Do you want a successful mindset? What’s the power of positive thinking?
According to Brian Tracy, by studying the behaviors of successful individuals, you can adopt their habits and mindsets to achieve similar levels of success. Their experience provides a proven blueprint for achievement so you don’t have to figure everything out through trial and error.
Discover how studying the lives of other successful people can boost your own fortune.
The Power of Positive Thinking
Tracy states that to have a successful mindset, you need a generally positive outlook. A positive mindset leads to success because your attitude and beliefs affect your external experiences—this is called the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction states that, if you think positively, you’ll draw positive opportunities and positive people to yourself. Conversely, negative thoughts attract negativity. Therefore, you should make a conscious effort to maintain an optimistic outlook.
(Shortform note: Rhonda Byrne’s 2006 book The Secret popularized the Law of Attraction in modern culture (though the ideas she discusses in it are much older). One notable difference is that, while Tracy says you’ll attract whatever you think about, Byrne insists that the Law of Attraction responds to belief. According to Byrne, it’s not enough to imagine yourself being successful in your endeavors; you have to truly believe that you’ll succeed, and then the universe will provide the circumstances and good luck to make sure that you do.)
To create and sustain a more positive mindset, focus your thoughts on what you want to achieve rather than obsessing over what you don’t want to happen. By orienting your mind toward your desired outcomes, you’re more likely to recognize and capitalize on circumstances that can help you get there.
One practice Tracy suggests is to make a habit of redirecting your inner voice whenever you catch yourself ruminating on negative thoughts or making excuses about why you haven’t achieved as much as you wanted. When you notice yourself thinking about such things, instead visualize your aspirations and consider practical steps for making progress toward them.
(Shortform note: The Law of Attraction is widely considered to be pseudoscience, but Tracy’s statement that a positive mindset makes you more likely to recognize opportunities and take advantage of them is one explanation for its apparent effectiveness. Furthermore, some of the practices Byrne describes in The Secret—such as meditating on what you’re grateful for and clearly visualizing the life you really want—really can lead to greater happiness and success. In short, while there’s no scientific grounding for the Law of Attraction itself, the so-called Law may be an incorrect explanation for the real, observable effects of positive thinking.)
The Role of Self-Concept in Your Success
According to Tracy, your self-concept determines your level of success across all areas of life. Your self-concept is the core set of beliefs you subconsciously hold about your identity and capabilities. Everything you do gets filtered through your self-concept, influencing your thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in alignment with that internalized perception of yourself.
Since you inevitably act in ways that reflect your self-concept, having an empowering self-concept expands what you believe you can achieve, and therefore what you will achieve. A negative self-concept will have the opposite effect—if you undervalue your abilities, you’ll never achieve as much as you’re really capable of.
Your self-concept is made of several interconnected elements:
- Your self-ideal encapsulates your vision of your highest potential; who you aspire to become.
- Your self-image reflects your current perceptions of yourself.
- Your self-esteem dictates how much you like and accept yourself. Your self-esteem is based largely on how closely your self-image matches your self-ideal—the closer you are to your ideal self, the higher your self-esteem will be.
Tracy says that by clearly defining your self-ideal, then taking steps to realign your self-image with that vision, you can boost your self-esteem. That, in turn, will boost your entire self-concept. Doing so will increase your confidence and make you better able to reach your potential.
Tracy provides some advice on how to put this concept into practice. First, vividly envision your self-ideal: Who do you want to be? Next, realistically and compassionately evaluate your present self-image. This means seeing where you’re falling short of your ideal self but not berating yourself over those perceived shortcomings—just acknowledge that you’re not yet the person you hope to become. Once you have a clear idea of where you are in life versus where you want to be, you can start finding ways to bring your actual self more in line with your ideal self.
In addition to making your self-image more congruent with your self-ideal (which will boost your self-esteem as a side effect), you can also work to directly build up your self-esteem. For instance, you might try reciting positive mantras like “I like myself.” Also, explore areas where you may be harboring limiting beliefs about yourself (“I’m bad at math” is a pretty common one), and consciously reframe them in a more positive and self-affirming way (perhaps, “I could use more practice at math”).
