I used to think this was SO DUMB!

Did you know you could choose your thoughts?

Did you know that you didn’t have to beat yourself up with mean inner dialog?

Did you know that your thought life shaped your “life life?”

I didn’t.

That was a bit of information that eluded me for decades. I wish someone had told me as a teenager. I’m not sure if I would have listened because I was using a healthy dose of arrogance to cover up my raging insecurities, but still, it would have been nice to learn how to build a better mindset earlier in life.

I used to think talking about your mindset or your thought life was cheesy and dumb. I was wrong. I feel like I’m late to the “thought life” party, but I’m doing everything I can to catch up.

In addition to writing a book about mindset, called Soundtracks, I’ve made it my mission to do everything I can to have my thoughts work for me, not against me. Here are 3 simple ways I’ve learned to change my mindset that will help you.

1. Positive Affirmations: Talk nicer to the person you spend the most time with.

File this one under, “It sounds silly, but it works.” I am a very negative person by nature. I laughed at motivational advice like this for years. I grew up with Seinfeld mocking affirmations like, “Serenity Now,” and Saturday Night Live joking, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and doggone it, people like me.” I am pessimistic and sarcastic and cynical to the core.

What changed for me? Well, I started to interview highly successful people and none of them were casual about their thought life. They’d say, “Yeah, I give myself a pep talk each day,” or “I have a mantra I like to use to stay engaged.” I was still skeptical, so I tested it in my own life and with hundreds of other people. Much to my chagrin, it worked.

Positive affirmations or what I call, “Soundtracks ,” are the greatest trick to high performance that I’ve found in a decade. The reason why they work is simple, great thoughts turn into great actions, great actions turn into great results. Before I learned this, when I didn’t get the results I wanted, I’d just buckle down on the actions and try harder. I was always trying harder, which was exhausting. It also never got me anywhere because I hadn’t addressed the root issue – my thoughts. Want great results this year? Start with your thoughts. Watch the video series, “Soundtracks ” for the easiest, most enjoyable way to build a winning mindset.

Want an example of a soundtrack you can practice? Try, “I like me!” That an easy to say, but hard to believe, soundtrack. It’s easy because it’s just 3 words. It’s hard because it immediately awakens the doubt, insecurity, or negative self-talk you’re carrying. If you can’t say it out loud or at least in your head, pause and ask yourself, “Why can’t I say ‘I like me?’” Asking a question like that can lead you on a surprising journey into what you really believe about yourself. Try this one out for a week and see what happens.

2. Visualization: It’s easier to reach the finish line when you’ve already imagined it.

This is one of those words that triggers your, “This sounds woo woo” alarm, but give me a second. Do you know what every elite athlete, across every major sport, has in common? They visualize their work. Michael Phelps is just one of many examples. Before races, he would “put in the videotape of his ideal performances” and visualize the way he wanted the event to go.

I’m not an elite athlete and you probably aren’t either. How does that principle apply to us mortals? Here’s an illustration from my own life. I hate running in the rain, but I also don’t love treadmills, so I’m stuck. It’s not a unique problem though. When it comes to goals, most of it comes down to a simple question: “Can you make yourself do something you don’t want to do?” Entire books have been written about that question, but I’ll give you my simple approach. I ignore the start and imagine the finish. The way I lock that in is with the soundtrack, “I’ll feel awesome after.”

I try my best not to think about the first 90 seconds of the jog. I try not to think about leaving my warm house or the hassle of finding my rain gear. The beginning is the worst and if I dwell on it, I’ll never do it. The opposite is true for the finish. I obsess about how good I will feel when it’s done. I imagine finally turning the last corner and running down the hill to my house. I imagine watching my running app hit 3.1 miles. I think about the shower after and the satisfaction of crossing that run off my to do list. I’ll feel awesome after.

I dream in technicolor about the finish and keep the start in black and white. If you’ve got a challenging goal, you’ll be tempted to think about the beginning. Don’t. Ignore it. Don’t give it a second thought. Save all that imagination for the end. Visualize the end.

3. Compete with Yourself: In the, “game of you,” there’s only one competitor.

Comparing yourself to others is a recipe for sadness. Comparing yourself to yourself is a recipe for high performance. See if you can write more words this month than you did last month. See if you can top last year’s sales. See if you can scroll less social media this week than you did last week. There’s only one competitor in the game of you, but it’s a fun one.

One way that I use this form of mindset motivation is with a, “10% goal.” I try a goal for a day, a week, or a month and track it so that I get a baseline. Then I try to beat it by 10% next time. I read 66 books a few years ago. The next year, I decided I’d read 10% more or roughly 73 books. Was this a real competition? Did I win a medal? Did anyone even know I was doing it? Nope. It was all in my mind, but it worked. I stayed on the goal throughout the entire year, with just a simple soundtrack – “I can do 10% more than last year me.”

No one is completely sure what they’re capable of. We all have more gears and more abilities than we can possibly imagine. Each time you compete with yourself you get a little bit more self-awareness about where your upper limit of performance is and a boost of motivation. I think the reason so many of us didn’t know how powerful our thoughts are is because for far too long “mindset” has been the domain of fuzzy, holistic, pseudo spiritual weirdos we don’t want to be like.

It doesn’t have to be that way. There are practical, tactical ways you can work on your mindset that don’t involve candles or drum circles.

1. Try a few soundtracks (Positive affirmations).
2. Visualize the way you want to win.
3. Compete with yourself.

The road to great results always starts with great thoughts.

If you want to learn more about how to do that, read this .

P.S. I wrote this for my free newsletter, the “Try This!” Sign up today to get ideas just like this, twice a month. www.Acuff.me/newsletter