I am not much into politics these days. I have grown weary of the same old; the blaming and finger pointing and name calling. And the lying. It never stops. But that’s just me and I am not here to discuss politics or express favor to a particular party or candidate.

The controversial Donald Trump said many things in the Republican debate earlier this month. From reading the news and watching television, it is obvious that some think much of what he says are lies. As in any political debate, many brow raising comments were spit out. As a personal development coach, my ears heard three extremely valuable bits of advice that “The Donald” mentioned that can help you achieve higher levels of success. Love him or hate him, what he said is truth.

“I’ve never seen a successful person who wasn’t flexible, who didn’t have a certainly degree of flexibility. You have to have a certain degree of flexibility”. Every successful person I know and have ever worked with, including multi-millionaires, entrepreneurs and C-Level executives, has visibly demonstrated flexibility. They know their way is not always the best, that there is value in observing the way that others go about their tasks and tremendous opportunity for improvement in the borrowing and exchanging of ideas. They have the self-awareness to know what their weaknesses are and to understand that intentionally being flexible and open minded opens doors that otherwise would have remained out of view. To give an analogy—if you want to change your body, you have to change your workout and eating habits. The same applies here—if you want to find success on another level, than you have to think and do things differently. That is the asset known as flexibility.
“You have to be flexible because you learn”. Learning requires that you open yourself to seeing the world through a different lens. It demands that you give conflicting views a fair chance before making a decision. In some cases, it insists that you trust it even in the absence of definitive proof. When we learn, we grow and become better. If what you are doing is not working, then by being flexible you open yourself up to doing things another way and that might be just what you need to get unstuck and ascend to the next level. If you’ve ever known someone stubborn in their ways, someone who steadfastly refuses to change, then you know that person has not realized their authentic value or reached their full potential. That person has not expanded their mind to its fullest capacity. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice or counsel when you are unsure. Don’t be afraid to try something new. But remember to be flexible because it is integral to your success.
“If you’re going to be one way and you think it’s wrong, does that mean that for the rest of your life you have to go in the wrong direction because you don’t want to change”? I thought this line was fantastic. Democrat, Republican or something else on the political spectrum—you can find countless topics to argue and disagree about. This is not one of them. How many people carry around the weight of the labels from their past and define their worth based on it? We all carry baggage around from childhood, from the teasing we experienced in youth, the failed relationships, the disappointment experienced when a well- intentioned endeavor ends in a way other than what we envisioned, the harsh criticism received from a clueless boss. Or from countless other sources. Your past doesn’t hold weight—it doesn’t define who you are right now. It doesn’t define what you can become. People redefine themselves all the time. Every day. People change careers, or become parents, or they overcome addictions and achieve goals that were once distant dreams. All of these major life changes and successes are made possible due to flexibility. Just surviving in this world requires the ability to change. Change requires with flexibility.

Do yourself a favor, make yourself uncomfortable and be flexible to another view. Take to heart the words he spoke. Donald Trump might not be your choice for President. You may disagree with his style and his political stances and you might not even like the mention of his name. But no matter what the polls say, he is right-- you have to be flexible if you want to be successful and you do have the power to change directions if you are not satisfied with the direction you are headed in life.

I’m amazed to realize that we are already nearly one quarter of the way through the year. Research reveals something even more amazing — 36 percent of Americans who made a New Year’s Resolution have already given up on it. That number jumps to 54 percent in the next sixty days. Simply put- most people have the best of intentions but never achieve what they set out to achieve. Most people quit very early on, never giving their dreams a fair chance to become reality. That is very sad.

Do you want to be a part of that group? Do you want to be a statistic of unfulfilled aspirations? Do you want to look back with regret filled thoughts of “What if?” If you have not quit yet, keep going and use the following to help you achieve the things you truly want in life! If you have given up, do not beat yourself up. That only makes it worse. Instead, take action. Try something different. You can treat today as January 1st and renew your resolution and commitment to follow through. Can you think of one good reason why today is not a good day to start bettering yourself and creating the life you want? If you are one of the soon to be 54 percent of poor souls who have abandoned their resolutions, realize that you can get right back to it. Today. Right now.

Here are three tips to help you keep you on track:

1) Start small

Make one change at a time and increase the chances of success exponentially. When I am coaching using cognitive behavioral techniques, this is key to achieving success. For example, if someone wants to overcome a fear of flying, the first step of the approach to help them accomplish this is to first drive by the airport. That’s it. Step two is to watch planes take off and land. Step three is to go into the airport and just observe. The fourth step might be to take a walk through an airplane (if possible) or to watch videos of planes in all stages of flight. Doing this visualization exercise helps one “feel” what it is like to be on a plane. The final step is to get on a plane and take a short flight (and utilize breathing and calming techniques). But as you can see, this is intentionally done in small increments so conditions are primed for success.

2) Do not be hard on yourself

This one is important because people who have difficulty setting and achieving goals have a tendency to be hard on themselves. If you have a setback, remember it happens to everyone at some point. And your past is not an indicator of what you are capable of doing right here and now. Rather than feeling guilty, admit to yourself that you got off track and then utilize positive self -talk. Tell yourself that you have the ability to get right back on track IF you choose.

3) Get it on paper

This applies two-fold. It is always smart to write down your goals. Psychologists found that people who work at and make consistent progress towards goals live happier and more fulfilling lives than people who don’t. The additional benefit of writing it down manifests when you find yourself struggling. Simply writing down your past successes can help you regain confidence. Surely you have accomplished something meaningful—a solid relationship, a college education, a promotion at work, a compliment someone gave you after you helped them. Write it down and use it as fuel. You’ve been there already. You can do this!

The choice really is yours. You can choose to carry around the weight of disappointment and the knowing that you gave up. If you do, chances are you’ll start yet another resolution next year and repeat the process of stopping before mission accomplished. And this can happen year after year after year. Or you can choose to start again right now, knowing that even though you faltered a step or two, you did not fail because you have the courage and resourcefulness to get back on track whenever the moment is right for you.

No date on a calendar can dictate such powerful self-awareness. Working at it, not just wishing for it will get you there. Do this and you will accomplish what only eight percent of Americans accomplish — seeing your resolution through to the end. Now that is a group that you should want to be a part of!