Over the years of building ourselves and our life, we’ve learned what kind of attitudes and actions have held us back and what kind of attitudes and actions have helped us progress. In the beginning of our journey, to improve the results in all areas of our life, we definitely stumbled a bit. We were not very teachable, and because of that, we got in our own way all the time. We had good people in our corner, offering excellent advice, but we continued to try to do things our own way. The funny thing is, doing things “our own way” had never really gotten us where we wanted to go. But for some reason, we kept fighting the need to change. The problem wasn’t the advice that was being given. The problem was with us not being open to receiving the advice with a grateful attitude.
We realized that life has enough challenges, so we should probably stop being one of them. Eventually, we made the decision to set our overthinking/unteachable mindset to the side, and we replaced those bad attitudes with a humble, hungry, teachable attitude. And guess what … everything changed for the better!
Understanding these three qualities was a game changer for us, and we hope it will be for you too.
Humble
It’s often said that you either stay humble … or you will stumble.
Being humble means you don’t think more highly of yourself than others, but it doesn’t mean you should think less of yourself. It’s an understanding that all people have value, including yourself. Sincere humility attracts, lack of humility subtracts, and fake humility detracts.
Sometimes people can confuse being bold and confident as being the opposite of humble, but that’s not necessarily true. You can be very confident while also being humble. Some of the most confident people we know are also some of the most humble. They show their humility by their sincere interest in others, and their willingness to help and serve people.
Here are a few tips on developing humility:
- Admit that you’re not the best at anything. No matter how talented you are, there is almost always room for improvement.
- Stop being judgmental. It’s easy to judge others but hard to look at our own shortcomings. Don’t treat people as bad as they are—treat them as good as you are!
- Be grateful for everything and everyone you have in your life. And don’t be afraid to show that gratitude. Expressing your appreciation helps to create good relationships. Start thinking in the mindset of “I get to,” instead of, “I have to.” For example: “I get to help this person,” not “I have to.”
- It’s okay to make mistakes. This doesn’t mean you should make them all the time. It means you should acknowledge your mistakes and work toward eliminating them. Admitting your mistakes will earn people’s respect.
- Be considerate in conversations. A humble person is mindful of everyone in the conversation and won’t talk over others or interrupt someone who’s speaking.
- Don’t take all of the credit. Acknowledge all the people that’ve helped you.
Hungry
Being hungry literally means that you have an appetite. When you’re feeling good, you’ll have a healthy appetite. When you’re feeling sick, you can be robbed of your appetite.
This concept works the same regarding your appetite for success. In order to become successful, you must be hungry for it. We’ve found that people who have a hunger for success are healthy in their mindset and attitude. If you’re lacking that appetite, it may be because something is making you feel “sick” in your head (mindset) or your heart (attitude). Thankfully this is a pretty easy fix. First, identify the things that’re robbing you of your hunger, then take out the garbage. You wouldn’t let garbage pile up in your house, so why would you let it pile up in your mind? Your mind is the house you’ll live in for the rest of your life. So, take good care of it and TAKE OUT THE GARBAGE!
Here are a few more tips on how to increase your hunger for success:
- Clean it up. Read our blog to learn how to solve that mental pollution.
- Stop focusing on something that you think may have gone wrong.
- Start focusing on what you’re grateful for and all the possibilities and potential that the future holds.
- Fill your mind with good information, good habits, and good relationships!
Once you refresh your mindset and start focusing on the positive, you’ll feel your hunger increase. One last thing … make sure you’re not waiting for some magical feeling or extreme ambition before you start moving yourself forward. ACTION is the key. Sometimes just doing it, even when you don’t feel like it, can totally change your attitude and can help spark your hunger and motivation!
Teachable
To us, being teachable means having a willingness to: Listen. Learn. Apply. We’ve found that this willingness leads to positive change and growth. We’ve also found that, without a humble spirit, it’s difficult for someone to be teachable.
So, will you be teachable or will you be unreachable?
Thankfully, becoming teachable isn’t very hard. It happened for us when we made the simple decision to get out of our own way. The humbler and hungrier we became, the more teachable we became. We became excited to have a Growth Mindset vs. a Fixed Mindset. A fixed mindset keeps you stuck in your ways. A growth mindset allows you to unlearn things that aren’t working and learn better ways of thinking and doing. Better ways of thinking and doing lead to much better results!
Change the Game
So now it’s time to ask yourself: Am I humble, hungry, and teachable?
If the answer is “yes,” well good for you! Keep on keeping on!
If the answer is “no” or “not really,” our questions are, “Why not and how is that going for you?”
Even if you answered “no,” we have good news for you. You can decide right now to start making positive changes inside and out. Instead of focusing on finding yourself and letting your emotion control your decisions, focus on building yourself. Tear down your old ways of thinking and doing. Replace them with better ways of thinking and doing. Surround yourself with supportive people and fight for positive change in your life. Your past doesn’t define your future, and your future is unwritten. Forgive, forget, and move on. You can do it!
Stay humble, hungry, and teachable, friends.
This is such a great reminder of where our mindset needs to be. Relearning how to think, remembering why we are working toward a new skill set, and keeping our vision in front of us.