Do you set yourself up for success? Think about the last time you felt there was something BIG you wanted to accomplish. Perhaps you had a great idea or maybe there was something really great that you wanted to accomplish and make happen.
A lot of times when there is something BIG we are pursuing and really want to bring to fruition, one of the first things we do is think about how successfully accomplishing what we want may be somewhat difficult or a challenge.
We realize there is a lot we will need to learn and there are many steps that we will need to take in the right direction before we can successfully accomplish what we want. We may feel fairly confident that we will eventually be successful, but we resign ourselves to the thinking that what we want is not something that can easily just be accomplished.
We convince ourselves we have to be “realistic” about our expectations and accept that what we are working toward is something that will be difficult and challenging to accomplish.
The possibility of Today:
Whenever we decide we want to accomplish anything, big or small, the last thing we should do is characterize it in our minds as something that will be difficult.
This is really how we set ourselves up to buy into something being more difficult than it really may be. We justify this type of thinking and tell ourselves we are just “being realistic” and not underestimating how challenging whatever it is we want to accomplish will be.
But sometimes, the best thing we can do for ourselves is throw “being realistic” out the window, because it is easy to misuse and we end up discouraging ourselves.
I can’t tell you the number of people I have heard claim they are “being realistic”, when really they are buying into limiting thoughts and subtly discouraging themselves.
It really is irrelevant how difficult we have decided something is going to be to accomplish because the reality is that we really don’t know.
It is not as if we can see in a magic crystal ball, and know exactly what will happen tomorrow, let alone in the future. We don’t know if we will work really hard and things will immediately begin to happen and start falling into place. We don’t know exactly when the right people will start to appear in our lives and the right circumstances will just start coming together.
This is just not anything we can predict or know for sure. So, why on earth would we make an assumption that anything we want to accomplish is going to be difficult? Why would we voluntarily buy into a belief that could potentially discourage us and work against us when we really don’t know what will happen?
We should place our focus and attention somewhere else where it can be beneficial and help move us forward in the right direction.
All we ever need to focus on is taking the step that is right in front of us with all of our attention and doing it in an amazing way. The best thing we can ever do is pour all of our positive passion and energy into what we are doing.
We don’t think about things being tough or difficult to accomplish. We just focus on whatever step we are taking and do it with the utmost quality. We then let everything else take care of itself and trust that things will play out just as they should. If this is the way we go about accomplishing those things we want, we really set ourselves up to be successful.
How to use this possibility:
1. Take Notice of Your Thoughts. How have you characterized things in your mind? Have you decided that something is going to be difficult? Have you convinced yourself that it will be challenging to really get what you want? Take notice of the stories and things you have programmed into your mind and recognize those that may be limiting and holding you back.
2. Question any Bad Assumptions You Have Made. Call to question any assumptions you have made. How do you know that something is going to be difficult and take a long time to come to fruition? So what if you know what you are trying to accomplish has been difficult for other people to accomplish? Is that really relevant to your experience? Aren’t you a different person? Question any and all assumptions you have created in your mind until you realize they are nothing more than assumptions.
3. Reprogram, Reprogram, Reprogram. Replacing the bad assumptions in your mind and replacing them with the right type of thoughts is oftentimes necessary. This means you have to be committed to programming your mind with thoughts that are correct and eliminate all those limiting beliefs and bad assumptions that have been in your mind. Every time you notice a limiting belief or bad assumption creeping up into your mind, think through it and realize it is just a fallacy. Replace that thought with a thought about what is really true.
4. Always Remind Yourself of Your Potential. As often as you can, make certain you have your potential and all that you are capable of accomplishing top of mind. If you have things right in your mind and are committed to working and pouring all of your positive energy into what you are working to accomplish, you will be successful. The key is that you need the right mindset and you can’t doubt your potential. And, the more you have your absolute potential top of mind, the more difficult it is for limiting beliefs and thoughts to creep in.
Live Today Better than Yesterday.
Hi Sibyl – I like how you started this alternaview. “Don’t start something with a destructive thought”. Doing this, leads us to selling ourself on the negative thought, which we promoted simply out of self-doubt. Let me testify that I was a living example of this. Since I “learned” my way into this bad habit, I’m “learning” my way out of it. I’ve found that a smooth start (one with accurate thoughts) better yields the desirable outcome. In your last tip “always remind yourself of your potential”…if we can remind ourselves of this, and believe it – we should have all the confidence in the world. To be created with a potential without limits is a gift that we all need to better utilize…
Thanks for the alternaview Sibyl!
JK: I actually picked up the same bad habit and realized it was necessary to reprogram my thinking. I do think that realizing our potential is key. It really allows us to always keep in mind all that we are capable of and makes reprogramming even all that much easier. Thanks so much for the comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
Hi Sibyl!
It occurred to me while reading this, that part of the reason I expect things to be difficult, is because I don’t want to be disappointed by not being able to accomplish that goal! If I set my expectation that it’s going to be hard, maybe even impossible, to get there, then I won’t be crushed if I don’t get there.
I like your alternaview MUCH better and it was a real perspective shift for me. I like what you said about questioning any and all assumptions and realizing that they are often (if not always!) limiting beliefs.
Great Alternaview!
Jess: Thanks for the comment and the real world example. I actually used to do the exact same thing, but I do think this shift and recognizing that you really don’t know what is going to happen works better in support of our goals. It is so easy to fall into the trap of protecting ourselves from disappointment, but what we may not realize is that we are also talking ourselves out of success. Thanks for the comment again and stopping by.
Sibyl,
I hate how well I could relate to your opening. I guess I use my negative thought process as an excuse to not push myself to try new things where I might fail. Jessilicious and I have this in common. This year in hopes of becoming a lot more organized to improve my efficiency I actually started to break down my big problems into small attainable steps. This has greatly helped me do some things that I thought would never be possible, especially on some things that I was intimidated by.
The book that gave me the valuable insight I received is “Getting Things Done” by David Allen. I highly recommend it.
So these tips and trick are like icing on the cake and I like cake with a lot of icing.
#4 is my favorite. Boy is it powerful to remind yourself what you are capable of. Use your past successes to fuel your future growth.
Frank: I like icing too
Thanks so much for the book recommendation. It sounds like a great one and one that I should definitely check out. I like what you said about breaking down big problems into small attainable steps. I think that is great advice and probably could be a great post on its own 
Thanks for the comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
Your post was very ‘mental’ in its approach Sibyl which is great on one level but not everything can be accomplished purely in and by the mind. Periods of refelction and recuperation support other times of thoughtful endeavour. The finer senses need as much emplying as the direct ones – the mind is the computer, the subtler senses the electricity. That said if there’s no end in sight there’s no territory to head for and without a focused mind you’ll never find what you’re not exactly looking for. Define, refine, reflect, respond, is how it is for me.To your success Sibyl!
John: Thanks for the comment and sharing your wisdom. I really appreciated that approach you shared about defining, refining, reflecting and responding. I do agree with you that periods of reflection are also a necessary part of the equation. Thanks again for the comment and sharing your insights. Much appreciated.
Simplest advice would be….just get up and start walking. You’ll reach somewhere. Near success.
Jaky: I love that advice. There is always something to be said about inertia and just getting things moving. Thanks for the comment and stopping by.
You’ve sold me on this post. There’s no point in being realistic. Being realistic is the most traveled road to mediocrity. It makes more sense to be very unrealistic and crazy.
Examples of Unrealistic and crazy people.
Wright brother: building and flying a plane
Henry Ford: Greatest automobile company on earth
Picasso: Master Artists
James Carmon: Director of Titanic, True Lies
Sibyl— I had to put you in here..haha..
Jonathan: You are hilarious
I am honored to have made that list. I am done with being realistic as well 
The sky really is the limit … why should we shoot for anything less? Thanks so much for the comment and stopping by. Much appreciated.
Hi Sibyl!
Well this is just perfect timing for me. Tomorrow I’ll be taking a big step forward in my professional life. It’s been a long time coming. I’ve stalled for a long time because of my limiting beliefs. Thoughts of failure and loss of money have hindered any potential progress. I’ve grossly misused “being realistic”. From now on I’m going to question all bad assumptions. I will reprogram and forever remind myself of my potential. Your fantastic Sibyl! Thanks!
Dandy: I am so excited for you. It sounds like you are about to begin what will be an amazing thing in your professional life. I hope to hear all about it on your blog
I do think sometime we just have to let go a little and just follow our instincts, even if we have some fear and there is uncertainty. I am a big believer in the truism that there is wisdom in uncertainty. Thanks so much for the comment and stopping by.
Hi Sibyl,
I love the tip: Reprogram, Reprogram, Reprogram… indeed the only way to influence the subconscious is through constant repetition. Replacing those thoughts of self-doubt with thoughts of confidence is a process that takes persistent, constant attention. If you think it is going to happen over night… think again! The reward of repetition is coordination from all depths of your mind.
Rob: Thanks for the comment and I know you are a big believer in reprogramming and replacing limiting thoughts. I have read many great insights on your blog that you shared on these topics. It really is all about doing all you can to continually remove limiting beliefs and replace them with the thoughts you should be having that will move you in the right direction. Thanks so much for the comment and sharing your wisdom. You know I always love to hear it.
Hi Sibyl,
This is an excellent post! Love your ideas and thoughts on setting ourselves up for success.
I love the idea of throwing out the window thinking that things are unrealistic.
Then, how can you fail, really?
I do a lot of visualizing success when I want to make something happen. First I visualize one small step, then I visualize what it would feel like when all those small steps are accomplished and I’ve reached my goal! It is amazing the power we have right in our minds!
Always enjoy reading your wse alternaviews!
Jen
Hey Jen: Thanks so much for the comment and dropping by the alternaview. Thank you also for the kind words. I do think it is all about being confident in yourself and your abilities and never ruling out any possibilities and what you can accomplish. I like that visualization exercise you shared. I am sure it allows you to make a lot of progress. Thanks again for the comment.