Mindset + Attitude: A Proven Formula for Success and Happiness

Mindset and Attitude. These two factors directly influence how successful, happy and content you'll be in life.

As a Sports Performance Coach and business owner for decades, I saw first hand how important cultivating a growth mindset and a positive attitude were on achieving desired results and accomplishing important goals. I coached many elite athletes in my career and I can tell you right now that those who had incredible talent but a poor attitude and the wrong mindset rarely won and underperformed relative to expectations. On the other hand, the person with mediocre talent but a great attitude and a winning mindset usually stood on the podium at the end of the race!

"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

Let's first define mindset and attitude, and notice their differences and how they co-exist with one other.

Your mindset is basically how you see the world. It's the lens through which we create the perception of what the world is around us, and it's unique to everyone. Consider your mindset to be controlled by your subconscious thought processes that have been hardwired over the course of your life, influenced by your experiences, fears, thoughts and beliefs. It accounts for around 90% of your thinking and your resulting actions.

Your attitude is how you react to events in life. It's controlled by conscious thought and accounts for the other 10% of our actions. A person with a positive attitude defaults to looking at the glass 'half full', not 'half empty'.

Considering that 90% of your actions are driven by subconscious thought related to your mindset, it makes sense to cultivate a mindset that is growth oriented, not fixed. And the good news is that you can change your mindset paradigm if you're willing to do the work.

Researcher and author, Carol Dweck, illustrates the importance of having a growth mindset in her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success.

The idea she presents is that people with a fixed mindset see the world through the lens that their opportunity and potential for growth is inherent; that there's a ceiling based on factors out of their scope of control. This fixed mindset traps people into thinking that they'll never achieve their goals, or even to set goals in the first place. It's a belief that they can never move to the next level.

On the other hand, having a growth mindset means that effort and process matter the most and that failure is part of the pathway to success. In other words, failing is just another way of saying "I haven't succeeded 'YET', but I will if I keep trying!" A growth mindset is adopted by people who thrive in challenging situations, set lofty goals and focus more on the process than they do the outcome.

So , what's actionable now with this understanding of mindset and attitude? Here are a few tips to consider in order to adopt a growth mindset and a positive attitude.

1. Embrace Challenges: Push outside of your comfort zone by seeking new challenges and opportunities, rather than looking at them as obstacles to avoid. View setbacks as part of the pathway towards success and as learning opportunities. Have the goal of developing new skills and expanding your capabilities overall.
2. Cultivate a Love for Learning and Continuous Improvement: Make learning a habit. Schedule 'personal development' in your daily calendar, even if for only 15 minutes. Work to improve at least one element of your life just 1% a day. The cumulative impact is huge over time.
3. Practice building Self-Awareness and Self-Reflection: Take time to reflect on your thoughts, beliefs and your reactions to certain situations. Pause to ask yourself... "What is my mindset and what is my attitude right now? Is it serving me and helping me achieve my goals?." Make an honest assessment as to where you need work in order to improve.
4. Surround yourself with people focused on Growing: Peer influence is a huge factor in mindset and attitude. If you surround yourself with people who are focused on personal and professional growth, you will adopt their traits and characteristics.

What does it feel like when you meet a person who has a negative attitude and a fixed mindset? Typically, they blame others for their 'lot in life', and they have a perpetual 'Dark cloud' over their head. On the other hand, what does it feel like when you meet someone with a positive 'can do' attitude and a growth mindset? The feeling is contagious as they make you feel like the sky is the limit and that opportunities and abundance are endless!

Become that person with a positive attitude and a growth mindset and watch your success, contentment and happiness go to the next level.

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Troy Jacobson is a co-managing partner with the 3-Pillars Performance Group where they offer executive coaching, leadership training, strategic planning work and more for executives and owners of small to mid-sized companies. Learn more at www.3pillarsperformance.com