Serena Williams who knows she’s a winner, even when she’s lost a tournament.
Ability is looking for what you might not normally think of as a success. Say you picked up that glazed donut and ate three quarters of it before coming to and thinking “whoa, what happened here?!” and put the remainder in the trash. You might be tempted to feel bad about what you did eat. Instead, take the kudos for stopping when you could have wolfed down the last few bites (do you know how hard that is?!).
Take 47 seconds now and come up with five ways you’re winning today. Like you…
- Ordered a grande instead of a venti
- Took a 4-minute walk instead of scrolling to pass the time
- Responded with grace and understanding to the complaining coworker you’re not fond of
- Walked the two flights of stairs to your office, even when the elevator opened right in front of you
- Stopped halfway through a bag of Cheetos and put the rest away
If you want to know how to succeed it starts here, with recognizing all of the ways you are already winning. When you come from the place of being successful, you prepare yourself for successful outcomes. You are more likely to take the actions necessary to achieve your goals when you feel like a winner.
Another way to win more…have a Strategy Session with me. Let’s talk.