I’ve heard this term so many times in the past and didn’t realize that I really didn’t have the right idea of what is was all about. I thought mindset was just positive or negative and you’re either a positive person or you’re not and mindset was some fluffy term to describe it. Well not only was my former definition of mindset way off; it also completely underestimated the power that our mindset has on our entire life, in every spectrum in the present and future.
First of all your mindset is not “set” at all; it changes based on situations and I’ve also come to learn you have all the power to change it yourself. Your mindset is going to determine how you react and feel emotionally about every situation in your day, it’s also going to attract more similar situations into your life. The exact same thing can occur in two different peoples lives but its their mindset that will determine how each one will react and feel towards it. How they react or feel towards this situation will then affect all other situations that day and all future situations of a similar nature until they shift their mindset.
Example: You apply for a job you really would love to have; you do all the research you need to do to prepare for the interview, practice sample questions, look up the companies mandate statement, you are ready. The interview goes great, but you don’t get the job.
Mindset 1: You’re really disappointment but thankful for the opportunity to have practiced your interview skills. You reflect on what you could change for the next interview. You consider the thought that although you loved the idea of working there, there must be something better out there waiting for you to find. You get to work at finding that new job.
Mindset 2: You’re really disappointment. You did your absolute best and it wasn’t good enough, so nothing you ever do will ever be good enough. You’re mad at the company, you’re mad at life. You feel like you’re always in situations like these. There’s no point in applying anywhere else, that was the only job you wanted and nothing else will compare and you don’t think you’d get anything else anyway. You’re mad for weeks, you’re sad, you haven’t looked for anything else yet.
I don’t think I need to tell you which example is the healthier mindset, but you can see how the same situation had completely different outcomes. Mindset 2 is stuck in their “Rebel Mind” in this example, but still has a chance now to get out of that spiral. It’s their choice to stay there, or to change their perspective on that situation and get back on track towards a healthier mindset and moving forward with their life and the original goal they set out to achieve at finding a new job.
The more you practice an intentional healthy mindset, the easier it will get and the more naturally your mind will go there as the first reaction for a situation. Its a practice and a conscious choice, I practice and am still always learning as well. To feel the most content with your life every day, your goal should be to show up as often as you can in the day from a state of alignment and a healthy mindset.
Little things matter too. How do you feel when someone says they will call you right back but don’t, when you find out someone makes more money than you do, when you stub your toe, when the sale ended yesterday, when you worked out all week but gained a pound. Maybe you have a healthy mindset about almost everything, but there’s one part of your life that’s feeling stuck. Take some time to really think about how you felt the last time any of these things happened to you, and consider some alternative thoughts around the situations.
Your mindset is also going to determine your outcome of a circumstance. If you don’t believe you are capable of achieving something, you won’t. If you don’t think you deserve to be rich, you won’t ever be rich. If you think you are going to fail at something so you don’t bother trying, you’ve already failed. If you have any limiting beliefs that you’re allowing to take charge of your mindset, you’re holding yourself back from something better.
Remember that everyone experiences a full range of feelings and emotions, feeling sad when something sad happens is human. The difference that mindset makes is being able to experience that emotion, let the feelings in and when you’re ready letting the feelings back out again. Not getting stuck with it and letting your Rebel Mind stay in control of your life or any piece of your life.
Little Things you can do everyday to shift your mindset
- The first one I just mentioned above, reflect
- Take a deep breath
- Practice gratitude
- Stay physically active
- Talk to a friend
If you want to take big steps into shifting your mindset and practicing with support, tools and techniques to help you do this, Life Coaching might be for you.
