With 25 years of consulting, advising and coaching, Andrew currently serves as Managing Partner at SHIFT, a Baltimore-based consulting firm.
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Achieving your best in 2024 isn’t just about coming up with new processes, rituals or routines. Those things can be helpful, but without mastering your mindset, you’ll likely fall short of your bold ambitions (consider that most people quit their New Year’s resolutions by mid-February each year!).
You can do better (and you can help your clients do better as well). Here are three things you can change to beat the odds, creating an unstoppable mindset and a foundation to thrive.
1. How You Move
You’ve heard the saying “motion creates emotion.” You may also be familiar with a study by Albert Mehrabian, a researcher of body language, who first broke down the components of a face-to-face conversation. He found in a study that the facial expressions that accompanied verbal communication were given 3/2 the weight of the verbal communication itself.
Want to get “unstuck”? Shift how you are moving. This can include:
• Going for a brisk walk.
• Taking five deep breaths.
• Unclenching your jaw or fists.
• Changing your body posture.
• Changing your perspective as you are looking at a problem—change seats at the table in a meeting.
When you move, you change your physical and mental energy, which may be all you need to change the flow of your thoughts, ideas and performance.
2. What You Think
Consider this: Are you fueling yourself with empowering thoughts or unintentionally holding yourself back with disempowering thoughts? When you focus on the obstacles that are in your way (“I don’t have time,” “I don’t have resources,” “I’m not good enough,” etc.), you shut yourself down before ever giving yourself a chance to get started.
Instead, use the obstacles as a way to work toward your goals and intentions (“I can create space for this by...”; “I can find resources to accomplish this through...”; “I’ll better prepare myself for career growth by...”). Each of us can choose our attitude, approach and thoughts. What are you choosing, and how are those choices advancing you toward your intended outcomes?
3. What You Say
Your thoughts precede what comes out of your mouth. Are the words you choose serving you well? Listen to what say, especially to yourself. Do you say things like “You’re so stupid!" or “I can’t believe you screwed that up!” or "I'll never get that promotion" to yourself? These reinforcing words can have a lasting impact. If you need to get better at something, take ownership of that while affirming what is possible.
For example, you can say to yourself “I will take ‘these steps’ to improve in this area.” You can also ask yourself what skills and capabilities you might be lacking that are contributing to errors or substandard performance. With self-awareness, you can take specific steps to improve where needed. This can be liberating, as opposed to debilitating.
Wrapping Up
"Nothing happens until something moves." Albert Einstein was right with this statement. If you want 2024 to be your best year yet, the next move is yours.
Everything you need to thrive in 2024 exists within you—put these three strategies into action to master your mindset, and you can be unstoppable!
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