What makes the difference between you and the person next to you in work, school, college, university, at an interview, when going for promotion, sitting on the bus? What makes the difference is our Attitudes, Mindsets and Behaviours. 

What does success mean to you?

These days the road to success does not tend to be straight forward and what success means to one person will be completely different to another. It is important that we remember not to measure our own success with somebody else’s ruler because how can we compare our chapter 1 with somebody else’s chapter 20? Be who you are, become who you want to become and make a positive contribution to your future. One of our participants once shared the quote ‘If you sleep now you will dream, but if you work now you will live your dreams’, and to me, that spoke a thousand words. Success will not happen overnight; it will be challenging at times but with hard work and determination, you can achieve what you put your mind to. 

We understand we need knowledge; we need skills but without the right mindset and behaviours we can’t use our knowledge and skills to their full potential. So what are our Top 6 Mindsets, Attitudes and Behaviours to succeed in careers and life? 

1. A Positive Mindset 

Being Positive all the time is not realistic. Having a positive mindset is about aiming to be relentlessly positive and knowing how to move forward. 2020 for us all was testing and a year of challenge, but for me, it was also the year I learnt the impact a positive mindset could have. It was a time where I had no control over the external world but what I did have control over were my thoughts, feelings and mindset. In a world where there was already so much negativity flooding the news, why would I add to this with my own thinking?

Now this tough period is seemingly coming to an end, it is time to start moving forward, time to start thinking about what is next for you and how are you going to get there. Reframe your mindset into the positive. Move forward telling yourself you will succeed, you will get the job, I will make a difference and I can handle this. There is no such word as can’t. Going back to what we said at the start, a positive mindset is not about being positive all of the time, say you don’t get the job you were hoping to get, it is ok to feel disheartened by this. But how can you reframe this into a positive? You showed courage and willingness to apply for the job and have gained experience in doing so, now you can take the knowledge and skills you have learnt and apply them moving forward.

2. Always Learning and having a Growth Mindset.

Not being afraid to always learn goes hand in hand with having a growth mindset. But what is a growth mindset? A growth mindset is being self-motivated, self-empowered, self-determined and open-minded to learn, adapt and grow. Somebody with a growth mindset will view change as an opportunity. In the last year, we will all have been faced with change and it is about having the ability to view this as an opportunity rather than a setback. Sometimes it can appear like the easiest option is to admit defeat but if you have a growth mindset, you will view failure as an opportunity to grow.

3. Set yourself Goals.

‘If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan.

And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.’

Jim Rohn

The power of setting goals is simple, it gives you something to work towards because if you aim at nothing, you will hit every time. What do you want to Be – Do – Have? Do you want to be a singer? Do you want to do a PHD? Do you want to have your own house? Writing down and disguising what you want in your future, is the first step to achieving these things. It is important to have both short- and long-term goals and to celebrate the small wins. Make your goals SMART – exactly what job or promotion is it that you want next, include the industry, the business, the job title, the department. Define exactly when you’re going to achieve this by, in a realistic time frame, and yes goals have to be realistic but they only have to be realistic to you. Don’t concern yourself with what anyone else perceives to be realistic. If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re usually right.

4. Believe in yourself! 

To be successful in your future careers and employment be your own biggest fan because if you do not believe in yourself, who else will? Sometimes you must fake it until you feel it, confidence is key. At the start, we discussed what makes the difference between people and confidence falls into this. If you are applying for a job and the person next to you has the exact same knowledge and experience as you but does not have confidence, you will stand out because believing in yourself shows strength and determination. Expand your comfort zone and do not sell yourself short. 

5. Build and Manage Relationships

How can understanding how to build and manage our relationships help us to succeed in our careers and employment? It is worth keeping in mind that even if you behave a certain way only 40% of the time, people will perceive you as behaving that way all the time. You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression, so ensure to make that initial meeting count whether that be online or in person. Covid has brought about a variety of challenges and adaptations – online interviews being one of these. Interviews for some can be nerve wracking at the best of times, without throwing in the element of it being over a Zoom call which takes away the ability to express ourselves through body language. 

Regarding relationships in general, but specifically relationships that can benefit whatever it is we’re trying to achieve, sometimes these aren’t just something we have, and they need to be cultivated. If you’re not lucky enough to have beneficial connections through your education, family or other contacts, go out and make those connections. Say yes to that networking event, introduce yourself to that business owner at a party, put yourself in situations where you can make connections. 

6. Take responsibility. 

Finally, our top attitude is to take responsibility because nobody is going to do the work for you. Take responsibility for creating your own positive future by putting in the hard work because if it were easy, we would all be doing it. By taking responsibility you are putting your future in your own hands and not relying on others.

‘You must take personal responsibility. 

You cannot change the circumstances,  the seasons, or the wind, 

but you can change yourself. 

That is something you have charge of.’

Jim Rohn