Mindset Is Everything:
How to Develop the Right Mindset for Success

Your mindset refers to the way you view and think about the traits that make up your personality. There are generally thought to be two different types of mindsets:

• A fixed mindset means you believe that inner qualities, like intelligence and charisma, are fixed from birth.
  
• A growth mindset means you believe that these inner qualities can be improved upon through deliberate practice.
  

Many people who have a fixed mindset find that it keeps them feeling "stuck in place" and unable to motivate themselves to make lasting changes. If this sounds like something you're currently struggling with, realizing that mindset is everything when it comes to making a lasting change is the first step toward success.

While mindset and attitude are closely linked, think of your attitude as how you act upon your mindset. Your attitude is your outward approach to how you view the world and how you interact with others and the world around you on a daily basis. Therefore, changing your mindset is the key to changing your attitude. However, it's important to check in with yourself and ask if your attitude is serving you on a daily basis. Over time, a bad attitude can undo all the hard work you put in to develop a success-oriented mindset.

Changing your mindset helps improve your day-to-day attitude, which has the most immediate impact on your success. However, the investment in changing your mindset will serve you well in the long run. If you have a foundation of internal motivation and a positive growth mindset, you'll have enough strength to face even the toughest challenges and succeed.

Work on developing your mindset every day. Think about areas where your own thinking makes you uncomfortable, such as thinking you're too old to learn something new or that you don't have the patience to do something and never could, and find ways to change these thoughts over time.

One of the best ways to develop a mindset for success is to train yourself never to hesitate to take on a challenge. By seeking out challenges, you will put yourself on a path to learn more lessons, take more risks, and achieve greater rewards than you would on the safest route through life.

Challenges build your character and create a positive feedback loop that helps strengthen your mindset. For example, if you believe that you could never run a marathon, taking on the challenge of running a half-marathon can be the achievement that motivates you to go further.

In order to be truly successful, you must never stop learning or growing. In both your personal and professional life, make an effort to develop useful skills that will help you reach your goals. For some, this may look like starting a morning routine and waking up earlier. Others may choose to take classes, receive tutoring, or study self-help books extensively to reach their personal development goals.

When you learn that mindset is everything when it comes to success, you will naturally start to gravitate toward those in your life with the right mindset. Learning from those who have a natural mindset for success or those who have worked hard to discipline their own mind can be an excellent way to jumpstart your journey toward changing your outlook on life. From family and friends to coworkers and mentors, keep an eye out for the people in your life who are constantly stepping up, getting things done, and doing it all with a positive attitude.

Having goals allows you to stay focused and motivated even when you face challenges. The best goals are those that are specific, measurable, and within your control. Giving yourself a goal centered around a variable you can't control is setting yourself up to fail. Instead, focus on setting goals where your effort has a direct effect on the outcome; for example, losing a certain amount of weight, writing a certain number of words, or calling a family member once a week.

Examples of good short-term goals include:

• I will clean the house weekly.
  
• I will exercise three days a week for three months.
  
• I will save $250 in my savings account.
  

While good long-terms goals may look more like this:

• I will save up a 20% down payment for a house.
  
• I will go back to school and finish college.
  
• I will train for and run in a marathon.
  

A surefire way to fuel your new mindset is to occasionally take a look back and see how far you've come. Be proud of yourself and the work you are putting in to change your mindset. Putting in daily effort to develop the right mindset and attitude is not something that comes easily to everyone.

When it feels like it may just be easier to give up, cut yourself some slack and remember the work you've already done. Do what you can to move forward, and vow to do better tomorrow.

Failures are an opportunity to learn and grow. However, in order to learn from your mistakes and setbacks, you need to be able to accept them. It is completely okay to mess up. Nobody does everything perfectly all the time. Whether it's the first time you've done something or the thousandth time, making mistakes is how we learn to become more proficient.

It may take time to get comfortable with the idea of failure, and that's okay. However, don't let a taste of failure prevent you from getting back to work on yourself. Your failures do not define you, and over time you can work on yourself to change your mindset and attitude from the negative to the positive.

Just like you should seek out challenges, don't be afraid to try new things. You never know which new hobby could turn into a profitable new career, for example. The more you expose yourself to new things, people, experiences, and places, the more you allow yourself to grow. As your mindset and attitude shift toward a positive growth outlook, you'll naturally be drawn to trying new experiences and getting out of your comfort zone.

Keeping your days organized and your time scheduled is a great way to promote the mindset that will change everything. There are a variety of different organizational styles. Research different ways you could structure your day and try new ones until you find one that works for you. You may be someone who can work with rigid timeblocks each day, or you may be better suited toward a loose to-do list style of getting things done.

Regardless of which technique you pick, make sure you have a strategy to maximize your time in order to truly change your mindset for success. Commit to making the most of your time if you want to see a change in your mindset and attitude. When you're not rushed for time and can properly pace yourself throughout the day, you can approach your work with more nuance.

Changing your mindset is a gradual process. Don't try to force yourself to adopt a cheerful new outlook on life overnight, and accept that this process will take time. With concentrated daily effort, you can add small habits in your life that will have a huge impact on your mindset and attitude. With a growth mindset, you will be able to challenge yourself more often and see the benefits of going beyond what is merely necessary.

Spend time thinking about the changes you'd like to make to your mindset. Once you've figured that out, move on to practicing your skills and saying "yes" to opportunities that take you outside of your comfort zone and challenge you. Encourage yourself along the way, and don't forget to look back every now and then to see how much hard work you've put into changing your mindset for success.