3 Ways Millionaires Think Differently Than You Changing your mindset changes everything else.
By Meiko Patton •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
What would you say is the most powerful thing in the world? And what would you say if I told you that you already possess it? You were born with it. It was given to you freely, yet you often discount it. You take it for granted.
What is it? Let me give you a hint. It weighs less than three pounds and is more powerful than any super computer. You guessed it, it's your brain -- more specifically, your mind. Have you ever thought about the amount of things you change during your lifetime? You change your:
- Hair
- Address
- Job
- Clothing
- Spouse
- Friends
- Salary
- Attitude
- Behavior
But if you don't change your mind, meaning your mindset or your dominant way of thinking, you will perpetuate the same experience over and over again for the rest of your life, because everything about you outwardly changed, but nothing inwardly about you changed. Nothing in the world can rival a changed mind.
Related: Why Mindset Mastery Is Vital to Your Success
Oprah once said you need to start paying attention to your life and listening to the whispers. "Life whispers to you all the time," she said. "Your life is speaking to you all around, from the time you wake up in the morning, in every single experience that's coming into your personal space. All of those experiences are speaking to you. They're telling you something about your life and about your circumstances.
"It whispers, and if you don't get the whisper, the whisper gets louder," she continued. "If you don't get the whisper when it gets louder, I call it like a little pebble -- a little thump -- upside the head. The pebble or the thump upside the head usually [means] it's gone into a problem."
If you don't pay attention to the problem, Oprah said, the pebble then becomes like a brick. "The brick upside your head is a crisis," she said. "[If] you don't pay attention to the brick upside your head, the crisis turns into a disaster and the whole house -- brick wall -- comes falling down."
That does not have to be you.
A new mindset will give you a new perspective on life. You will see a different way of looking at your current circumstances. Whatever problem you are currently facing, know this -- the world matches us with opponents to make us stronger. Your problem can be likened to your opponent. Look for the opportunities presented to you by your opponent. Don't ask what life is doing to you. Ask what life is doing for you? You were given an amazing mind in order to defeat your opponent. There is no problem that you cannot successfully defeat.
Related: 11 Ways Successful People Think Differently Than You
Remember the following three things for optimal success:
1. Tune out your inner critic.
In a talk at TEDx San Francisco, Mel Robbins, author and speaker, mentioned that scientists estimate the probability of you being born at about one in 400 trillion. Do you know what that means?
It means you are engineered for success and designed to have high levels of self-esteem, self-respect and personal pride. You are extraordinary. There has never been anyone exactly like you in all history of mankind on the earth. You have amazing untapped talents and abilities that, when properly directed and applied, can bring you everything you could ever want or dream of.
In essence, your very existence proves you are a miracle. Tune out the negativity, and focus on the awesomeness that is you.
2. Raise your standards.
Tell me, what is the difference between something you should do and something you absolutely must do? Motivational speaker Jim Rohn said, "The things easy to do are also easy not to do." In other words, the things you should do are things that are easy not to do, so you don't do them. You should eat healthier, but you don't. You should exercise more, but you don't. You should treat your spouse with respect, but still you resist.
But when you absolutely must do something, as if your life depended on it, there is a shift and change in you. If eating healthier meant you would live or die, then you most likely would do it. The same with exercise and treating your spouse with respect. If your life depended on it, you would make the necessary changes.
When you raise your standards and turn "should" into "must," you are making an inner shift to take control over the quality of your life. Any area in which you are not getting what you want is because you haven't raised your standards.
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According to Tony Robbins, "Most people, if they look at how they are living their lives today, will find that their identify is based on a set of standards and a set of beliefs they created 10, 20, 30 or more years ago. In fact, many of us made decisions when we were kids about what to believe, what we are capable, and who we are as a person, and that became the glass ceiling that controls us. But are you the same person you were back then? Are you the same person you were even a year ago?"
No, you aren't, so step up, and raise your standards.
3. Practice relentlessly in private.
"People are rewarded in public for what they've practiced for years in private," Robbins said. If you want to one day think like a millionaire, you must hone and perfect your craft daily.
Author Brendon Burchard said, "Make a practice of mastering skillsets. A practice is a recurring habit or routine that deepens your skill in any given area. Without daily exposure and immersion in the area you are trying to learn, you will never achieve mastery. Learning must be an everyday discipline."
What are you practicing non-stop? What are you relentless about accomplishing? Let nothing deter you. You must push yourself. You cannot quit. Never ever give up. "You have to think the thoughts you would be thinking if you were already achieving your goal," said author and speaker Jack Canfield said. If you were a millionaire already, what thoughts would you be thinking?
