The Psychology of Successful Thinking


It was not long ago that I found myself in an environment that made me curious as to why it is that some people succeed and some lag behind. These are my conclusions.

By Dr Vijay Bahadur

1. Accepting oneself, knowing who you are and being truthful about your current situation is one of the first steps on the road to success. While the journey may be long, the pursuit of success should be a daily habit.

2. Rich psychology is what separates the rich from the poor. ‘Rich thinkers’ know that they will encounter both fear and failure on the path to success but are undaunted by the prospect.  

3. Successful people set aside alone time for thinking, reflecting and strategizing. Einstein was a great proponent of setting aside time for reflection. This is when you should be envisioning the end result and the joy of a successful venture.

4. Asking the right questions can propel you forward on the road to success. For example, ask yourself “How will my life turn out if I continue on this road?” If you don’t like what you see, it is time to take action.

5. Sleep when you die. Recently a protégé told me he was so exhausted that he fell asleep in the taxi on the way home. At 21 you cannot afford to be fatigued. Successful people work hard and they play hard, but exhaustion is not an option. The journey to success will almost certainly be riddled with long, hard days – are you prepared and willing to deliver?

6. Be selective about who you spend time with; it is who you will become. Conduct a SWOT analysis on the company you keep and say goodbye to those people who do not fit the mould of who you want to be. Rich physiological behaviour is having the ability to forge ahead with change even if it is uncomfortable.  

7. Circumstance thinking – forget the circumstances of your past and forge ahead on the path to success. ‘Poor’ thinkers blame their circumstances and expect that they will never be ‘more’.

8. Controlling the impact of failure and fear on your psyche is a talent the truly successful have mastered and mastered well. The truly successful view any setback not as a failure, but as their cue to try something new.

9. Staying focused on your goals will help you get there faster. For example, why read a newspaper when you can be reading a book like Succeed with Nothing? Rich thinkers observe very closely what they expose their minds and psyche to.    

10. Trusting is another rich thinking strength; trust in your actions and don’t second guess them. When was the last time you observed a rich successful person in action? They simply operate on a different level; their every move is right, fast and decisive.

11. The truly successful always seem happy and in control. Rich thinkers don’t give away their control, in so doing you will be robbing yourself of your best shot at success.

12. Investment thinking is successful thinking. Anybody who was thinking ‘investment’ back in 1974 and acted on that thought by investing R10,000 would be worth R107-million today, or so says Allan Gray on their website. 

13. Laziness is probably the number one enemy of success. Sitting around waiting for the world (and success) to come to you is just not going to cut it. Success requires that you take action even if you start by reading a book or asking Google (because Google knows everything).

Successful thinking is what will propel you forward on the road to success and remove you beyond  from the reach of the laggers and nay-sayers.



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