Note to entrepreneurs: put yourself in the correct mindset

Change your mindset and you could change the path of your business, writes Manar Al Hinai.

Change your perspective and your world changes.

I’ve heard various versions of that saying over the years, yet I never realised how true it was until a little while back. Sometimes it can be all about perspective.

Through trial and error, I have come to realise that to achieve the level of success you desire, there are a number of mindsets an entrepreneur should adopt. These include the following:

Believe in your abilities

A negative attitude pushes success away, while positivity does the complete opposite. Believe you are capable, deserving and able to achieve your dreams. Success does not happen by accident — it is a result of hard work and determination. Embedding that belief in your mind will help you navigate past obstacles along the way.

Follow goals set by yourself

Do not do something because someone tells you to. What you want to do with your business has to be something you decide for yourself. That way you will be more driven to achieve your targets because you believe in them.

Accept that there will be challenges and expect to face them

No matter how simple a business is, or how successful it may be, challenges are part of the journey. You could choose to look at them with a negative lens and have them impede your growth, or look at them as a learning experience to test your abilities. A challenge that makes you fail in one area may help you improve by introducing a new product, changing your management style or completely altering the way the business is run.

Surround yourself with good company

As you climb the ladder of success, who you surround yourself with is equally important as the goals you set. Having to face someone with a negative attitude could impede your journey to success. If one of your team members is pessimistic and does not share your enthusiasm for the business, eliminate them. You do not want those people’s negativity to rub off on their peers. Negativity is contagious. Moreover, when you do surround yourself with goal-orientated, passionate and positive people, you will learn from them, challenge each other’s minds and help the business grow.

See your vision

A good exercise that helps keep me on track is having a vision board. I know what I want to achieve, but seeing it in front of me is far more powerful and motivating than keeping it in my head. Get a simple pin board to mount in your office or in your bedroom, a place where you can look at it several times a day. Write down your goals, stick images of your desired outcomes if available and glance at it a few times a day. Not only will it remind you of your goals, but will push you towards achieving them.

Do what you love

Follow your passion and turn it into your business. Entrepreneurs are most likely to succeed when they follow their interests and choose a career or business that is an extension of their personality. When you love what you are doing, there is nothing to keep you from achieving your goals. You will not mind putting in those extra hours and you will accept challenges that come along the way because you care about the end result.

Be grateful

When you choose to focus on the glass being half-empty, you impede your success and stop your business from growing. Even though you may not be there yet, and may not be as successful as so-and-so, be grateful that your situation is far better than many others, that many wish for what you have right now. Expressing gratitude and making it a habit shifts you from complaining about the small stuff and focuses you on the bigger picture.

Adopting these mindsets will make an entrepreneur more flexible, open to challenges and goal-orientated.

Manar Al Hinai is an award-winning Emirati writer based in Abu Dhabi. Follow her on Twitter at @manar_alhinai.

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