What does mindset have to do with success? Don’t I just need to work harder and maybe get a lucky break or two? No! Your mindset has everything to do with your success. So here are 6 simple steps you can take to set yourself on the road for success.

While they might teach you so in college, getting a good job, working hard and waiting for success to somehow magically happen is not the answer. You can be much smarter and do much better than that.

Here are 6 ways to shift your mindset in order to find success:

1. Always question the status quo

Learn to love the question “How could this be better?” and apply it to all areas of your life, business, career, relationships – everything. The fact that something has ‘always been that way’ is not, on its own, a good enough reason for anything to stay the way it is.

In 2015 I challenged the fact that I’d ‘never been any good at running’. I used an app to get me from zero to 5k, started trail running and, within 6 months had competed in a 44.5 mile trail race, still running strong at the end after 10 hours of running.

What ‘facts’ are you living with that deserve to be challenged? How could they be better?

2. Always be experimenting

Embrace experimenting – because you never know until you try! Amazon is famous for their culture of constant experimentation. Not everything they try works, ands the same will be true for you, but if you try enough things then some will be wildly successful.

Experiment everywhere. Conduct a series of 30-day experiments on your health, happiness, fitness and finances. See what works, what you enjoy and what has the biggest impact – keep the best bits and then try something new.

“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

3. Always look for the big picture

Know your big goals, your ideal life path, the overall goals of your business or job. And don’t get lost in the details. The details are important, of course, but only when they’re directly relevant to the big picture. If you’re obsessing over tiny details, make sure they’re ones that matter.

When you face problems, especially recurrent ones, always look for the opportunity. Fix the problem first if it’s urgent, but don’t stop thinking about it as soon as it goes away. Given the overall objective, is there something that could be done in a whole different way that would avoid this problem in the future? This applies to everything from internet security breaches to waiting for a taxi (think Uber) to running out of milk at home.

4. Never trust your assumptions

Assumptions are dangerous! When you assume something you’re effectively just imagining that you know how something is, or why it’s the way it is. That can be a useful thinking strategy but it’s no way to run a life or do business.

Don’t assume that new ways will always be better or that what everyone else is doing will work for you or your business. Don’t assume what people are thinking or feeling, or that you know why they’re acting as they are.

Until you test your assumptions you never really know. Ask questions whenever possible, experiment if you can see a way to. Try never to act on untested assumptions unless circumstances force you into it. And be prepared to be wrong. Don’t get too attached to your ideas of how things should be; maybe it should be the way it is and it’s you that needs to change!

5. Never complain – even when times get tough

Tough times will come, but then so will the good times. To paraphrase Jim Rohn, you have to have winter or else you can’t have spring and summer and harvest time. So don’t complain when it’s winter!

The metaphorical winter is the time to take stock, survey the landscape and, instead of complaining about it, ask good questions, like “How could this be better?” Regroup, gather your resources and prepare to sow new seed in the spring.

Nobody likes to hear you complaining, at least no one with an interest in you being more successful, so don’t do it. It won’t make you feel better and, if anything, your focus on everything that’s wrong will only make the tough times longer. So quit complaining and start being grateful for the good times that are coming.

6. Never reject who you really are

Self improvement is a wonderful thing, but don’t imagine that you can ‘improve’ yourself out of who you really are. Your natural talents and traits will always shine through or sabotage you.

If you’re naturally introverted, don’t go for a job in sales! Personal development can make you a good salesperson, but you won’t be happy and you’ll sabotage your success somehow. And if you love to spend a lot of time out in nature, don’t imagine you can be happy sitting at a computer in an office all day.

Embrace who you are, but also be aware that your introversion and love of nature don’t mean you can’t have an internet based business that sells things to people – you’ll just need to get a little more creative. Don’t focus on your weaknesses and try to develop them away. Instead focus on your strengths, magnify them and find a way to make them work effectively for you.

“Our uniqueness, our individuality, and our life experience molds us into fascinating beings. I hope we can embrace that.” – Linda Thompson

What is success anyway? Success is a journey, and only you can truly define what that journey of success looks like to you. You may not know yet. You may need to do some experimenting. You may be in a tough patch, wondering if you’ll ever achieve anything that looks remotely like success, but you will.

As long as you remember who you are and what’s important to you, and do things that you love to do, you’re already being successful. From that point, of course, the only question is: How could this be better?

Have you tried shifting your mindset successfully to experience a boost to your life? Let us know how you did it by commenting below!

Image courtesy of Twenty20.com