Positive Thinking Starts with Positive Self-Talk

Developing the right mindset is crucial for success. Your attitude acts as your filter for thoughts and beliefs that determine how you receive and react to the world around you. It is crucial to believe the best outcome is going to happen, and not the worst. Positive thinking begins with positive self-talk. People with a fixed or rigid mindset blame others for their own shortcomings instead of choosing to learn from them to become more successful in life. "While positive thinking doesn't always work, negative thinking unfortunately almost always does," said sports psychologist Gary Mack.

Although the first step is to ask yourself what you want the end result to be, achieving this requires cultivating a growth mindset, such as:

• Why Mindset Matters - People who are successful at making changes in their life are confident with the just the right amount of humility.
• Time to Flip the Switch - Never allow information overload to support your own procrastination.
• Believe Change is Possible - It is important to ask yourself the right questions to uncover negative beliefs that may be standing in your way.
• Start with Very Attainable Goals - The most damaging effect of a rigid mindset is the emphasis on external rewards and meaningless validations.
• Become an Overachiever - Hanging out in a doubting social circle of people with fixed-mindsets will act as an echo chamber for discussing bad ideas.
• Follow Your Own Pace - By adopting a growth mindset, there is a tendency to assume a comfortable pace for personal growth.
• Create the Momentum - Never associate happiness with what you expect to accomplish in the future.

Making a change in your life may not seem like a big deal, but it is. Moving from a fixed mindset to one that supports growth allows you to shift your focus from why to what. Once you achieve your goals and become good at something, apply your new mindsets and become good at something else. You were not programmed just to do one thing, so allow yourself to grow. Trying too hard can be counterproductive, because it relies on a fixed mindset. Success comes from applying a growth mindset that grateful for opportunities that are right in front of you. Manage your thinking with your new growth mindset.