The Home Business Athlete Part IV: The Winning Attitude

In the first three articles of our series comparing the similarities and strategies which can be employed for success between a home business operator and a professional athlete, we looked at three different areas. The first article discussed ways in which we can ensure that we are able to perform to the best of our abilities under pressure, not only completing the task but doing so in the very best form that we can. Parts two and three focused on training and preparation, building our energy and concentration, respectively. The last article in this series deals with creating within yourself the ability to reach your goals by becoming an optimist, the attitude of a winner.

Ask any winning athlete after an event and he or she will tell you the same thing: they believed from the very first kick or the very first signal that they could win the whole event. Self confidence, or optimistic thinking, is so engrained in the minds of the very best in the world that losing simply is not a part of the equation. Our tendency as business operators tends to be one we comfortably term realism. We are okay with success, but if it does not come, then we are not totally put off by the lack. Studies are finding more and more that people who have truly optimistic attitude, who truly believe that they can achieve their goals, have more success in all areas than those who doubt. Here are some ways that you can increase your quota of optimism in order to achieve the attitude of a true winner.

Start Small

It’s a big stretch for some of us to be able to make the leap from well, maybe I can to I KNOW I can!! One way to start the transition is not to jump straight to the YES attitude, but instead to focus on hope. Close your eyes, and hope for something that you want to happen. What probably occurred, in your mind, was that you did imagine the outcome you really desired becoming a reality, but also imagined an alternative reality in which your hope did not come to fruition. Now, don’t allow for that alternate reality. Close your eyes and anticipate your goal being completed; I bet this time when you open your eyes, you feel a lot more excited. Instead of hoping for your dreams to be realized, anticipate how you will feel when they do, and then take steps to make that happen.

Get Rid Of Worry

This really isn’t possible for all of us, but what can be done is that the worry in your life can be compartmentalized into a situation where it is appropriate. Achieve this by creating a specific time of day when you will allow yourself to turn your worries over in your head. This time should be no more than thirty minutes long, and should occur only once a day. Moreover, I would recommend you have your worrying time after the tasks of the day are complete; you might find that you have a lot less to worry about! Never schedule your worry time at the beginning of the day.

Lifestyle

One way to make sure that a winning, optimistic attitude comes easily to you is to make sure your lifestyle is also heavily influenced with optimism. You can’t remain positive if the people around you are continually complaining or predicting the end of the world. You have to associate with people who also believe in the power of positive thought, and who use it to enrich their lives. Even the music you listen to can have affects on your attitude; if you listen to depressing music, you will have a depressed attitude. Music that has an uplifting and empowering effect on you will help to create a better sense of optimism within yourself.

Optimistic thought is the keystone of every athlete’s training regime, and it should be so for the home business owner as well. Brining this attitude to bear on every goal you want to accomplish means that the process is already half over, and that you are ready to focus on the steps you need to take to be where you want to be.