A good start to the New Year depends on you.

“Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.”

Dr. Benjamin Spock said that and he knew what he was talking about. Many times, failure results from the inability to make decisions and execute – whether they are difficult, tricky or seemingly simple – not from bad ideas or plans.

As a leader you’re not “inappropriately imposing your will” when you take charge, assign tasks, and hold fast to deadlines and budgets.  You are doing what you need to do to run your business.

We don’t suggest these 3 Lessons thinking that you have no level of mental toughness. You’re a business owner, so it’s no doubt that you have mental toughness. You may, however, have some areas of mental toughness that need further development.

If you’re shaky about trusting yourself, maybe you should consider adopting these 3 lessons on mental toughness.

Lesson One

Decide what you won’t think.

There’s an ancient proverb that states, “As you think, so you are.” Promoters of the positive thinking talk a lot about this. However, it is equally important (and easier for most of us) to identify our negative thoughts. Identifying them is the only way to avoid them. You should be in charge of your thoughts – no one else. Avoiding negativity is up to you. And negativity can undermine your mental toughness.

Lesson Two

Build mental momentum.

Your mental toughness can wane – especially when you’re stuck in a rut. To maintain your mental toughness you must get out of your rut.

This can be difficult – especially if you try to take on all of your goals at one time. Make rut-busting this easier by identifying small wins and achieving them.

Small wins should be part of your over-arching goals – not distractions. The best way to integrate small goal achievement into your goals is to establishing them along with your goals. They are simply subsets – or the stepping stones – to your over-arching goals.

A series of small wins feel awesome and build mental momentum. And they can make over-arching goals easier to accomplish and help your team to “feel” more successful that grinding toward a single substantial goal.

Small successes can be anything – from clearing out your Inbox to submitting a proposal to potential new client. It’s just important to do something.

Write down what you decide to do so you can check it off once it is accomplished. Your marked out checklist is symbolic for your confidence and promotes your mental toughness. Repeating this process builds momentum.

Momentum can help you during prosperity and move you forward through adversity. Intentionally creating momentum can empower you to focus on something beyond today and it can help you build confidence in yourself and your ability to develop mental toughness.

Lesson Three

Channel your role model.

You must have a role model. If no one comes to mind, think this through. Who do you admire? Who inspires you? Who do you look to when you’re seeking out an example of any type of behavior? Who’s business would you want yours to be like? It can be someone famous or someone in your immediate circle of friends, relatives and business contacts.

The people that you associate with these questions are great candidates to be your role model.

What basic values influence their decisions? Where are their beliefs anchored? What motivates them? What makes them who they are?

When you make decisions, consider what your role model would do.

Let’s summarize.

We don’t suggest these 3 Lessons thinking that you have no level of mental toughness. You’re owners of wildly diverse businesses like gyms, dance studios, swim schools, music schools, and childcare centers, so it’s no doubt that you have mental toughness. You may, however, have some areas of mental toughness that need further development.

These 3 Lessons seem very basic. So basic, in fact, that you can look at each one and quickly and easily apply them to yourself – to your situation. And that is the point. The 3 Lessons can provide a launching for you to improve your leadership skills and further develop your mental toughness, regardless of what level of mental toughness you feel that you have.