As today's chaos and uncertainty continues to hit us at what feels like an ever-accelerating pace, it's hard to stay focused and keep your head in the game. Most leaders know what needs to be done in order to be successful, but in the face of growing economic turbulence many leaders fail to execute.
Why is this? It all comes down to mindset. You see, the truth is, if you want to turn uncertainty into opportunity you need to build the mindset of a winner.
This past week I was taking a golf lesson – short game to be specific. Believe me, I need a lot of work in this area. For over a year, I have been practicing and practicing but I cannot seem to improve this part of my game. So, I did the smart thing. I reached out for help and hired a pro.
Now, the first step the pro took was to review my skills and techniques. He simply sat there and observed as I hit about 50 chips, 25 sand shots, a few bumps and runs at about 20 putts. When I hit one bad shot after another, the pro just silently watched.
I was dying while I waited for him to say something.
Anything!
I thought, please, just give me that one tip that was going to turn things around. His silence was excruciating. Then finally he spoke – and to say that I was surprised at his recommendation was an understatement.
He said my technique looked good, in fact there was very little he wanted to change. But, he added, even with a slight improvement in my technique, he did not feel I was going to improve at all with my short game.
What – there was no hope for me? Was I that bad? No, he said it wasn’t that there was no hope, it was that I was focused on the wrong thing if I wanted to improve my game. He went on to say my issue was not my skill, but my head – my mindset.
See, I had been struggling for so long with this short game that I had somehow convinced myself that I was not a very good short game player. And that was the belief I carried into every short shot I hit on the golf course.
My pro went on to tell me that I would not improve until I could see myself as a strong short game player. Until I believed in my own skill and ability, sharing there is a strong connection between the muscles and the mind. And as long as my mind was telling my muscles that I was not a good short term player my muscles would continue to listen.
In other words, if I wanted to execute my skills effectively I needed to adopt the mind of a winner.
Now think about that a moment – my skill was pretty good, my technique was not too bad, but I did not have a winning mindset. So no matter how much I practiced I was not going to master the short game until I did some work on the most important part of my golf strategy - my head.
How often is this true in our lives? If you aren’t closing sales, is it your skill set or your mindset? If you can’t seem to find the right talent for your team, is it because you’re too focused on the challenging labor force? If you are just not getting that promotion, is it because you are not sure you are worthy of it?
Truth is, it is always a combination. But the thing to learn here is that mindset plays a key role in your ability to reach your goals and achieve your dreams.
Transform your Self-Confidence with The Confidence Plan
So What Is A Winner's Mindset?
Again, developing a winner’s mindset is simple, just not easy. You have to commit to a process and do the work to get the results you desire.
Here are 5 steps to help you build the mindset of a winner:
Define the Vision
You have to begin by knowing where you are headed and what you want. You can call it a vision, a goal, or a destination. In other words, what are you trying to achieve? When things get tough, you are going to need a reason to keep going and keep trying and your vision will provide that. Also, your mind will find what you focus on. Just like me and my short game – the more I focused on the bad shot, the more my muscles executed incorrectly. Once I started to focus on a solid shot, my muscles executed correctly far more often.
Determine The Gap
With your vision in place, you’ll then need to determine the gap. Get that vision in your head, think about where you are now, and then ask yourself what you need to do to achieve your vision. What skills do you need? What connections would be of value? What experiences do you need to have, what do you need to learn to close the gap between where you are now and what you want to achieve?
Do The Work
Honestly this is where most people struggle the most. Why? Because there is NO instant gratification. You have to do the work – study to learn, find a mentor, try and fail – try again, and just dig in and do what it takes as long as it takes.
Don't Quit
Determine that quitting is not an option, no matter how long it takes, or how discouraged you get, you are committed to keep going. I believe that many winners end up winning simply because they outlasted other people. They were willing to hang in there and keep trying long after others gave up. So, to gain a winner’s mindset – quitting can’t be an option.
Dedicate To Progress
And last but not least, view progress as success. Confidence is built from embracing, viewing and reflecting on the progress that you are making. A winning mindset is a process, and a journey. Focusing on progress will help you be there for the long haul.
So back to my short game. I have to admit, I was simultaneously excited and frustrated with the assessment that it was not my skill set but my mindset. While I think working on my skills may have been an easier process, I think investing in my mental game in order to develop a winner's mindset will pay dividends in every area of my life.
Every time I ask a CEO or leader what is the biggest challenge they are facing in today’s marketplace, labor ranks in the top three. The challenge of the great resignation and finding enough people to staff your plants, sell your products and engage with vendors and clients seems never ending.
Yet in a world where there is so little...
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