The more we give 110% to life, the happier—and more successful—we grow. We may smile more easily. And smiles beget smiles. Same with effort: 110% effort snowballs—and soon becomes second nature. After all, it takes “anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for people to form a new habit.” Best of all, each day gets easier.
Giving your best effort leads to a winning mindset. Such a mindset takes discipline, focus, and confidence. Like top athletes, people with winning mindsets achieve peak performance every day. Special forces soldiers, too, show winning mindsets through displays of superhuman stunts.
If they can give 110%, we can too.
Looking back, I believe I achieved a winning mindset in grade nine. I was on all sports teams, worked in the school cafeteria, was on student’s council, went to Christian youth group, and won many awards for academic performance. But then I gave up the winning mindset—and lost it all.
Today, I wish to regain that mindset. And I want you to taste the winning mindset, too.
But why aim for a winning mindset? With the right mindset, we could live our best life: “Mawen …107 years old … was feisty, funny, and ferociously dedicated to helping others understand that life, while not always easy or fair, is too wonderful a thing to waste with sorrow. I cannot recall a single moment in our time together that she was not smiling.” (Day & Day, p. 79 of 232, 25%). So, smile 110% of the day to live long and fruitfully.
To gain the winning mindset, my goal is to show daily unconditional love. To do so, I plan to never take others for granted. Rather, I aim to smile and laugh—and to channel love to every task.
But a winning mindset means mastering all parts of ourselves. Today, I walked miles—4.5 hours—in the hot sun and up a steep hill. I walked about eighty blocks. Two years ago, I couldn’t have walked a single block without tiring. It can take your body two years to get fit—but a growth mindset can flourish in a single day.
And the changes happen quickly. My beliefs and attitudes are swiftly shifting. Whenever I worry about what others think of me, I shift to thoughts of how I can make life better for others. When I pat myself on the back, I shift to celebrating worthy traits in others. When I feel a negative emotion toward someone, I shift to thinking what faults that emotion might be mirroring in me, and I replace that fault with a life lesson. When you take such positive steps, you no longer feel bad for very long. Instead, you feel 110% love.
I read the book The Five Love Languages. According to the book, the five love languages include gifts, quality time, acts of service, sweet words, and touch. I think there’s two more love language: smiles and laughter. But don’t just focus on one love language. Give as much as possible through all love language. Give your 110%.
And if we don’t give 110%? Well, if we take life—or loved ones—for granted, we could lose them. So, do things your loved ones appreciate. Through a winner’s mindset, you’ll discover the true meaning of life.
But family is different, isn’t it? As for family, we may not be able to pick them—but we could still lose them. So, do all you can to bring love into their worlds. Write an email. Make the phone call. Send a gift. Spend time with them. Say, “I love you.”
No matter what positive task you tackle, tackle it like a top athlete—or, better yet, like a top student. Give 110% effort, and you’ll live your life a happy and successful soul.