Recently I was talking with a woman who is struggling in her business. Let’s call her Susan.
Susan shared she doesn’t have enough clients. When I asked for specifics, she said, I have 8 clients. I need 15 to make a living.
Here’s our conversation from there:
Me: What thought do you have about the fact that you have 8 clients?
Susan: I’m going to have to go back to my corporate job.
Me: How does that thought make you feel?
Susan: Discouraged, embarrassed, demotivated.
Me: What action—or nonaction—do you take because of those feelings?
Susan: I don’t put myself out there. I don’t cold call or network. I’m not proactive about pitching my services.
Me: OK, so what’s the result of your thoughts-feelings-actions?
And a light went on: Suddenly Susan could see her pattern—and the problem being created by her thoughts.
Susan: I don’t get more clients.
Taken together—Susan’s thoughts, feelings, and actions (or lack thereof)—are getting her this result: She doesn’t take the action necessary to get more clients.
This result reinforces her original thought: I’m going to have to go back to my corporate job.
I call this the self-fulfilling prophecy of self-sabotage and struggle.
And it doesn’t have to be that way.
Because here’s a powerful self-coaching tool you can start using right away:
Thoughts —> Feelings —> Actions —> Results.
In other words:
- When you think a thought, you feel a feeling.
- That feeling causes you to take action (or not).
- And those actions (or inactions) create results.
Which means: You can’t permanently change your results without changing your thoughts.
Really let that sink in: You cannot permanently change your results without changing your thoughts.
Since you attract what you think about, your main work on any given day is to get really good at choosing the thoughts that will lead to the results you want.
Because know this: The results you get will always be evidence of your thinking.
If you think I’m not disciplined enough, the results you get will prove that. If you think, I don’t have what it takes, this will lead to feelings and actions that reinforce the “truth” of your original thought.
That might sound like new age woo-woo, but it’s not. It’s simply the way life works.
And that’s actually very good news!
Because it means you can get more and better results in your life by leveraging this simple truth: Your inner world creates your outer world.
When you think more deliberately, you’ll feel better. And feeling better will help you take the right kind of action—the kind that creates the results you really want in your life.
It’s time to become a master at using this self-coaching tool in ALL areas of your life.
Are you ready to get your mind working for you instead of against you?
