Author: Peter Oakden
Photography by: Kevin McCollum
Successful people aren’t lucky. In fact, there’s no such thing as luck at all. Opportunities are available in abundance, those who thrive simply have the ability to recognize them and the tenacity to take action to see them through to fruition.
The mind is a powerful thing, and your mindset shapes your happiness, success, and ultimately your whole life. Take these four simple steps to change your ethos from survive to thrive.
POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS
Use positive words that evoke a feeling of strength and success when talking about yourself. Pushing out all negative feelings will have a profound effect. Practice being kind to yourself, focus on traits and skills that you like, and halt all negative criticism immediately. Direct your thoughts towards the belief that you will succeed, but if you fail, analyze what went wrong and give yourself credit for trying.
BUILD A ROUTINE
Before you can change your thoughts, you have to change your behaviors. Be your own wingman and take responsibility for your actions. Discipline breeds a positive mindset because you’re motivated by results and concentrating on achieving your goals, not on making excuses and lying to yourself. Owning your faults gives you the power to change them.
SEE BEYOND TODAY
What the mind believes, the body achieves. Visualize the end result, creating a mental picture of the future you that you’re striving to attain. Visualizing our desired outcome, allows us to begin to accept the possibility of achieving it. Perception is reality and the brain can be easily hacked with this simple strategy.
STEP AWAY FROM SAFETY
Operating in an anxiety-neutral condition and using a limited set of behaviors won’t increase your performance one iota. It’s facing your fears and dealing with challenges that allows you to realize your goals. If you take risks and are willing to accept setbacks, nothing can stop you! Remember, if it scares you, it’s probably the right course of action to catalyze some next-level personal growth. High performance isn’t accomplished when you’re in the comfortable green zone, steering clear of stress. We’re restricted exclusively by our self-imposed limiting beliefs and becoming abundantly successful in whatever goal we want to achieve is simply a mindset shift away.
Peter Oakden is a former Royal Marines Commando, CaveFit founder, Red Bull athlete, and lululemon ambassador. He created CaveFit to bring athletic fitness workouts to the mainstream, helping people improve their physical and mental health.
