The Shift for Success

How did you develop the way that you think about the world around you? Did you learn it from your parents, from school, or from your job? I recently read an article titled “The 2 Mental Shifts Highly Successful People Make” by Benjamin P. Hardy. Hardy discusses two major changes in thinking people make that ultimately lead to a higher likelihood of success. To begin this process, we must unlearn the way we think about the world around us, and rethink what we were taught.

Shift One: The Power of Choice

“The foundation of the first shift is the sublime power of choice and individual responsibility.” – Hardy

You are responsible

Within the first mental shift, you begin to realize that you are responsible for your life. You recognize that you are only able to control your own behaviors and responses, and that you are unable to control those around you.

Every choice has a cost and consequence

When you realize that you are responsible for yourself, you can recognize that your choices face consequences. Hardy discusses how we are able to avoid negative consequences, if we can understand the world around us and how our choices will impact it.

Success (and happiness) is a choice

Our positive emotional states are also the consequences of our choices. We can obtain this positive state by taking control and changing our behaviors.

Momentum is essential

When we have developed enough drive and momentum to put forth effort into our choices, it is essential to continue that momentum.

Most people get stuck at the first shift

Creating this first mental shift has tremendous benefit to our independent wellbeing and worldview. However, many people get stuck in this shift because they are focusing solely on their own positive effects, and not considering the possibility of broadening to a more interdependent perspective.

Shift Two: The Power of Context

“The foundation of the second shift is transcending your own independence, wherein your thinking stretches far beyond yourself.” – Hardy

10x thinking

This component is: understanding that while you are responsible for your own life, others are responsible for theirs. We can learn from them, and expand our way of thinking by asking difficult questions. This helps us to continue breaking free from what we were taught.

Delegate

We can use other’s knowledge to our advantage, and focus on building a team instead of fully relying on ourselves. When we delegate, we are able to focus on what we are good at, and trusting others to focus on what they are good at.

Collaboration and synergy in all areas of life

When we are able to compete with others in order to grow ourselves, we are able to experience more intensive growth. Hardy states, “…You are responsible for other’s people’s success. Moreover, in many ways, their success is your success.” Collaborating with people in this way allow us to work with others into creating something much bigger than we are able to create ourselves.

Rest and recovery

When we are participating in this second shift, it is incredibly important for us to take care of ourselves, and to allow ourselves to rest. Hardy recommends creating a healthy distance from our electronic screens, and maintaining a boundary with our human connections in order to fully recover.

According to Hardy, to be more successful in our lives, we should never stop learning from others, and we should never stop challenging our own way of thinking. If you struggle with changing your perspective, it may be helpful to connect with a therapist! Contact Symmetry Counseling today to get in contact with one of our talented clinicians.