It’s all about mindshifts. We keep talking about new tools and technology to make us faster, smarter, better – and these are great for productivity. But one of the most powerful tools we have is our mindset. Successful people make the following mindshifts:

Turn gut reactions into level-headed thinking

Please don’t make decisions based on your gut. Please. Making a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion can get you into trouble down the line. I see clients do all the research about whether or not to get into a new market and then throw it all away in a heated discussion of “Come on, people, let’s do this”. Under pressure for new growth, the stress in the room is high. But when successful people find themselves in situations where they’re extremely angry, sad, or frustrated, they let themselves ride out those emotions without acting on them.

Turn procrastination into achievement

Here’s a super simple mindset shift for making yourself more successful in no time: Every day, tackle the task that you dread the most first. Eat the frog first. With your first cup of coffee, sit down and knock out the most overwhelming task you have – or at least make 30 minutes of progress on it. Whatever the task is — and whatever the day is — wake up and, as Nike said, just do it. If you practice this shift for five days in a row, you’ll be amazed at what you get accomplished.

Turn defensiveness into curiosity

Ask for feedback. Okay, so maybe hearing criticism is a little difficult for all of us. People don’t love hearing the negative feedback, but since your colleagues might already thinking it, wouldn’t you rather know than not? Forbes found a strong correlation between leaders who asked for feedback and leaders ranked highest for effectiveness. “Leaders who were in the lower 10% of people who asked for feedback were only ranked as 17% effective by their peers and employees. Meanwhile, leaders who were in the top 10% of people who asked for feedback received an average effectiveness rating of 83%.”