Women who believe there’s no barriers to success are more likely to succeed. To be successful – just convince yourself! Here’s 3 tips for changing your mindset this new year.

Talented and capable women who believe there are no barriers to their success are far more likely to be successful than those who think they’ll encounter barriers, according to recent research. The belief influences their behaviour, so in effect, they are creating their own destiny.

If you really want to be successful, no one can stop you. All you need to do is convince yourself you can do anything when you want to and suddenly thing start happening for you.

That all sounds great, but you’re probably thinking something like, “I wish I believed in myself like that” or “How can I become so self-confident?”

It’s all about your belief system, and if your current system isn’t working for you, you can decide to change it.

Rewire your brain

Your thoughts run along well-trodden pathways in your brain. The more these pathways are used, the stronger they become. Your brain learns to notice and react to those thoughts, so if they are negative, you’re training your brain to help limit you or cause you to fail.

Changing your though patterns triggers new pathways in the brain. It’s called neuroplasticity. Your brain changes and develops in response to new experiences and new thoughts you inject.

Change the way your brain is operating

So, how do you start changing the way your brain is operating? Change what you’re feeding it! The more positive input you give it, the more positive response your brain will have. Here are some important changes you can make to accelerate your success.

#1. Invest in yourself 

Whether it’s mental, emotional, time or even financial, any investment in yourself will boost your confidence along with your abilities. Put yourself first for once and make personal and professional development a priority. Take that holiday when you need it. Enrol in training you think will give you an edge. Ask for roles which expose you to new processes and help you develop more diverse skills. In general, women aren’t great at this and that has to change. If we don’t invest in ourselves, why would anyone else choose to? Concentrate on improving your skills and picking up the tools you need to help you forge ahead.

#2. Focus on the positive

I know this is difficult because you may be trying to overturn a lifetime of worrying or negative thinking. But remember, the brain can change but only you can control how well or how quickly it happens. There is always a positive side to each event or action, so make a conscious decision to look for it. This is difficult in the beginning as you slip back into the same old neural pathways, but the more you are aware of what you’re doing and consciously looking for positives, the easier it will be to see them.

#3. Failure is a positive

A few years ago, a study from the University of California and Duke University found “549 of the most successful entrepreneurs and company founders said that they owe their success from learning from their mistakes.” They said, “Learning from failure is how we succeed.”

In many ways, this ties in with point 2 which advises you to focus on the positive. We (and our brains) learn by doing; we learn through experience. If we succeed at everything first time, we’ll never develop or improve. Only failure can show you what to do next. It’s like a signpost to success, pointing out areas of yourself and your abilities which need work. It’s the people who know failure who go on to become outstanding in their fields.

Bonus point: stop comparing yourself with others

While following in the footsteps of your role models is a clever strategy for self-development, it loses all positive impact if you start comparing yourself with them. You start doubting yourself and wondering if you’ll ever be as good as they are. It becomes a competition you can’t win. It’s an unfair comparison; you’re at the beginning and they are well advanced on your journeys. Track your success by looking at how much you’ve improved since yesterday, or last week, or last year… That’s what really matters.

You can change your brain to boost your self-confidence and accelerate your success. I’d love you to try these tips and come back to me in a few months to let me know how you’ve changed.

In the meantime, if you need a hand to get started, reach out to one of our wonderful mentors at Empowering Ambitious Women. We’ll work out the best way forward for you.