The Power of Mindset
With the period of lockdown likely to be extended it is now even more important to work on your mindset to stay mentally and emotionally at your best. Your Mindset is related to your belief about you and your ability in life. It creates a whole mental world for you to live in. A Fixed mindset leaves you with the belief that ability cannot change, challenges are viewed negatively, always comparing, need to prove yourself constantly. However, a Growth (Positive) mindset is rooted in the belief ability can change (and grow), focusing on effort , appropriate risk taking and resilience. Obstacles are seen as opportunities to grow and learn.
The Benefits of Mindset
A positive mindset will help you to become more focused, organised and successful in achieving your goals. It will build your mental resilience to cope effectively with when things don't go as planned or out of your control. A Positive mindset can change your mood in an instant even on the worst of days and the more you practise it, the more it encourages you to adopt a growth mindset to continually grow and develop.
“If you always do what you have always done then you will always get what you have got.”
A positive mindset encourages you to create goals and plan the action necessary to achieve them. It develops your ability to respond proactively and bounce back when faced with setbacks. You will find there is an increase in motivation which in turn leads to success as consistent time and effort are applied.
There are a wealth of documented people throughout history who have proved testament to this:
Winston Churchill REPEATED a grade during elementary school, being told over and over again how inadequate he was when it came to intelligence. He was placed in the LOWEST division of the LOWEST class.
Beethoven’s teacher called him a HOPELESS composer and yet he wrote 5 of his greatest symphonies despite being DEAF.
Einstein's teacher said that he was ‘academically subnormal’...
Michael Jordan's coach said that he wasn’t more talented than other people… and Walt Disney was told that he lacked ‘creative imagination’. The list is goes on and on.... the one thing all of the people had in common was a positive mindset, a determination to hold onto the knowledge they could fulfil their dreams.
How To Build A Positive Mindset
*Be kind to yourself. Self talk is going on all the time in our minds, if it is negative it will harm our self image, self esteem and confidence.
*Focus on your successes and strengths, look for evidence of what you can do, there will be mountains of it.
*Smile – the more you smile the more your brain releases the happy hormone and so your sense of well being increases.
*Daily Affirmations and Visualisation – this trains the brain to focus on the things you want to achieve, the more you do this the easier it becomes.
GOALS*Have – without goals, how do you know what it is you are working towards
* Take time to think about your RESPONSES – How we react to events and people is always within our control. If you respond impulsively and emotionally you gave the power away and allow the possibility of a negative impact on you.
* Put in the EFFORT – Making sure you do the necessary work or take the required action is a given if you want to keep your mindeset strong and motivated
*Have a PLAN - set out your actions, weekly, monthly goals. Have some routine, regular exercise, I used the Miracle Morning (Savers) in the beginning, my routine has been tweaked a little to fit my lifestyle but it was a key tool in setting up a way to continually nourish a positive mindset.
*S – when you wake, spend a few minutes in silence and just allow your body and mind to wake in a calm and peaceful –To still your mind is to revitalize yourself
*A – begin your day with 3 things you are grateful for, 3 intentions and 3 positive statements about yourself, this will focus your mind on positive energy and connect you with your action for the day
*V - focus your mind and visualize on how your life looks when you have achieved your goals and dreams. Where do you live, who are the people that surround you. Picture as much detail as possible
*E – exercise is not only good physically for the body it is good for the mind and your mood. The brain releases chemicals that work together to make you feel ‘good’
*R – read, listen or watch something that will feed your mind body or soul. Question, if it isn’t going to impact in a positive way, you should question whether it is worthy of your valuable time
*S – scribbling notes or writing down about events and experiences that have happened and how you responded and the feelings and emotions that resulted.
Look Out For What Can Drain a Positive Mindset
Feeling overwhelmed is one of the biggest reasons people's mindset begins to falter and they begin on a destructive path of negative mindset. Try to organize your time, use the Pebbles in a jar analogy,(google it ) focus on what’s important (essential, desirable, nice)
Another biggie is Procrastination – are you a gunna? Always saying you are going to do something but then find ANY reason to not do it. Have you got half a dozen books started but unfinished, on line courses never even opened – Plan your action and do it, if you have invested time and money into purchasing the things then follow through.
Blaming others if you are not where you want to be? It is always someone else's fault or life just didn't give you the breaks, Right? No!!! Take responsibility for your life, does your activity match your effort and action, if not take time to do some inner work and find out what is behind your inaction. Is the 'I can’t do it' because: You don’t know how – do your research, find people who can and ask them, upskill, take a course.
You cannot bother – reconnect with your ‘why’ or your ‘WIIFY’(what's in it for you) and get motivated to take action.
You don’t want to, if it is not your goal then your mindset is always going to be fighting against it. If the task is not a deal breaker then don’t do it and focus on something you do want to do, if it’s a must do, the recommit to getting the job done so you can then focus on the things you do want to do.
Negativity – a negative thought if left unchecked can build into two, then three and so on. Negativity cannot grow without your participation and permission. Acknowledge negative thoughts but ensure you flip it with a positive and then let it go. If you want to feel happy, thinking happy thoughts, if you want to feel excited, think excited thoughts and so it is for every emotion and feeling.
Mindfulness and Mindset
Practising Mindfulness allows you to live in the moment, you are able to learn to not react to events but accept them and CHOOSE how to feel, rather than being GOVERNED by your emotions. Every event is a moment in time and it WILL pass, how you react to that moment will influence how you feel and behave. Accepting an event or incident as neither good or bad allows you to be in control of how you react, the more negatively to react the further down the negative road you will travel. If you choose to react positively you will feel empowered and in control of your life.
nIf you fall, the difference with a positive attitude is that you will fall forwards and then get back up to carry on. A short mindfulness meditation where you concentrate on slow and steady breathing for 30 seconds can often be all it needs to bring down any anxiety or negative thought. Keep your thoughts in check… take a moment to be aware of how you are feeling, if it’s negative, replace with positive and happy thoughts, visualise something, someone or somewhere that makes you smile, gives you a sense of joy or peace.
Quick Checklist for Maintaining a Positive Mindset
*Step out of your comfort zone and grow
*Visualise yourself leading the perfect life for you, imagine your goals are achieved, how do you feel, what does it look like?
*Look after your mind, body and spirit – they are all connected. Think about what you watch, read, eat , and how you treat your body physically.
*If you fail to plan you plan to fail – know your goals and the action you will take to achieve.
*Remove the negative, delete the words failure and fear from your vocabulary. Replace with the positive, focus on empowerment, growth and possibility.
*Have an attitude of gratitude, start your day with it and set your intentions, end your day with it as you review, your achievements, positive feelings, areas of growth and learning.
Believing is Achieving
You can be whatever you want to be… belief plus action make you unstoppable. Never give up, continually seek to learn and grow and without a doubt, you will succeed in achieving your goals and targets.
You are unique and here for a reason, make that reason count and become the best version of you possible living the life you were meant to live.
Recommendations
There are hundreds of Mindset courses out there but I can truly recommend this one. Rebecca Adams has been in the business for 17 years and she without doubt is the most dedicated person I have had the pleasure of working with. Her passion for empowering and supporting others in their self development is second to none.
http://racourses.thinkific.com/courses/mindset-challenge?ref=3744be
Useful Books
Mindfulness in Eight Weeks – Michael Chaskalson
The Mind Makeover – Sharron Lowe
Grit – Angela Duckworth
Your Best Year Yet – Jinny Ditzler
Three-Letter Words That Can Change Your Life – Glen Butler & Niall Lavery
Finally, I would like to leave you with a word of love and encouragement. If you are struggling, reach out to someone, talking is natures way of allowing clarity to resume in our life and a negative mindset clouds our vision leaving us feeling, alone, confused and without hope.
There is ALWAYS hope and you are never truly ALONE
Love and blessings always
Sherry