Are your beliefs holding you back?

Here’s how to cultivate a success mindset

When clients come to me for coaching support, it’s almost always because they inherently understand they need a shift in perspective.

They have a sense that something is holding them back from elevating their leadership and advancing their careers. 

And they are usually right! But it’s often not for the reasons they think.

What I see very quickly is that they are not lacking the technical skills or the leadership experience to move up. It’s almost always their mindset that is the problem.

Our mindset is a set of attitudes and beliefs that we hold and that shape how we make sense of the world and ourselves. When we believe in ourselves and our abilities, we are more likely to take risks and seize opportunities that come our way. And when we don’t believe in ourselves, our self-doubt can be crippling to our hopes and dreams.

In essence, our mindset is the single biggest factor in determining whether we succeed or fail in achieving our goals. 

I have a client whose boss told her she was not ready to move to take the next level in her organization. This was keeping her from putting herself out there and interviewing for more senior roles. It was only when she started to see how she had taken on her boss’ view as her own that she realized this was the only thing stopping her from moving forward. She spent time reconnecting with her worth and what she really wanted and shifted her mindset to believing she was ready. She has since landed a more significant leadership role at another organization.

If we want to move up in our careers then we need to be developing a mindset that believes in our value and that is going to give us the courage to push through our fears and position ourselves for what’s next. 

Here are the 4 steps you can take to cultivate a success mindset:

Stop trash-talking yourself: What we tell ourselves often becomes our reality. We all have the “you’re not good enough” self-limiting beliefs that tend to get very vocal when we are facing something new or uncomfortable. The trick is to become more aware of what you are telling yourself because if you can’t hear it, you can’t fix it. The best way to shift these beliefs is to keep a thought log (you can do this in the notes section of your phone) and get into the habit of questioning these beliefs (are my thoughts factual or just my interpretation?) and then come up with a more positive thought to replace the negative one. For instance, instead of telling yourself “I am not leadership material” you can tell yourself “I am always growing and working to be a great leader.” Do this for two weeks and I guarantee you will see things differently.

Get curious and open your mind to what’s possible: A big part of my work with clients is getting them to shift away from what’s not working to what’s possible. When we are feeling stuck, we tend to spend a lot of time wallowing in our “stuckness” when what we really need to do is the opposite – open ourselves up to new ideas, new experiences, and new paths for ourselves. This can give us a renewed sense of energy and a more optimistic mindset around what we can achieve in our careers. Here are a few ideas: reach out to someone on LinkedIn who has a job you want to know more about; invite a colleague from another division to lunch; or find a conference on a topic you are passionate about. Focus on what excites you!

Take a step that will build your confidence: There is no substitute for taking action when it comes to strengthening our belief in our ability to succeed no matter what we take on. Women tend to struggle with self-advocacy – setting boundaries, promoting their value, asking for more money, etc.  But each time they take one small step towards facing their discomfort, they see the positive impact it can have on their career or at least they see that nothing bad happened. This results in a more courageous mindset and builds confidence. Pick something you have been avoiding, like getting a big project up and running or having a difficult conversation with your boss and make it happen. 

Set an intention each day: A mindset of intention puts us in the driver's seat of our careers. By consciously directing our thoughts and energy toward a desired outcome or experience, we are increasing the likelihood of achieving it. We are laying the foundation for what we’d like to have, feel, and experience. So, before you start your day, think about what you want and how you want to show up with yourself and others. Some examples of intentions might include: "Today, I will show up as a compassionate leader,” or "Today, I will ask for a raise like I deserve it." 

The good news is, we all have the ability to shift our mindset.

Give it a try. Your career depends on it!