Want to Ace Your New Year's Resolutions? Remember, Attitude Is Everything. Look to the best for examples in how to reach success. Then adopt a pose of positivity.
By Marty Fukuda
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
For doing almost anything you can envision, someone has set a precedent for achieving success. Want to run a marathon but have doubts?
Realize that more than 500,000 people did just that in U.S. marathons last year. Think you're too old? Know that nearly 50 percent of finishers are in the masters category, meaning that they're older than 40.
Start the New Year right by following these athletes' examples and setting goals. Build a case for why you, too, can succeed and focus squarely on sustaining that can-do attitude.
Related: 4 New Year's Resolutions You Could Start Tomorrow
1. Change the way you think about no.
On the surface, receiving a yes often translates into a success and no means a failure. Yet a no can just become a starting point as you work your way closer to obtaining a yes.
Too often the smart and talented become so discouraged after receiving a single no that they lose all faith that their goal can be attained. Understand that any worthwhile yes will probably be preceded by a no. Consider the no part of the process as arriving one step closer to success. It's a lot easier to keep the faith when thinking that way.
2. Stay the course.
Don't veer from pursuing a planned goal for an easier route. Rather, change direction for a better opportunity, more satisfaction or happiness but never because it's easier. Take an opportunity to adopt an attitude of steadfastness.
Related: Chart Goals to Create a Road Map to Your Success
3. Emulate what the super successful do.
How do the best players in the world prepare for success? Chances are they've developed a formula or specific process to achieve what they have done.
Take top NFL quarterback Tom Brady: He goes to great lengths to prepare his mind and body for the rigors of the NFL schedule.
His carefully calculated daily schedule of workouts, food, recovery and rest is mapped out for three years. Brady's commitment to preparation helps separate him from other quarterbacks. Take a lesson from someone like this and implement your own regimen to prepare yourself for success.
3. Don't wait. Take action now.
Have you ever felt regret in the past about not chasing a dream when you were younger? Don't let the thought negatively affect your pursuits now.
There's no reason to hold back or delay any longer. Listen to Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's approach: "My dad says it over and over, 'Today's the youngest you're ever going to be. You've got to live like it.'" Cuban recalled. "And that's what I try to do."
4. Be strong 60 seconds longer.
In the movie Nobody's Fool, Paul Newman's character describes to his grandson his method for overcoming fears. "I'd try to be brave for exactly a minute, and the next time, I'd try to be brave for two minutes," he says.
If you find yourself wavering amid adversity, remember this practice and vow to hold on for just a minute more. Keep doing that and you'll find more strength to succeed than you might have thought you had.
4. Adopt the right attitude.
Charles Swindoll, a renowned broadcaster and pastor said that single most significant decision he can make on a day-to-day basis is his choice of attitude.
"It is more important than my past, my education, my bankroll, my successes or failures, fame or pain, what other people think of me or say about me, my circumstances, or my position," he has said. "I've discovered through the years that life is made up of about 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I respond to it."
Keep your attitude focused on pursuing the goals ahead.
Related: 3 Reasons You Should Adopt an Attitude of Gratitude
