scheduled daily tasks. Develop a Winning Mindset
People with high self-mastery have a positive, winning, can-do mindset, rather than an impossibility, defeated one. What are your predominant thoughts? Shift your mindset by challenging fear and limiting beliefs and replacing them with confidence, gratitude, courage and an empowered, possibility attitude. For instance, instead of saying,“ I can’ t do this,” say,“ I will do it,” and start acting out your new mindset.
Emotions are powerful. They colour our lives and drive us to greatness or dampen us and lead us astray. In addition to having a winning mindset, people with self-mastery recognize and manage their emotions, particularly in challenging situations. Develop emotional mastery by pausing before reacting, and instead choosing your response. Rather than denying or suppressing your feelings, understand them and express them appropriately in ways that align with your values.
Commit and Develop Discipline
Commitment and discipline to succeed are what separate those who merely have intentions from those who achieve the goals they set. Discipline is the bridge between goals and achievement. People with high self-mastery have high commitment to achieve their goals. They stretch themselves and relentlessly pursue their goals with focus and perseverance, without making excuses.
Discipline is like a muscle- the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes. There is no magic pill to developing discipline- you simply do what needs to be done, consistently. Whether you feel like it or not. Every day. Your goals will not achieve themselves- you must go the distance. The more consistent you are, the faster you’ ll progress towards your goals.
Focus on changing a few habits at a time.
Create routines to practice them, and grow from there, avoiding distractions, silencing negative, voices of discouragement, and celebrating every small win. It takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit. Push yourself with grit and determination until your new habits become second nature.
Measure your Progress.
Regularly pause to monitor your progress towards your goals. To do this well, measure your progress daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly. What have you done well, and why? What have you learnt? Objectively distill the lessons and use them to fuel your next steps, always iterating upwards, keeping your goals in focus, and viewing failures as stepping stones, rather than a permanent state.
Build a Strong Support System
It is said that if you want to go fast, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together. Surround yourself with a strong network of supportive, like-minded people, committed to your success. While you pursue your goals alone, they are your posse, walking through life with you, holding you accountable as you hold them accountable, providing a safe space for authentic, unbiased feedback, encouragement and challenge when needed. Diligently meet with them at least once a month to check in with each other.
Embrace Continuous Learning
People who achieve self-mastery are always curious and hungry for knowledge and growth. Identify areas of growth and create your learning road-map. There is no end of books, podcasts, forums and courses to help you improve- and there is no end of the heights you can attain when you apply your learning. Commit to life-long learning. Schedule times for daily learning and set your minimums, such as half an hour or 10 pages daily.
Network intentionally and learn from old and new connections. Identify exemplary role-models and adopt their good practices. Seek out good mentors, too, and learn from their experiences. Ask questions, try new things and be open to different perspectives, while maintaining critical thinking, forming your own judgments after objective analysis and evaluation of the facts.
Develop Resilience
Challenges and setbacks are part and parcel of life. Resilience is the ability to adjust and recover from adversity. Do challenges devastate you, or do you reflect, regroup and get back in the race, staying motivated with your eye on the prize? People with high selfmastery, don’ t allow challenges to get them down. Instead, they bounce back, and find their way around obstacles, refusing to give up on their dreams. As long as you don’ t give up, and keep pushing, your goals remain valid and attainable.
Be Kind to Yourself
Self-mastery isn’ t about perfection. It’ s about continuous progress and improvement. If you stumble along the way, be kind to yourself. Rather than beat yourself, acknowledge that everyone makes mistakes. Use failures and setbacks as opportunities for growth. Instead of being harsh, and critical, speak the truth to yourself with kindness, giving yourself hope, and determining not to repeat the same mistake. In the push to achieve, create time to rebuild and rejuvenate. Rest, recharge and refresh your spirit, soul and body, taking time to introspect and improve.
Simply Start
How badly do you want to be the person you know you really are? It starts with decision, commitment and prompt, consistent, focused actions. Relentlessly pursue self-mastery. Make it your lifelong adventure- and know that while others may be around you, and even support you, you run alone. Start, be consistent, and become who you were meant to be. You may experience challenges, but don’ t give up. It will be worth the endurance, with every step steadily bringing you to more purpose, fulfillment, and peace. Simply start, and you will soon become who you were created to be. Run well. Happy 2025!
Caroline Nyamwaya Mwazi is Director & Chief Change Catalyst of Huru Consult Limited, a Nairobi-based management and training consulting company. She’ s also Lead Coach in the 12-month Go for Gold! coaching programme. Connect with her on LinkedIn @ Caroline Nyamwaya Mwazi. You can request for the Go for Gold! Reflection Guide, by sending an email to: info @ huruconsult. com