Sometimes we are our worst enemies. According to a recent article called Rethinking Your Work, we have at least 65,000 thoughts a day–and 65 percent of them are negative. But ignoring the inner critic is a fundamental step in realizing your goals. Reinforcing a belief in yourself, changing your perspective, and visualizing your future goals are effective ways to quiet the criticism.
1. Take calculated risks, and visualize success.
Whether you’re a college dropout or a Harvard MBA, entrepreneurship is risky—and believing in yourself is an essential component of success. “Identifying one’s self with a successful image can help break the habits of self-doubt and defeat,” wrote world-renowned author and business philosopher Napoleon Hill in his book, Success Through a Positive Mental Attitude. “Another and equally important successful technique for changing your world is to identify yourself with an image that will inspire you to make the right decisions.”
Brandon Rodman, the CEO of a high growth software company, originally had plans to be a dentist. Yet it wasn’t until he took a risk by focusing on software designed to improve the workload, communication, and customer service levels of dental offices throughout the country that he discovered a product he believed in. He visualized his success and risked everything to develop it. The result was WEAVE, a unified communication platform that combines VoIP phone service, text messaging, and email with practice management software within the healthcare industry–optimizing communication and capitalizing on revenue generating opportunities.
2. Change your perspective.
“Even our worst enemies don’t talk about us the way we talk to ourselves,” wrote Huffington Post co-founder, Arianna Huffington in her book, Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Life of Well-Being, Wisdom, and Wonder. “I wish someone would invent a tape recorder that we could attach to our brains to record everything we tell ourselves. We would realize how important it is to stop this negative self-talk.”
Jack Canfield explained it this way in his book, The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. “By turning my inner critic into an inner coach, I was able to stop feeling like a failure and start engaging in the activities that made my dream a reality. I was able to move from someone who was using my energy against myself to someone who was using my energy to create what I wanted.”
At times I struggle with my inner critic, especially when I am working on new goals. But, I also move past it and focus on where I see myself down the road.
3. Ask, “Why not?”
Transferring your perspective from a focus on “why?” to an emphasis on “why not?” can transform the design of your business plan. It’s a philosophy that has guided Brandon Rodman through many of his professional decisions and has led WEAVE to rapid growth. Rather than justifying the reasons not to take risks, it encourages an entrepreneur to explore the possibilities. “Why not?” And then don’t give up.
“No matter how bad it is, if you believe in it, you can’t quit,” advises Rodman. That can-do attitude is echoed by Jeff Bezos, CEO and Founder of Amazon.com, in an article for Business Insider. “The common question that gets asked in business is, ‘why?’ That’s a good question, but an equally valid question is, ‘why not?”
By visualizing success, changing our perspectives, and asking “why not?” we can silence the inner critic—or at least push the mute button for a while. Our businesses will thank us.
Westwood, Ryan. "Three Things Mentally Strong Entrepreneurs Do." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanwestwood/2015/04/22/three-things-mentally-strong-entrepreneurs-do/2/>.
Posted By: Sagar Patel
Wednesday, April 22nd 2015 at 5:18PM
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