“Jack, what daily practices have played the biggest role in helping you achieve your level of success?”
This is one of the most frequently asked questions I get from almost everyone I meet – from my students, to top CEOs, to the great Oprah Winfrey, who asked me this very question before I appeared on her show.
I find that the most powerful actions I take every day are those that help me shift my attitude, cultivate a success mindset, and keep my most ambitious goals and dreams top of mind so I stay on target and achieve them faster.
Here are the six daily practices I use to stay inspired, keep my energy and confidence high, and accomplish more with greater joy and ease. Add them to your daily routine and I guarantee you will experience similarly great results.
1. Visualize your goals and intentions
As soon as you wake up in the morning, take five or so minutes to focus your mind on your desires, goals, and intentions. Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes and visualize what your life will look like once you accomplished your biggest goals and dreams. How will you spend your days? Who will you spend them with, and where? Spend thirty seconds to a minute on each of your core goals and desires. Focus on imagining how you will FEEL when you have manifested your ideal life. The intensity of this feeling will fuel the intensity of the results you will get.
Once you have that energized feeling of achievement running through you, visualize your day ahead going exactly as planned and moving you closer to your goals. This will motivate you to stay on target and accomplish so much more during your day.
2. Use external images to keep you focused
Another powerful way to keep your biggest, most ambitious goals top of mind is by surrounding yourself with visual images of the experiences you want to create in your life. There are many tools you can use for this, but my favorite is creating a vision board.
Cut out pictures of the things you wish to own (such as your ideal car or home) and pictures that represent the experiences you want to have (the perfect relationship, your ideal job, optimal health, being at your ideal weight, more joy, inner peace or balance in your life) to remind yourself of the life you’re striving to create. Put these images somewhere where you will see them every day—on the mirror, the refrigerator, or in a vision book.
For even greater impact, combine your pictures with words that reflect your desired outcome, such as abundance, romance, fun, or vitality.
(My team and I developed a complete vision board system that allows you to create a beautiful vision board for yourself – complete with inspirational words, affirmations, and quotes, and assorted blank templates that allow you to add your own personal messages to your vision board. You can check it out here.)
3. Release negative thoughts
As you go through your day, you might notice yourself thinking negative thoughts such as: “I could never afford that,” “there’s no way I’ll ever get that,” or “who am I kidding?” These limiting beliefs are the result of negative programming from your childhood and no longer serve you. If such thoughts arise in your mind, as you become aware of them, simply let them go. Don’t fight or argue with the thought; just release it.
(If you’re interested in learning a powerful releasing technique, check out my book Tapping Into Ultimate Success.)
4. Think a better-feeling thought
When you notice yourself reacting to a person or situation with disappointment, resentment, frustration, or anger, consciously shift your focus to thoughts that make you feel a more positive emotion. Your thoughts create your feelings and your feelings create your circumstances – so the best way to change your experience is by focusing on thoughts that raise your vibration and allow you to become a vibrational match for the experiences you want to attract into your life.
For example, if you want to be happier, focus your thoughts on things that bring you joy – such as your lover, your best friend, your grandchildren, or your favorite vacation spot – and your actions on the things you love to do, such as petting your cat, working in your garden, or listening to your favorite music.
Where attention goes, energy flows. @JackCanfield (Click to Tweet!)
5. Cultivate an “attitude of gratitude”
This is a big one – it’s absolutely critical to take some time every day to focus on what you are grateful for! The more you feel gratitude, the more you will have in your life to feel grateful for. It’s that simple.
All you have to do is spend a few minutes every day focusing on all of the things in your life that you are grateful for—your health, your children, your job, the nice weather, electricity, running water, a nice stereo system, your flower garden, your pets, your friends.
Some people do their daily gratitude practice in the morning, either before or after they visualize their desires. Others prefer to do it in the evening. You may wish to carry a “gratitude rock” in your pocket – and each time you feel it, remember to feel gratitude for all the good things you are experiencing at that moment. Or you could take a few minutes to record all the positive things in your life in a Gratitude Journal. No matter what your situation, there are always things to be grateful for – and the more mindful you become of them, the richer your life will be.
6. Acknowledge what’s working
If you start to see something change for the better, acknowledge that it’s happening and appreciate it. When you find the perfect parking space, acknowledge it. When you get the table you want in the restaurant, acknowledge it. When you receive unexpected income, acknowledge it. When you meet someone who can help you reach your goal, acknowledge that the universe has your back and is sending you who and what you need to achieve your dreams. The more you acknowledge that it’s working, the more it will work. It’s that simple.
When you make a commitment to taking these simple actions each day, you will move forward with confidence, in the direction of your dreams.
Believe that they are not only possible, but that they are already in progress – and they will be.
As the beloved originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series, Jack Canfield fostered the emergence of inspirational anthologies as a genre—and watched it grow to a billion dollar market. As the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100 million books sold through the Chicken Soup for the Soul® franchise, Jack Canfield is uniquely qualified to talk about success. Jack is America’s #1 Success Coach and wrote the life-changing book The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be and Jack speaks around the world on this subject. Check out his newest book The 30-Day Sobriety Solution: How to Cut Back or Quit Drinking in the Privacy of Your Own Home. Follow Jack at www.jackcanfield.com and sign up for his free resources today!
Image courtesy of Felix Russell-Saw.
