How to Train Your Brain for Success
If you want to improve your life in some way – whether you want to achieve a promotion, health, new love, travel or any other aspiration – there are a few techniques you can try in order to condition yourself mentally. None of these approaches involve major lifestyle changes – they’re simply ways of helping yourself to pursue positive behaviors naturally instead of having to force them. Here are our tips on how to train your brain for success.
Know Yourself
Everyone’s mind works differently. Try to think of yourself as two people: who you are now and the future you. When considering different activities, try to be realistic about what future you will and won’t do. For example, rising at 5am for a bracing jog may seem like an inspired idea right now, but how will future you think? Is future you more likely to prefer popping to the gym at lunch, or will they respond better to a group exercise session with others holding them to account? If you know you are capable of taking on any challenge, that’s great – but for most of us, there’s nothing wrong with knowing and accepting our current limits. Don’t rest on your laurels though – keep pushing the boundaries and setting bigger challenges as you go along.
Revise Your Priorities and Embed Them Mentally
Be honest with yourself about what is important to you. If you care a great deal about comfort, for example, then training for a triathlon will be a pretty major challenge. But how much nicer will a nice hot bath feel after a big workout? Think of your ambitions in a way that appeals to you. This will help you to embed the long-term benefits of your activities into your subconscious.
Negate Possible Excuses in Advance
Thinking of taking on a university or college course in order to qualify for your dream career? Sounds great – but you’ve heard that education at that level is really expensive. Is this a genuine reason to give up, or is it just an excuse? Try to actively research ways around potential roadblocks well before you get to them in order to weed out any excuses that you may end up using to avoid hard work. Using the college example, why not research exactly how much your ideal course costs and then shop around for available loans and grants? You’ll find that there are private student loans available for almost any undergrad or postgrad course.
Talk About Your Aspirations
Surround yourself with positive, practical friends who will actually engage with you about the real-world approaches you could take in order to get where you want to be. Some might even be willing to commit time and energy to helping you – and this in turn will help you to believe that your goals are worthwhile. Plus, no one wants to let their friends down.
Plan Your Rewards
Think about what would motivate you to achieve a certain goal. We’re not talking about getting up and dressing yourself – although there can be days when even this feels like a challenge – but more about the major milestones you need to reach. Make promises to yourself and stick to them. Will you buy a beautiful new outfit when you reach a certain weight? Book a holiday if you achieve a particular grade? Get yourself a delicious meal once you’ve finished your business plan? Decide on your milestones and plan something to be excited about after each. It will make the hard work seem far more rewarding.