I truly believe that MINDSET is the driving force behind your level of success. Not having the most perfect strategy or knowing the right people or becoming instafamous with 1billion (fake) followers. Sure, strategy is such an important piece of the puzzle, but what I’ve come to realize over the last three to four years or so is that if you don’t have the right mindset, you will feel like you have nothing no matter how successful you are. I believe in executing a KILLER strategy - and I help so many of my clients do JUST THAT, but I also see so many people that are holding themselves back from being the best version they can be because of their mindset. Whether it’s self-doubt, fear, criticism, judgment/comparison, worrying about other people’s opinions, etc. -- it’s taking CONTROL of their future and holding them back.
This is something that I’ve learned first hand. You see, 21-25 year old Katelyn was a totally different person. I sought validation from others for most of my life. I wanted people to like me. I was jealous when other people had things I wanted or I deemed them “so lucky”. I was always (and still am) a competitive person, but I used that as an excuse vs. digging deeper into understanding the difference between healthy and unhealthy competition. I never took ownership for my own success (or lack thereof). After graduating college and heading into the real world, things became even harder. Comparing myself to friends who had “better” jobs than me, or got promoted before me, had boyfriends or got married first, or just everyday life things. I put so much effort (for a long time) into my appearance and having a “good body” to attract guys. I just wanted attention and didn’t realize I could ever truly find that within MYSELF.
I started health and fitness coaching with Beachbody after I tried out Insanity Max 30 and fell in love with it. It was then that my world changed as I was introduced to personal development. I resisted for awhile. I thought it was dumb to ever read one of those “self-help” books. I didn’t need that. What would people think? But my coach sent me a copy of You are a Badass by Jen Sincero and that’s when my mindset started to shift. I started to realize my mindset was actually hindering my success in life. I became a “cheerleader” for others vs. jealous of their success. I stopped caring SO much about other people’s opinions. I started to take control of my life and took the approach that everything was happening FOR ME in life, not TO me. And what do you know? Things started to improve in every area of my life. And let me just tell you, I NEVER would have started my own business if I had not done the work I had for more than three years.
I want to be so open and vulnerable with you because I want you to see how powerful your mind is over your success. Here are three things I encourage you start doing to work on your mindset:
Gratitude Journal
Start your day, every day, writing in a gratitude journal. Remind yourself of all the wonderful things in your life. Make a list of 10 things. If you’re struggling to find things to be grateful for, try reframing the “negative” things you have going on in your life and find some sort of positive in them. Some days that may feel hard, and it’s those days that I am grateful for the simple things in life - my breath, the sunshine, air conditioning, my home, food to eat, etc. I also add in my prayers to this journal and 5 or so affirmations. The funny thing about our brains is that it starts to believe what you tell it even if it’s not true. So if you constantly feed it with negativity then that’s what it will believe. But what if instead, you started affirming the things you want to be or have in life as if you already have them? It changes everything. Simple things to start with: I believe in myself. I trust myself. I am a 6 figure income earner. I help other people do XYZ.
Personal Development Books/Podcasts
No matter how “silly” you think reading these books are, they work. They are the number one reason why my mindset changed over time. And don’t tell me you don’t have time because there are so many ways to get this in. I use the app Audible and listen to most of my books on the app while driving, cleaning, showering, cooking, etc. It’s one of those things that you just have to commit to yourself to do it for 10 minutes a day. Before you know it you’ll be nodding your head to what you read/hear and things may start to shift in that brain of yours. At some point you make that decision to step into the next level version of you, envisioning and believing you are worthy of all the success you previously just dreamed of. Podcasts are another great way to get in your PD time, and there’s also SO many amazing business focused podcasts. I mentioned You are a Badass already, but I also love Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis, Girl Code and Like She Owns the Place by Cara Alwill Leyba, Failing Forward by John Maxwell, The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon and so many others I am happy to suggest if you reach out!
Find a Positive, Uplifting Community
Have you heard that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with? Who are your five? How would you rate them and what is your average? Are they bringing you up or bringing you down in your life? Do their daily actions and values align with who you are and who you want to be? A positive community will lift you up when you’re down and clap for you when you’re successful! They will provide you advice that will HELP you get to the next level version of yourself. They will be there to call you out on your BS and give you alternate perspectives and ideas. Finding a community (or two) has been so helpful for me to feed off of their energy when mine is low and gives me a space I feel comfortable to thrive. I love my community church group locally, and then I am in a few different entrepreneurship groups online that are amazing!
Once you are taking consistent, daily actions towards changing, or growing your mindset, I truly believe your success will start to show. The things in your life will change and you’ll be on your way to living out your dreams. This does not mean that you won’t encounter hard times, but it will definitely make it a little easier to get through them. They won’t bring you down for so long, and you’ll soon realize that every challenge is a new opportunity to learn and grow.
What mindset tips do you have to share?
Katelyn Hamilton is an Online Business Manager and Get Your Sh!t Together Strategist. She helps busy entrepreneurs organize, strategize and prioritize their business to go from overwhelmed to out-in-front.
After spending 6 years in the corporate world working with multimillion dollar companies, top-rated chefs and celebrities, she launched her own business to find more flexibility and freedom. She matched her corporate salary in just one year of starting her business.
Katelyn is also a soon-to-be wife, stepmom, dog mama of two furry friends, fitness lover, sports fanatic (Go Dawgs) and dreams of living at the beach.
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