People often feel they must make massive changes to hit their goals. As a result they often get frustrated and don't even try. Change your thinking by changing your perspective slightly.
Ed Mylett, a podcaster who interviews business and health leaders, says there are dozens of small "one more" kinds of actions you can take each day that will make a big difference. "The more you can generate the right thoughts and execute the actions to realize them, the more your life will change," he said.
Mylett wrote "The Power of One More: The Ultimate Guide To Happiness And Success."
Ask One More Question To Change Your Thinking
It's important to examine who you are. Do this by asking yourself questions. Seek answers that propel your life forward, Mylett says.
There are 41 questions Mylett says you should pose to yourself for self-exploration. For example: "What's one more way I can reduce my anger level?" Also: "How do I implement one more way to procrastinate less and protect the valuable asset of my time?"
"Asking challenging questions creates quality answers, even if those answers are sometimes uncomfortable," he said.
Build Momentum To Change Your Thinking
The smaller, achievable thoughts and actions that you complete build momentum, Mylett said. Momentum is the key. Larger goals that you fail to achieve can wreak havoc on your psyche and prevent you from achieving what you want.
"Long-term success comes from compounding several small accomplishments over time," he said. "Taken as a whole these can lead to profound changes in your perspective and results."
Add One More Inconvenience To Change Your Thinking
To consistently grow mentally, seek the right kind of inconvenient challenges to tackle, Mylett says.
"A fundamental truth about life is that convenience and greatness cannot coexist," he said.
"Even if you don't get the exact results you want in all cases, you'll still achieve substantial growth and change you can apply going forward," Mylett said.
Think About The Future To Move Forward
Most people don't dream enough, Mylett says. Instead they get bogged down in memories that don't serve them well.
"We get caught in past imperfections and setbacks, which gets in the way of daring to dream about our best future lives," he said. Permitting yourself to dream is the "first act in creating the thoughts and actions you need to lead a breakthrough life," he said.
Measure Your Results
When you measure your performance, your outcomes will improve, Mylett said. "This has been proven time and again," he said.
He says for the best results, "measure your results daily and, in some cases, several times a day."
Change Your Thinking To Accept Flexibility
Instead of always aiming for the bull's-eye, people and businesses can thrive from thinking in flexible ways, said Michelle Segar. She wrote "The Joy Choice."
When we let go of the need for perfection, "we allow our brains to do the very thing they are designed to do," she said. "When we welcome flexible thinking into our lives as a key resource for success, we automatically unleash the curiosity and autonomy that research shows creates changes that last."
It may seem counterintuitive, she adds, "but in this new paradigm, doing less easily translates into doing more."
Examine Root Causes To Change Your Thinking
We've been taught to "just do it!" to reward ourselves to move forward, Segar said.
"Companies create nudges, urge us to form habits, and offer us incentives to get us to change our behavior," Segar said.
But this motivation often has the opposite effect from the one that was intended, she said. "It can, in fact, be demotivating."
Segar quotes psychologist and economist Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel Prize recipient. He says the best advice he ever heard as an undergraduate was to figure out "why" you're not doing something. Practice this instead of just trying to motivate yourself through something without attacking the real obstacle.
"The morale of this story?" Segar said. "Identify what's really been getting in your way, and brainstorm ways around it, over it, or through it."
