Dictionary meanings:
A leading or primary principle, rule, law, or article, which serves as the groundwork of a system; an essential part.
Something (such as an idea, a principle, or a fact) that provides support for something.
Forming a necessary base or core; of central importance.
A central or primary rule or principle on which something is based.
The concept:
Every area of our life & work has some basic foundational principles on which the entire system works. It makes sense that if these fundamentals are ignored, any task or role that you undertake is going to fail; for sure.
The second mindset I want you to cultivate is "fundamental mindset" which is all about training your mind to form a habit to rock the fundamentals of any task that you undertake.
Achievement in anything is not made by doing something extraordinary or innovative but simply by performing the fundamentals again and again.
For example, if you want to be an engineer, you need to learn the fundamentals like which machine is used for a specific purpose? What are the basic mechanical properties of a machine, how to make a job on a machine, etc.
If you want to be a tailor, you need to have knowledge about various fabrics, you need to know how to cut and shape the cloth for perfect tailoring, how to stitch, etc.
If you want to be a writer, you need to improve your vocabulary, writing skills, grammar, etc.
Very simple, basic and obvious, right? But what about this..
Do you know the fundamentals of great parenting? I am not talking about what you learned from your previous generations, but about what actually are the basics written by the experts in the field?
Do you know how to manage your emotions? Again, not some tips but some rock solid foundational methods that actually work?
Do you know how to succeed for sure? Do you know how to become financially free? Do you know how to overcome depression? Do you know how to mend broken hearts? Do you know how to strengthen the bonds with your spouse? Do you know how to raise intelligent children? Do you know how to become a master at anything? Do you know how to solve daily life problems without any stress? Do you know how love works? Do you know how the opposite sex thinks?
What I am trying to say is that everything around us, every role we play, and every activity we engage ourselves in, every emotion & habit, every non-living creature, every single thing in this universe works on fundamentals.
We are too stupid to ignore the fundamentals. We don't even know the fundamentals of anything at first place. If we don't apply the basic fundamentals to the activities, roles and jobs that we perform how can we achieve great results? Can you solve a mathematical or financial problem without knowing the fundamentals? Not really, right?
Do you see how important it is to focus on the fundamentals? This is a mindset worth cultivating. THIS IS WHAT IS CALLED SMARTNESS.
How to develop a fundamental mindset?
You might have heard the quote "Think before you act" it projects all the significance.
To develop this mindset the only thing you need to do is learn, contemplate and research about the task before hand, make a model for it and then apply the basics over and over again till that task picks up the momentum of excellence.
And you might think "well, I am not that intellectual to create the foundational theories for myself on any topic" but don't worry about it, name me one successful person who has not written a book. That is just not possible; every master has already done the work for you. They have made it easy. You just need to search for their wisdom, act upon it again and again, forever and create the desired life without doing much philosophical and psychological work.
If you miss the fundamentals, your skyscraper of success will collapse in no time. Be aware of that! Follow the basic rules. Apply them in all the areas of life.
WARNING!
This mindset may sound overly simplistic and that's the reason why it gets ignored the most and so the majority of people are floating in the shallow sea of mediocrity. If you too take it casually I can guarantee that you too will be a mediocre. Don't do this mistake. What do you think of Warren Buffet & his ultra grand success through stock market? He applied the basics, over and over again.
This mindset too applies in every area of our lives as appealed by the questions I asked you.
Greatness is the result of the conscious application of fundamentals over and over again.
"Success lies in the masterful consistency of the fundamentals - Robin Sharma.