Mindset is Only Half the Equation!
There’s been a lot of talk lately about the importance of Mindset in achieving results.
But “mindset” is only half of the equation. You need grit. You need determination. And you need the 4 keys to Building Your Backbone, Sister! if you want to achieve success in your life and business.
Here are the four keys and some actions you can take today to start building your backbone.
1. Know Your Purpose
Having a clear sense of purpose, clear values, drive and direction helps you to persist and achieve in the face of setbacks. You can develop your sense of purpose by:
a) Getting clarity about what you want in life and business. Taking simple steps like completing free courses like Clarity 101 will set you in the right direction.
b) Get clear about the values that drive you. What is important to you?
c) Understand ‘why’ you are doing “it”.
- What motivates you?
- What are your internal and external drivers?
d) Point yourself in the direction of your dreams and desires and take inspired action every day.
- Create a plan that covers off each area of your life
- Make ‘to do’ lists (and do them!)
- Complete my ‘Post-it Note’ activity
Post it Note Activity
This is an activity I developed to help my clients to get unstuck or move from procrastination to action.
1. Grab a pen and paper and brainstorm all the tasks you need to do in your life or business.
2. Divide them into things that will take 15 minutes, 30 minutes and 1 hour to complete.
3. Next, using different coloured post it notes, write the 15 mins on one colour, 30 mins on another and 1 hour on the third colour. {Remember to include self-care activities as well}
4. Put them up on your wall or cork-board.
5. Then, when you are feeling stuck, grab one of the 15 minute tasks and DO THAT. Then, do another and another.... it’s amazing how action breeds action!
2. Build Your Confidence
Cultivating confidence means that you will stand up tall, make the most of opportunities, take risks and get out of your comfort zone. You’ll have unwavering faith in yourself and be unstoppable! You can develop your confidence by:
1. Creating an achievement log. Write down everything that you have achieved and are proud of in your life to date.
2. ‘Designing’ yourself. Grab your journal and write down who you want to be. What do you want to be known for?
3. Building your competence. Competence breeds confidence. By developing your skills and becoming adept at a variety of things, your confidence will automatically grow.
4. Practicing your self-care. Take time each day to do something (however small) for yourself. A bath. Some meditation. A walk in the woods. Looking after your physical, mental and emotional health is essential for backbone building and confidence creation!
5. Taming your inner critic. Acknowledge that ‘little voice’ inside your head and if you find that it’s a critic rather than a cheerleader, give it a funny voice or character like Donald Duck. You’ll soon be amazed at how insignificant she or he becomes.
6. Getting out of your comfort zone. Do something new at least once a week to get out of your comfort zone and expand your confidence.
3. Be Adaptable
When situations change or unexpected events occur, being adaptable and flexible enough to respond pro-actively is essential in staying on track to getting the results you desire. You can increase your adaptability by:
Building feedback loops. Gather information about what is and isn’t working as you take action to achieve your goals. Make sure you’re getting (and paying attention to) the feedback available to you so that you can flex your adaptability muscles and, if necessary, do something differently to get a different result. Examples of feedback loops are:
- External: weight on the scales, client feedback, number of sales, where you are in your life right now - is it where you want to be?
- Internal: how do you feel? what is your instinct telling you? listen to your gut
Use your sensory acuity. Look around you. What are you seeing, hearing and feeling about the results that you are getting? Are things working? Pay attention to all the information available to you.
Take action and make the changes you need to make to get the results you desire. If things aren’t working - if you’re not getting the results you had planned for, then make a change. Tweak things and then pay attention again to see if those changes have the impact you want. Similarly, if things are going well, then consider how you can improve further on the strategy that is working for you.
The key is - be prepared to gather and review the information you’re getting and make the necessary changes to improve as required.
4. Build Your Community
Having a tribe of like-minded, supportive people around you is the ‘secret weapon’ to propel you forwards in time of doubt. Being able to build and maintain positive relationships with others is a key foundation for success. You can build your community by:
Getting to know who YOU are first. Grab your journal and answer these questions
What do you like?
How do you like spending your time?
Building good relationships with others. To to this, you’ll need to hone your communication and rapport-building skills.
Joining groups that are aligned to your interests and values. Groups can be found on-line and off-line and it’s ideal to have a mix of both! You can join the Life Design Mastermind Group {click here} and the Build Your Backbone, Sister Group {click here} as examples of on-line communities. Off-line, you can check out sites like meetup.com to discover groups of like-minded people in your local area.
These are my four steps to building your backbone, sister!
For more in-depth backbone-building activities, check out these additional resources:
I’d love to know your favourite backbone-building strategies. Please share in the comments below. And if you have a friend or colleague who will enjoy this post, please share it with them.
With my best wishes,