Adopt beliefs that serve you by increasing motivation and decreasing suffering, rather than fixating on whether they are objective facts. Recognize that you can choose which beliefs to embrace based on their utility for your life.
2. Prioritize Persistence for Goals
Understand that persistence is the number one predictor of achieving your goals, more so than intelligence or resources. Cultivate hope and a belief in your ability to persist, as demonstrated by studies showing increased endurance when hope is present.
3. Differentiate Pain from Suffering
Recognize that pain is merely a signal or information, while suffering is your interpretation of that data. You can disconnect the two by changing your focus and interpretation, freeing your potential to overcome challenges.
4. Practice Mental Contrasting
Instead of only positive thinking, mentally contrast your desired outcomes with the specific obstacles you will face. Plan how you will react physically and psychologically to these barriers, which makes you more likely to achieve your goals.
5. Set Mile Markers for Persistence
When starting a new goal or practice, commit to a specific number of days or a ‘mile marker’ before allowing yourself to quit. This strategy inoculates you from giving up prematurely when discomfort or difficulty arises.
6. Learn from Failure, Don’t Quit
Do not view failure as a reason to quit; instead, see it as an opportunity for learning. If you are still gaining insights from your failures, continue to persist towards your objectives.
7. Cultivate Internal Locus of Control
Adopt the belief that you affect change and are responsible for your life’s direction, rather than feeling that things happen to you. This mindset is associated with improved psychological well-being and better life outcomes, even in adverse circumstances.
8. Reframe Negative Aging Beliefs
Embrace positive views about aging, such as ‘growth is possible at any age,’ rather than believing in inevitable decline. This belief leads to healthier behaviors and can significantly increase longevity.
9. Challenge Limiting Labels
View diagnoses or labels as maps to understand your situation, not as your identity. While labels can be empowering, be cautious that they don’t become limiting beliefs that prevent you from seeing your potential or changing your behavior.
10. Practice Relationship Turnarounds
When upset by someone’s behavior, use the ’turnaround’ technique: question if your belief about them is true, consider who you become holding that belief, and explore if the opposite belief could also be true. This reduces personal suffering and increases motivation in relationships.
11. Measure Love by Benefit of Doubt
Adopt the belief that ’love is measured by the benefit of the doubt’ to foster compassion and reduce personal suffering in your relationships. This encourages you to interpret others’ actions with understanding rather than judgment.
12. Reframe Discomfort as Growth
When encountering difficult tasks or discomfort, adopt the belief ’this is what it feels like to get better.’ This reinterprets pain as a positive sign of progress and enhances your motivation to persist.