The Psychology of Achievement: Thinking Like A Winner

What exactly is achievement?

Seeing potential in someone or something is an exciting experience. Exploring the possibilities of life and the possibilities of people is curiously rewarding. What humans have been able to accomplish is astounding if we consider where we started. 

Looking to the future is a skill in itself. Being able to envision and imagine something that isn’t real in the moment is a unique talent that we can all develop. It’s interesting to think that anything that is something was once nothing. Great minds in history have always had an amazing sense of imagination. But what does this have to do with achievement?

Setting goals, a clear purpose and moving with the intent to accomplish them is an act of imagination. Before you can achieve anything, you have to believe it can be done first. It’s a little bit crazy. Then again, there was a time in human history where if you thought the earth was round and not flat, you would have been considered crazy. Now, with advancements in technology, we know better. I say this to say that we only know what we know and we don’t know what we don’t know. Understanding this philosophy will be very important in moving forward with your ambitions.

It’s a Mindset Thing

When you look in the mirror, what do you see?

There is a saying that “whether you think you can do something or you think that you can’t, you are right.” This indicates that how you view yourself could be the single most determinant factor in winning at life. 

The perspective we have of ourselves is a deeply rooted belief in what we think our capabilities are and it has a lot to do with how our brains are wired. As our species was evolving, our brains became a kind of pattern recognition machine. In the wilderness, this was especially important in evaluating threats that posed a danger to our wellbeing as well as allowing us to identify familiar aspects in our life, such as food and members of our group. Today, the circumstances are much different, but our brain have not stopped seeing patterns and forming beliefs based off of them.

Since birth, we have all been quietly constructing mental models of who we believe we are. Parents, close friends, various media and your own thoughts, in one way or another, have been the subconscious building blocks of what makes you, you. This is both good news and bad news. The good news is, outside of your parents, all these things are in your control, for the most part. We decide what we let influence us and, as a result, we decide who we are.

When you focus on your mindset, keeping track of your own thoughts and being conscious of where these thoughts are coming from, you become a master of yourself. With this mastery, you are able to mold your beliefs to align with the life you want to create. Your mindset is what will allow the positive changes in your life to occur and how you think will greatly impact how you live, both in the present and in the future.

Why Winners Keep Winning

Anything less than a commitment to excellence is an acceptance of mediocrity.

Waking up everyday dedicated to the pursuit of greatness is a mission anyone can embark on. It is one that not many will continue to seek, and one that even fewer will follow til the end. Although we are all capable of being champions in our own right, it is only those who believe they will win that actually do.

With being said, it is no coincidence that people who win, continue to win. They form habits that cement a belief in their mind that they are able to do anything that they set their mind to. Take a moment to imagine two people. For the sake of the analogy, let’s say they are of the same age, gender, and any other defining characteristics. The only difference is that Person 1 has a convicting belief that they, and they alone, are responsible for what they can achieve. Everyday both people wake up and go through their days as scheduled. Person 1 follows a routine and continuously checks off task on a to-do list. On the other hand, Person 2 does not adhere to the routine. They say to themselves, “I didn’t have time today” or “I didn’t have the energy.” Over time, Person 1 begins to build a confidence in their ability to make things happen while Person 2 starts to believe that the world is against them and they are just not good enough to succeed. 

Understand, it is the narrative of our beliefs that account for who we become. The story we tell ourselves will influence our actions and our actions will determine the path we take in life. Winners are winners because THEY KNOW THEY ARE WINNERS. They know this because they have proved it to themselves over and over again with the little wins they’ve accumulated over time. Even when they fail, they know they have a track record of success, and will gladly accept it because they know they have a shot at another "W" next time.