5 Strategies for a Winning Mindset

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak at a real estate training event. My talk was entitled, “Maintaining a Winning Mindset Through the Endless Grind and Hustle.” The topic was motivated by a simple reality that extends well beyond real estate.

As professionals and as people, we have better days and more challenging ones. Sometimes, we get so frustrated and experience such hardship that we just want to give up.

In my talk, I focused on 5 things that, if practiced, can help us push through to success even on the hardest of days.

They are:

1. Stay Positive – It can be so easy to get down on ourselves and our situations when things get tough. But we also have the power to control our thoughts and think positively. Work to ensure that you feed your mind with positive thoughts by reading inspirational quotes, listening to positive messaging, and surrounding yourself with positive people.

2. Set S.M.A.R.T. Goals – S.M.A.R.T. Goals is a goal-setting system that helps people set goals that produce results. S.M.A.R.T. stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable/Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

   The most important part of the goal is that it is “specific.” This represents the Who, What, Why, and How of the S.M.A.R.T. model.

   • Who will do the work.

   • What you (or they) will do.

   • Why that is important.

   • How you will achieve the goal.

   • How the goal will make you feel.

   For more about crafting S.M.A.R.T. Goals, click here. To watch a webinar on the topic, click here.

3. Become Gritty – Grit was made popular by Angela Duckworth. She has found that grit, or perseverance and passion for long-term goals, can make a huge impact on a person’s success. The grittier we are, the more we will push through when the going gets tough. 5 qualities of gritty people spell out the acronym “CAREE-R”. They are: Courage (ability to manage fear of failure,) Achievement-oriented (work tirelessly to do a good job; complete the task at hand,) Resilience (ability to maintain core purpose and integrity among unforeseen surprises,) Endurance and follow through (setting goals and engaging in lots and lots of practice,) and Excellence (as opposed to perfection.)

4. Find Your Why – The more you know “why” you do what you do, the more willing you’d be to push through when things get tough.

5. Get a Mentor and/or a Coach

• Mentor – Someone who can draw from their experience and know-how to offer meaningful advice and direction for mentees and protégés.

• Coach – Trained to ask penetrating, elucidating questions that push aside the clutter and clear a pathway forward. 5 Strategies for a Winning Mindset