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From Napoleon Hill to Jack Canfield, Robert Allen to Anthony Robbins, several authors have all done their research on successful people and their habits. Among the things they’ve discovered, one lesson reigns supreme:
All that we achieve in life is the result of our thoughts.
Our decisions and actions will be based on the things that we think about. Everything we do adds up over time, and it’ll either bring us prosperity, wealth, and happiness, or poverty, debt, and despair.
Now how do we make sure that our thoughts and actions bring us something positive? Well that’s why we should learn how to think accurately.
5 Accurate Thinking Tips to Help You Get Ahead
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Use facts, not gossip
How many of us stay away from certain shops, places, or things because we heard something bad about it? While it certainly helps when places are deemed dangerous or unsafe and the crime rate statistics prove it, but what about other things like, say, changing careers or investing in stocks? Sometimes, “common knowledge” can be wrong.
For example, people say that investing in stocks is like gambling. You “bet” your money on certain numbers and letters and hope the value goes up, but most of the time you’ll simply go broke trying. Fortunately, that isn’t true. You can earn a good profit from investing in stocks, but only if you’ve learned how to look for and invest in great companies. It’s a decent way to grow wealth if you know what you’re doing.
If you believed that “stock investing is gambling” gossip and never bothered to learn more about it, however, then you’ve missed out on an excellent wealth-building opportunity.
Now think about this. How many OTHER great opportunities in life have you ignored simply because you believed some bad gossip about it? I almost missed out on streaming since I heard it was “difficult”, and I’m glad I still decided to try it out even though it didn’t last long.
On the other hand, how many terrible situations have you gotten yourself into because you believed some gossip saying that it was good, like MLMs and pyramid scams, “winning stock picks” (that go bust), and credit card bonuses and features (that simply encourage you to overspend and bury yourself in debt)?
Don’t just take information as it is and believe everything you hear or read. Analyze and check to see whether or not they’re true (and let me encourage you to do the same when reading this article), and if you can apply and make use of them if they are.
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Deal with the facts… even if you don’t like them.
How many times have we said “I’m fine” even if we aren’t? How many times have we told ourselves that everything is ok even though our careers, our family life, and our financial life aren’t doing well at all? How often do we stay at our dead end jobs, ignore angry debt collectors, or continue ignoring other personal problems until things get completely out of hand?
Like an ostrich putting its head in the sand and hoping the predator goes away, most of us have that same reaction when facing terrible problems. Unfortunately, most problems in life aren’t simply going to go away. They may likely grow worse later on. We have to learn to deal with inconvenient facts as soon as possible, and nip potential problems in the bud. If something in our career or business, relationships or personal life isn’t doing well, we have to face it as soon as possible before things end badly.
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Not just true vs. untrue but also important vs. unimportant
The Pareto principle states that only 20% of what you do, the most important things, bring 80% of your results. Only 20% of your actual work is responsible for most of your income, and the rest of it is almost completely useless. For example, the act of calling clients and closing deals is more important than the hours spent browsing Facebook or listening in on office gossip. For businesses, most likely only 20% of your customers (the regulars and big spenders) bring you 80% of your profit and not, say, the unruly customer who comes in once just to complain and never returns. I’ve actually checked the data for that one in my last work and it was pretty accurate, though I cannot disclose any more than that so just take my word for it.
In any case, what’s important to learn here is that you don’t just gather facts or think of random stuff. You have to concentrate and focus on the things that actually help. For example, if your career is based on insurance and sales, you probably shouldn’t spend all your time reading lepidopterology journals and focus more on sales literature and finding new clients. If you’re a technology writer, you probably should spend more time reading up on the latest gadgets and tech releases instead of political gossip.
You can do whatever you want on your spare time. Just remember to never lose focus and concentrate on the most important things you need to do. The things that actually help you achieve your goals in life.
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What’s possible isn’t based on what’s already done
My mother’s family used to live in the poor rural town of Morong, Rizal. She and most of the people she knew grew up in poverty for most of their lives, and some still do until now. Whenever some would discuss jobs or financial opportunities, one of the saddest things I sometimes hear from them are the words “mahirap lang kami” (we’re just poor), which imply that they can’t do or try anything because of it.
Now, poverty is an immensely serious handicap, but I do believe that people have the power to rise above it. I’ve seen it happen. Remember those poor classmates and neighbors of my mother? While some didn’t become financially successful, a lot of them still grew up to have excellent and lucrative careers. While they were kids all they saw around them was poverty and despair, they refuse to let it cloud their potential. That’s possible for them is never determined by what they had around them.
The lesson I want you to learn is this: Just because your current state of finances or your relationships are at a certain way, that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way forever. It can always get better. It may be easier or it may be immensely difficult, but whatever the case you can indeed make it better.
Just think of it this way. Henry Ford once said “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” They never saw the possibility of cars being much better than horses. As another example, from ancient times until 1903, people believed humans can’t fly. Since we don’t have wings, we can’t fly and it seemed destined to stay that way forever. That was until the Wright brothers built and launched the first flying machine that year.
Don’t limit your future to whatever you have or DON’T HAVE today. You can always make it better.
Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.
— Nido Qubein
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Your subconscious affects your reality
I’ve mentioned this before in a previous article and I’ll say it again. You can’t hide your thoughts and they’ll always find a way to affect your life, whether you want them to or not.
For example, I’ve tried parkour several times in the past and a gym we used to go to has movable obstacles that you can use and adjust to your liking. As a group, we sometimes practice precision jumps on the ground and it often goes well. Unfortunately, however, when we finally get to try it on the tall platforms, we hesitate and that causes us to fail or stop trying.
When fear strikes and “I can’t do it” thoughts get into your head, it’s very easy to give up and never try. What I do then, however, is to tell myself that it’s possible, and that it won’t hurt as much when I fall as I know how to land in a way that minimizes injury. Thinking that way allows me to commit to a leap and that allows me to jump a bit further. Although it doesn’t guarantee it (a painful fact), that small difference in thinking allows me to increase my chances of success.
Henry Ford said it best: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t—you’re right.” Whatever you think about, you’ll act in a way to make it come true. Life is, in a way, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So there you have it, five accurate thinking tips that you have to try now. Never forget that the quality of your life is determined by the quality of your thoughts.
Your brain can be your most powerful asset and if not used properly, it can be your most powerful liability.
— Robert Kiyosaki
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