So often we think that success is a destination. That the dreams and goals we have are something we have to work toward; a place we think we’ll land eventaully if we just keep doing the work.
And that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Yes, you have to do the work and keep going–that’s a given. But success isn’t a destination or something you have to work toward. And that’s where most writers, authors and creative people get it wrong.
We tell ourselves if we just work really hard or if we grind and hustle every day, we’ll get there and we’ll achieve what we want to. But what usually happens with that kind of thinking is you either burn out before you get there, or you can’t actually enjoy the success you’ve achieved because you’re too exhausted from how hard you’ve been working all these years.
What if it could be easier than that?
What if you could achieve your goals just by changing your thinking and who you’re being?
Because I guarantee that the way you’re currently thinking and who you’re being right now is what’s really stopping you from achieving your goals. No matter how hard you’re working. Physical action is not enough.
Don’t get me wrong–you have to take practical physical actions if you want to achieve something. But there’s still an easier way.
There’s a way you can step right now into the success you dream of having and feel like it’s already real and you’ve already made it happen. Even if it hasn’t shown up in your physical reality just yet.
And that comes from how you’re thinking and who you’re being, in every moment of every day.
So, how are you thinking and who are you being in your life right now? Because that’s what’s going to determine how far you go and what you actually achieve.
Are you making choices and decisions like a pro writer? Or are you making them like a hobbyist? Big difference.
Are you showing up every day as the writer and author you dream of being? Or are you still showing up as who you are right now? Big difference.
Who are you right now and how you’ve been thinking up to this point has gotten you to where you are today. But if you want to go further and achieve more, you have to shift your way of thinking and who you’re being.
Most people think you have to work toward a goal. Nope. Working toward it will just keep you working toward it forever.
Instead, you have to work FROM your goal. You have to figure out who you’d be and how you’d act and what you’d think if you were already that person and if you’ve already achieved that goal, and then you have to ACT AND THINK FROM THAT PLACE every single day.
Doing it this way not only helps you achieve success faster, but it also helps you achieve it with ease and flow, as opposed to burning yourself out from trying and trying and working so damn hard.
Hard work is a part of achieving success, but it doesn’t have to feel hard. It can actually be easy and fun. But it’s gonna take some drastic changes to the way you’re currently thinking and being.
Because how you’re currently thinking and who you’re showing up as every day isn’t enough to get you there. Right now you’re living the 1.0 version of yourself and your life.
To get to the 2.0 version requires new ways of thinking and being. It requires you to push yourself out of your comfort zone and to do things you probably haven’t done before, at least consistently enough to achieve what you want. It requires you to release who you are right now in favor of who you want to be.
The problem is, we often think who we are right now is just who we are. And that’s a limited way of thinking that will keep you stuck and spinning your wheels for years, maybe even for life.
Because who you are in any moment is just a product of how you’re thinking and acting. Which means you can change who you are to become who you want to be, just by shifting your mindset and actions.
Now doing this could cause some heartache, because you will have to release being comfortable and certain. You’ll have to release the baggage and the bad habits and negative, limiting ways of thinking that have brought you to this point. And that can be scary.
But as my mentors always say, what got you here won’t get you where you want to go. Which means change is inevitable. Unless you want to stay where you currently are forever.
Most people do. Most people get to a certain point in their lives, usually a mediocre one where they don’t have what they really want but they’ve convinced themselves that it is what it is, and they give up on wanting to be different and instead just accept what is.
But let me tell you something, if you accept “what is” and aren’t willing to go beyond that, you can close your computer right now and hang up your author hat because the success you dream of is never gonna happen for you.
It can’t. It’s impossible. Because you’re not willing to change or to think and act how you need to in order to achieve your goals.
Success isn’t about achieving a goal, although that’s a side effect of it. It’s about who you become in the process of achieving that goal. And who you become means you’re constantly evolving and up-leveling.
If you’re not currently doing so, then that is the reason you don’t yet have what you want.
Wanting is so badly that you can taste it and see it isn’t enough. You can see and taste ’til you’re blue in the face and it still won’t happen. Because desire and vision still isn’t enough if it’s not backed up by ways of thinking and being that will actually get you there.
And this isn’t about who you are not being good enough. You are good enough, exactly as you are. But being good enough doesn’t mean you’ll achieve your goals. Because being good enough still isn’t enough.
Who you are and how you think is a CHOICE. So the question you need to ask yourself, every single day, is: who am I being and how am I thinking right now and does that align with where I want to go?
Dream life or bust,
#DreamLifeOrBust #DailyThinkDifferent
P.S. It’s almost mid-year!! Have you achieved the goals you set back in January? Or is this year turning out like the previous years where you set a goal and then months later give up on it and retreat back to being the same person you’ve always been and doing the same things you’ve always done? If it’s the latter, stay tuned… I have something AWESOME coming on Wednesday that just might help you kick the slump you’ve been in so you can finally end your year having achieved what you set out to.
Good post Jennifer.I am going to start acting like the author I want to become. Like the person I want to become. It is already done! (I got that last part from your book ‘Journal Your Writing Dreams to Life’.)