5 Secrets To Build A Success Mindset and Crush Your Goals TODAY
You know that phrase: “Fake it til you make it”?
What if there was some truth to the concept? What if showing up as the best version of yourself, even if it’s a future version of yourself, is actually the ultimate hack to getting to that success faster?
If you think about it, it makes sense. Can you bring to mind a person you know- or maybe a celebrity- who always seems to be crushing their goals and accomplishing new feats, all while making it look effortless and constant? Do you ever wonder why it seems like their desires find them? I believe we ALL have access to this level of success, but some of us find it easier to hone into the level of thought. What I know for certain is that the answer always comes back to your mindset.
I know it probably feels too simple to be true, but I have tested this myself and am a firm believer that we can all build “success mindsets” over time, just like how we grow our muscles over time.
Just like how babies aren’t born inherently believing they’re the baddest b*** in the room, rather, they’re raised to understand their identity and their worth, and form into a person that believes they can achieve… or are not worthy of that level of achievement.
Today, I want to share the 5 biggest secrets I’ve found that have helped me develop my own “success mindset”, and the steps you can begin taking TODAY to set your success mindset in motion.
In this blog, I’ll unveil:
I’m confident I can speak on these things because I’ve been through ALL the ups and the downs of mindset. There was definitely a time when I let fear and doubt dictate my actions. I wanted to start my own business, but the weight of “What if I fail?” or “Who am I to think I can do this?” was heavy, and consistent enough that it drowned out the smaller voice in my head begging “But if not you, then who??”.
It wasn’t until I actively worked on my own mindset, and quieting the nagging voice in my head, that so much of my life began to shift. I also didn’t do this alone. In today’s blog, I’ll be referencing three books that helped me SOMUCH with building my confidence and mindset:
Steven Pressfield's The War of Art
Michael A. Singer's The Untethered Soul
Marie Forleo's Everything is Figureoutable
If I was able to change my mindset, and begin showing up as the leading role in my own movie, I promise, you can do this, too.
Secret #1: Getting Clear on What Success Means to You
I’m using the word “success” a lot in this blog because I think it’s universally understood, but, the turht is success can look a lot different for all of us. For some, success might be getting a big raise at your job; for others, it might be finding a way to free up more time in your day-to-day to spend more time with family. So, as with so many of my exercises, the first step to developing your success mindset is to define what success means for you. Because if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you won’t know how to go after it, and how to celebrate it when it does arrive.
So first, ask yourself:
What do I want to achieve in my career, relationships, or personal life?
What would a perfect day look like from beginning to end?
How do I want to feel as I pursue and reach these goals?
What’s one thing I can accomplish this year that would make me feel the most successful?
I highly encourage you to write these answers down in a journal. This clarity will serve as your roadmap, helping you focus your energy and actions, and allow some space for you to feel into whether your answers are aligned, soulfully, with what you’re after, or if you’re just saying what you think you should say.
In one of my favorite books for this subject, The Untethered Soul, the author suggests being intentional about aligning your goals with your “higher self”. In his definition, your "higher self" is essentially the wisest, most evolved part of you, like an inner guide that holds your highest potential and pure consciousness, guiding you towards your best self and life purpose. It’s often described as “gut feelings”, or that part of you that has a sixth sense when something is wrong, or the butterflies you feel when something is really great. Since I’m such a visual person, I find it helpful to picture my highest self vresion of Paige— the best version of me, a few years older, that is helping to guide current me towards that picture.
Pro Tip: For more exercises around clarifying success for yourself and getting deeply in touch with your best case scenario life, go take a look at Building Your Vivid Vision, Choosing Your Why, and Setting up a Vision Board that Works.
Secret #2: Start with Daily, Small Wins to Work Your Way Up
Just like forming a habit, forming a success mindset is a day by day practice, and one that requires momentum to make it stick. Begin by setting small, achievable goals for yourself that will give you a quick win each day, and keep your momentum up, and begin to establish positive association with your new success mindset. For example:
If one version of success for you is improved fitness, start small by committing to a 10-minute walk each morning. Allow yourself something that’s rewarding to you (for me it’s my cup of coffee ;) after the walk to reinforce that positive daily step
If you’re working on growing your business, set yourself a goal to send one email or DM to a potential client each morning. Don’t allow yourself to move onto the next task until you’ve bitten off this task — and after time, it won’t feel so scary or unusual - it’ll just be another part of your daily routine!
If you’re trying to learn a new skill, spend 15 minutes daily watching a tutorial or reading about the skill, and 15 minutes practicing whatever you’ve just learned.
Taking small actions, and recognizing each as a small win, is the fastest and most reliable method to building confidence and reminding yourself how capable you are of making progress. It really is important to also celebrate each small step and victory to close the action+reward loop, and keep that momentum strong.
Pro Tip: Use tools to keep you succeeding! For something more structured, I loved this Daily Wellness Journal- it offers you 90 days of entries, daily affirmations, guided prompts, and gratitude/career mindfulness tips to keep you on track and organized.
Or, if you prefer to freehand your goals, thoughts, habits, and wins in a blank journal, I’m always such a huge fan of a journal with LOTS of thin lines, hard cover, and a spiral spine. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I hate it when notebooks snap closed and won’t stay open. It’s such a bummer when you’re trying to plan your perfect day.. here’s a journal I love on Amazon that also has a bunch of beautiful cover art- choose whatever’s most on brand for you! And of course, you need a reliable set of pens that runs consistently without blotting or stopping, and of course also has to look cute in your office ;) I love this pen brand or these Pilot Acroball pens on Amazon.
Secret #3: Reframe Negative Thoughts & Become Friends With Your Inner Voice
We all have something in common… every single one of us has a voice in our heads that’s talk-talk-talking all. day. long.
Don’t believe me? Try sitting in silence for two minutes.. attempt to clear your mind of everything… and how long does it take until you hear a little voice- likely your own voice— speaking up and yammering at you?
If this voice is not paid attention to or reeled back in, it will often choose to focus on negative, anxious, fearful, or judgemental thoughts; rather than thoughts that are conducive to success, positivity, joy, and bravery. This inner voice can so often be the one shouting “You’re not good enough,” “Who do you think you are?” or “You’ll never pull this off.” Maybe yours sounds a little different, or chooses different mantras to rinse and repeat, but regardless, I’m certain we alllll share this trait in common. In Michael A. Singer’s book, The Untethered Soul, he calls this voice the inner critic. He describes it as the internal voice that just loves to hijack our thoughts, especially when we’re trying to level up, take a big leap, or a face a fear.
To begin taming the voice, and cultivating your own success mindset, you need to recognize a.) this voice exists, b.) it’s a big liar that loves to stir up anxiety and drama to keep you safe, and c.) It’s not who you really are. It’s just noise—a passing storm cloud in your mind.
In fact, Michael A. Singer teaches that these thoughts are fleeting, like clouds drifting through the sky—they don't define you unless you allow them to. It can take some contemplation and time to begin noticing the voice, especially since many of us have been conditioned to trust this voice (and very frustratingly, for many women, these thoughts are often amplified, loud and persistent, and can feel like the soundtrack to our daily lives).
BUT, (yes, of course there’s a but), the GREAT NEWS is that we are ALL capable of rewiring these thoughts. You can train yourself to turn down that negative chatter and, over time, replace it with something SO MUCH MORE empowering. You may even call it a success mindset ;)
Here's how you can start:
1. Notice the Noise
The first step to reframing your thoughts is simply noticing them. When that voice pops up with its usual self-doubt, catch it in the act. Recognize when you’re being hard on yourself or buying into the negativity. Once you spot it, or even verbally call it out, you can then begin to disrupt it!
2. Reframe It
Now that you've caught that negative thought, it’s time to reframe it. For example, if your mind says, “I’m not good enough to do this,” switch it up to, “I’m still learning, and I’m getting better every day.” If it says, “This is way too hard,” try, “I can handle challenges, and I’ll figure this out.” The goal is to take the negative thought and transform it into something that acknowledges your growth, your potential, and your ability to figure things out.
You may even want to begin taking this exercise to paper when you first start out. Draw a line down the middle of a piece of paper, and write “Negative Thought” on one side, and “Reframed Thought” on the other. Set it next to you as you proceed about your day, and any time you catch a negative thought, write it down. Then, challenge that negative thought (accepting they’re all false), and write a reframed thought to the right of it. I love this exercise because as you get writing, you see how ridiculous and hyperbolic your mind is, and it begins to get easier and easier to diffuse the thoughts. You’ll may even enjoy a boost of dopamine as you begin to believe in yourself, and set your mind towards intentionality and positivity.
3. Shift Your Focus to Action
Don’t let yourself linger in the doubt. Instead, direct your energy toward something you can do right now. See above for the journal exercise I like to use to immediately take action in reframing a thought. Or, you can take different types of steps forward, such as changing your physical state (such as standing up or going for a quick walk), making a phone call or sending a text, taking a few deep breaths, or changing your attention to a different task. Whatever you choose, shifting your focus to action will help you break the cycle of overthinking and allows you to make progress, no matter how small.
This isn’t a magic trick—it’s a practice. The more you catch these thoughts and shift them, the easier it becomes to tune out the negative and tune into your inner cheerleader and support network. Eventually, you'll train your mind to go from “I can’t” to “I can,” from “This is impossible” to “This is just a challenge I’m ready to face.”
So, the next time that voice in your head tries to tell you “You’re not enough,” remind it that you’re always a work in progress, and that progress is the only thing that truly matters.
Secret #4: Surround Yourself with Positivity
I absolutely LOVE this step—it's a total game-changer! The people, the content, and the environment you surround yourself with has SUCH a huge impact on your mindset. If you're serious about cultivating a positive, success-driven mentality and creating a life you’re obsessed with, you need to be intentional about who and what you let into your days, your weeks, and your life. So, choose wisely, because you really are in control of these factors!
1. Surround Yourself with Uplifting People
I want you to think about the core people you currently hang out with the most. Think about how you feel when you’re with them — when you’re together, are you filled up with energy, or do you end the time feeling completely drained and exhausted? I call the latter “energy vampires”, they’re people who suck energy from others and seek constant attention / feedback / listening ears, but often don’t reciprocate the same back to you. Take mental stock of who in your life you might need to cut back time with, and who you’d benefit from increasing time around.
I know this step may be difficult - especially if the energy vampires are family members — but your clarity, energy, and sanity is worth having some hard conversations for. Do your best to be intentional about who you surround yourself with, and fill up your cup by carving out protected time with those who inspire, motivate, and lift you up. Seek out people who believe in your potential, who challenge you in the best way possible, and who celebrate your wins—no matter how small. If someone in your life isn’t supporting your growth, it may be time to re-evaluate that relationship.
2. Cut Out Unnecessary Negativity
This is somewhat related to Step #1 above—whether it’s toxic people, negative news, or the endless scroll of mind-numbing TV shows, now is the time to identify and eliminate unnecessary sources of negativity or fear from your daily life. We’ve already talked about how persistent (and hard to quiet) your inner voice can be, so think about this: What do you think happens when you keep feeding it negative news and gossipy conversations? Your subconscious is constantly absorbing what’s around you, so it starts to form an opinion of the world—and your limitations—based on what you feed it.
If certain relationships, media, or environments are draining you or feeding your doubts, worries, and fears, it’s time to set some boundaries. Your mental and emotional well-being deserve better than a constant barrage of negativity, and I promise you’ll see faster, more positive results when you’re intentional about what you allow to fill your mental, physical, and spiritual space.
3. Fill Your Mind with the Good Stuff
Okay, now that we’ve talked about crowding out all the negative, let’s focus on filling that gap with the GOOD! I’m talking about positive influences, uplifting social media, motivating books, encouraging coworkers, and a space that truly lights you up. The word “intentional” comes up a lot because each of these steps requires you to be fully conscious and thoughtful about what you’re allowing into your life. Here are a few easy ways to start crowding in the good:
Unfollow social media accounts that spark any form of comparison, anxiety, or negativity. Then, fill that space with accounts that align with your goals, values, and aspirations.
Subscribe to newsletters that offer regular doses of inspiration and positivity—what a great way to start your day and open your inbox!
When you’re driving or walking, swap out talk radio or the news for motivating, uplifting podcasts that feed your mind and spirit instead of just distracting you.
Swap your nightly dark/negative show for an inspiring, uplifting documentary that leaves you feeling energized, not drained.
Wind down for bed with an inspiring book or scripture—something that calms and uplifts your spirit.
Carve out time for YOU, whether it’s journaling in the morning, meditating, going for a walk, spending time with a loved one, or diving into a hobby.
If it’s not clear already, I care so much that you find ways that allow time and space for YOU. You’re the only one who can protect your time and space, and if you don’t, no one else will. So take that time, crowd in the positive, and watch how your life begins to transform for the better.
4. Create a Workspace That Sparks Motivation
Your environment has a huge impact on your mindset. If you're working in a cluttered, uninspiring space, staying motivated can feel like an uphill battle. I dive into SO many ways you can tweak this in my blog article here. So, take the time to design a workspace that actually energizes and inspires you—whether it's with motivational quotes, plants, good lighting, or tools that help you stay organized. When your environment aligns with your goals, staying in the zone becomes so much easier.
Secret #5: Commit to Reflecting & Refining Over Time
Developing a success mindset isn’t something you can just check off once and done—it’s a lifelong commitment to learning, evolving, and showing up. As Stephen Pressfield highlights in one of my favorite books, The War of Art, persistence is what separates amateurs from professionals. Here’s how to stay consistent:
Set Weekly Check-ins: Reflect on your progress and adjust your goals.
Learn Continuously: Read books, take courses, or listen to podcasts that challenge your thinking.
Embrace Failure: View mistakes as opportunities to learn rather than setbacks.
Remember, growth doesn’t have to be perfect—it just has to be consistent. As Marie Forleo reminds us in Everything is Figureoutable, even small, imperfect steps forward can lead to extraordinary outcomes over time.
A success mindset isn’t about being fearless or never facing challenges. It’s about choosing to show up, learn, and take action even when things feel uncertain. By getting clear on your goals, celebrating small wins, reframing negative thoughts, surrounding yourself with positivity, and committing to growth, you’ll create the mental foundation you need to thrive.
Ready to start developing your success mindset tomorrow? Start with one step from this list, and let the momentum build. You’ve got this!