Grooming A Successful Self -- 1ssue 1

Brutal Truths to Know to Enhance Success Mind-set: Elle Kaplan

“Define success on your own terms, achieve it by your own rules, and build a life you’re proud to live.” — Anne Sweeney, Co-Chair of Disney
Ask any successful entrepreneur how they got to the top, and they’ll tell you they had to face plenty of harsh truths and realities to get there. This isn’t meant to be intimidating; it’s empowering! Plenty of ultra-successful people have had to face harsh lessons and obstacles in the moment, but you have the luxury of time and preparation.
It might be a little harsh, but learning these lessons about success now will allow you to immediately improve and continue on your journey to the top:

#1 Truth: Success isn’t easy; it’s often painful.

If you want to accomplish something, as Nike says, JUST DO IT. The more important it is, the more intimidating and overwhelming the first step is going to be — and that is a good thing. Channel this anxiety and stress into productivity and the results will be nothing short of rewarding. The individuals that dive headfirst into that vicious first step are not necessarily tougher or smarter than any of us, they have just realized that it produces positive outcomes. They have learned that the agony of starting something is unavoidable and procrastinating only lengthens their apprehension.

#2 Truth: Negative thoughts bring negative outcomes.

That negativity is like a virus — it takes over your brain and limits the many choices and options that you have to react to a situation. Seriously, enough with the negativity. It might feel good in the short-term to have a pity party, but when our brains are focused on fear or anger our emotions lead us away from long-term success. Remember, positive thinking really can change not only your outlook on life but your outcome in life.

#3 Truth: You need to be your own best cheerleader.

Not everyone you know is going to support you — in fact, fewer of your family and friends than you think will actively cheer you on in your endeavours I hate to break it to you, but people around you have their own lives to worry about, and some toxic people may even discourage you with jealousy and negativity. Remember this: you don’t need them! You need to own your journey and create your own path to success. If you are lucky enough to have supportive people in your life, excellent — but be careful about how much you are depending on them to reach your goals: YOU can do this on your own.

#4 Truth: Be fearless.

At the end of the day, most of your regret will lie in the things that you were too afraid to try. Fear is one of the biggest deterrents of success; if you never get the courage to try, you will always fail.
If you are feeling fearful about going after something you really want, ask yourself what you are really afraid of? I would put my biggest bet that the answer is failure. Personally, I would rather look back and say I tried, then wonder for the rest of my life what could have been. Remember, everything in life seems impossible, until it isn’t.
Oprah Winfrey once said, “Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is another steppingstone to greatness.”

#5 Truth: You (and only you) determine your worth.

Your self-worth needs to come from within; we cannot depend on others to do this for us and we should certainly not be comparing ourselves to others.
If running a 5k is the longest distance you have ever run, be proud — don’t compare yourself to your colleague that just ran a marathon. According to Dr. Kristin Neff, by comparing ourselves to others, we are setting ourselves up for self-worth failure; someone will always be wealthier, thinner or stronger, and someone will always be able to run that one extra mile. She even notes, “studies now show that basing one’s self-worth on external factors is actually harmful to one’s mental health.”