The Habits Of A Winner

By Stuart Goldsmith

You need to develop the habits of a winner. You want to enjoy today, but have an even better tomorrow waiting for you.

To do this you must model yourself on winners - people who have achieved great things in their lives. I am talking here about 'winners' and 'losers' but I do not mean the term 'loser' in the usual derogatory sense. By a 'loser' I mean someone who, by their own definition of winning and losing, is falling well short of where they want to be. By a 'winner' I mean someone who, by their
own definition of winning and losing, is pulling ahead of the
game and achieving that which they set out to achieve.

This is how a winner operates:

1. They are brave. Like all human beings they feel fear, but have mastered it and are able to rise above it. Whilst they acknowledge that there are frightening people and places in the world, in general they view the world as a benevolent place, full of great opportunities and wonderful people. This is a vital
principle. Winners view the world as mainly benevolent with some bad bits. Losers see the world as mainly malevolent with some good bits.

2. They are good visualizers. They have the ability to imagine the future, often in glorious Technicolor detail. They have high self-esteem, and know that they are worth more than they have at present. Life to them is an exciting adventure to be lived to the full. In contrast, losers view life as a terrible chore to be
somehow 'got through' with as little pain as possible.

3. They are intelligent, rational and logical. If they have a dream of the future, they know the secret technique for making this happen. Today's dreams are tomorrow's realities. They know that large projects cannot be tackled by finite human minds unless they are broken down into manageable, bite-sized pieces.
They are able to work backwards from a future dream to the present day, and to list the logical steps required to make that dream come true.

4. Having written down the steps required to achieve their goals, they know what is required next. Action. Up until this point, all of their plans amount to little more than ethereal hot air. It is action which grounds the circuit and allows the current to flow. They know that the journey will be long and
hard. Any worthwhile dream will involve hard work, concentrated effort and some suffering to attain. They need one more quality. Discipline. This keeps them going during setbacks, when the list seems too long, and when others heap mirth and derision upon their efforts.