One of the things that makes me tick is helping people to believe in themselves. New bloggers and website owners all too often fail to realise that they have what it takes to be a success.
You see what other people are doing and tell yourself ” I can never do that ” or ” I don’t know how to do that and I am too far behind in the game” ” I am not interesting enough” ” I am not clever enough” and on and on….
Why do I know this? Because I have been there. I still do it to myself sometimes. The advantage I have is that I can check my own thought process and give myself a good telling off.
I’ve had a lot of practice at doing it because over the years I have invested in myself and my mindset. Have I had the perfect life because of this? No. What I have had, because of this investment, is the ability to get back on the horse after I have fallen off. Okay, sometimes I lay there and sulk for a while but who doesn’t?
It is time for you to start investing in yourself too. This is not a self-help post by any stretch but you do have to start helping yourself by doing things that will make you stronger.
Here are seven things that will help you to change your mindset from “not good enough” to “I am better than good enough.”
1. Learn new stuff.
It does not matter how much you know right now, we can all learn something new. I am not talking about taking up a new skill. Don’t go off and learn rock climbing unless that’s what floats your boat. What I am talking about is learning new things that can make you a better blogger or website owner. There are tons of free stuff, given by other bloggers and you can learn a great deal from them. Okay so you have to give them your email address. So what ? Don’t you want to grow your email list too ?
At the time of writing I am enrolled on three free courses this month and I did three in December too. Yes there is an upsell at the end of it but I learn from their approach every time. Sometimes it is what to do and sometimes it’s what not to do. Even rubbish courses teach me something.
One thing about learning that has always stuck in my mind is:
There are things that we know, we know. There are things we know, we don’t know. There are things we don’t know, we don’t know.
Think about that and read it again. Most of the time we take courses or read posts about No 2. The things we know we don’t know, because we realise that we need to learn it. No 3 will come out of the blue and is usually unexpected. It will give you an “aha” moment. The things we don’t know, we don’t know are the most valuable. But you will never find them unless you are open to learning new things.
2. Read
Yes this might seem like the same as No 1 but when I say read, I mean read motivational books that will strengthen your mindset and give you a new perspective on life. How do you know what to read? Generally, I read what is recommended and I have been recommended some awesome books over the years. They have all had an impact and made me stronger.
I am currently reading a book, I was given for Christmas. I didn’t even know it existed but so far it is a great read. It is inspiring and honest.
How to be an Overnight Success by Maria Hatzistefanis.
Here are my other recommendations. I still have my original copies and often go back to them for inspiration when I have fallen off that damn horse again.
Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins. Anything by Tony Robbins is just an awesome read. I was lucky enough to see him speak live for 3 days. I am still in awe of his presence.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie This one will change your whole approach to dealing with people.
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey. The title says it all.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. This is so famous I probably didn’t need to mention it but it will change your mindset big time.
The Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield. This is an interesting one but it gave me many aha moments.
Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy A great and easy read for getting yourself organised and getting stuff done.
The One Minute Entrepeneur by Ken Blanchard and Don Hutson. This is quick and easy read about discovering your entrepreneurial strengths.
And here’s one I am yet to read but have seen it recommended by so many people it’s a must buy for me.
Girl Code by Cara Alwill Leyba
3. Hang out with the right people
Who are the right people? I hear you say. They don’t have to be special (though I believe we are all special in our own way) or leaders of your industry or niche. They just have to be positive people who build you up, not knock you down.
It’s hard when the negative people are family members, they cannot be dropped so easily but you can spend less time with them. You can also strengthen yourself so their negativity, just bounces off of you and floats away into the distance.
Friends can also be difficult but if they are always negative and knock you down are they really your friend?
Successful people surround themselves with people who have a can do attitude. They also surround themselves with people who are more successful than them.
How can you and I put this into action? Well social media is our friend here. (Warning it can also be your enemy) join Facebook Groups with other like minded people. Follow your competitors and or idols on Twitter or Instagram. If you are hearing positive things, you will become more positive. If you start to feel a negative vibe in a Facebook group, leave. If the people you follow on social media are putting out negative stuff, unfollow. No one needs that S..T every day.
Never ever, engage in a negative way to someone who criticises you. Yes the comment will sting but don’t let them know that. When it happens to me, I thank them for the comment and say I’ll take what they say on board. Then I go off and sulk ! And then I go find some positive people to hang out with or read something inspirational.
You can access my Fabulous Facebook Groups page here.
4. Make a lot of mistakes
You will never get anywhere unless you try and if you try you are bound to make mistakes. The more mistakes you make, the closer you will get to success.
Do not be afraid of mistakes, embrace them. All too often we make a mistake and then give up because we tell ourselves we are useless. No we are not.
Every successful person out there has made more mistakes than you, and that is why they are successful. They tried and failed many times. Each time they failed they learned from their mistakes and moved on.
So get out there and make some mistakes.
5. Keep a Gratitude Journal
At the end of each day we will feel like we have either had a good or a bad day. No matter how you feel about your day you should write down at least 5 things you were grateful for in that day.
They don’t have to be big things. You might have been grateful for someone making you a coffee when you were bogged down with work at you desk. You might have been grateful for a kind comment or a few likes on your social media accounts.
If you finish each day writing down the things you were grateful for, you will always end the day on a positive. I have created a downloadable and printable Guided Gratitude Journal based on a journal I personally use. You can download it here.