Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

As I was running this morning I realized something about the power of having the right mindset. Choosing how you are going to look at something can change everything.

I have to disclose here, that I am not really a “runner.” I started running a couple of years ago and began in response to a “dare” a friend made to enter and run in a marathon. That was two years ago. Since then, my focus surrounding running has been on the previously unattainable thought – FINISHING a marathon.  Every training run and every race from the very beginning has been focused on finishing. Finishing the run, finishing the race – in my mind, simply finishing was a stretch goal.

Now I have run in 3 marathons and 3 half marathons (trust me, I’m not going very fast!). I now know that I can actually finish.  I have proof that my goal, the goal of finishing, is quite attainable for me.

So I achieved the goal, proved I could do it, so why haven’t I set a new goal and created a new challenge for myself?  And how does this relate to you and your business?

I’ve become stagnant in my running.  I do what is necessary to achieve my old goal, even though I now have the potential to do more.  I can push myself farther and faster than I could two years ago, but I’ve settled on the thought of just finishing.

In my mind I can’t go faster than I’m going because I may not finish. That’s how my brain is programmed relating to running. Slow and steady is the strategy. Yet, that is no longer a goal. It is just going through the motions. I can finish a race; I’ve proven that. Today the goal should be to improve my times.  What is holding me back is my mindset.  Until I am willing to change my mindset to push myself farther, this will not be possible.

I think that’s the same reason that so many business owners stagnate. Potential is really never reached because the goals are still the old goals.   We are fearful of pushing ourselves harder because of our worry that we may not finish.  Our mindset didn’t change to reach the next level of the business. The goal is still the old goal that has already been accomplished time and time again, and we keep working to keep reaching the same goal.  What we must realize though is that we have been running the same race for years.  That means we know it better than we did when we started.  We know the obstacles, recognize the checkpoints, and are able to achieve more than we did.  It just takes a shift in our mindset.  We have to believe that we have the drive, knowledge and skill to reach new goals.  We are up for a new challenge.

I commit here and now that I am going to get faster as a runner because it is now my goal.  Finishing isn’t enough.  I want to finish faster.  I’m also going to refocus my goals in my business to reflect something I’ve never done. Let me know what you think.

What will you do to reach your new goals?

www.redzonemarketing.com

Maribeth Kuzmeski, is the author of the new book, The Connectors: How the World’s Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life (Wiley, September 2009, ISBN: 978-0-4704881-8-8, $22.95)