Don’t allow negative thoughts to get the best of you in 2017.

Your mind is a very powerful tool. You can use it to better yourself in your career or you can allow it to hold you back. Don’t allow negative thoughts to get the best of you in 2017.

Here are 4 ways to prevent negativity from making bad career decisions for you.

Choose your future

Some believe that your past predicts your future. No. Not only does this outdated belief hamper your self-confidence, but it also reminds you of your past failures and the outcomes thereof. There will always be goals that you have aspired to and have not yet reached. But pay attention to what you are doing now and get it right. Make sure that you appreciate the here and now because that is what matters most. What is behind you simply cannot control your future.

Read: 4 things you need to know now to accelerate your career growth

Own your destiny

Some believe that you can only go as far as those who went before you. By believing this you set yourself boundaries that do not even exist. The truth is that one’s individual success is determined by the choices and hard work that is put into it. No two people will receive the same outcome if one is determined to reach higher goals in their career. So allow yourself to reach for success and then go for it.

Determine your success

Some believe that the approval of others determines your level of success. This is not true at all. Each individual has a set of parameters to measure success or failure by. Personal goals will determine one’s level of success. What you consider to be failure might be the next person’s highest level of success, and vice versa. Someone else’s opinion of your goals and achievements is not a true reflection of reality.

Forget perfection

Some believe that it’s a straight line from the bottom to the top of the career ladder. Not so – in fact, many people fall off and climb back up several times in the course of their careers. There is no perfect picture of what the ‘top’ looks like. Compare where you started to where you are today and see how far you have come already. Enjoy your journey on the way up; don’t spend the time worried that it might not be as perfect as you’d hoped.

Read: 6 things hindering your success

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