Mindset 101
The connection between your thoughts, beliefs, and actions is well documented and extremely powerful. Many people walk through life believing that their lack of success is due to their abilities or luck, but in reality, the most powerful predictor of your success is actually your mindset.
What is Mindset?
The term mindset simply refers to your overall disposition, or how you think about yourself and the world. For example, do you believe that life is what is happening TO YOU, that most things in life are beyond your control and therefore not really your responsibility? Or, do you believe that life is what you make it, so your extra effort is essential to your success?
Your mindset is based upon your beliefs and attitudes, and it guides all your behaviors in life. It informs how you think about yourself, how you treat and react to others, and how you respond to all the variables that come your way in life. Your mindset determines how you make sense of the world, how you think about yourself, and your ability to deal with all the positive and negative aspects of your life.
How Do I Change My Mindset?
Your mindset is something you learn
over time. You started to develop your mindset as a child, and it has continued
to evolve as you age. Mindset is the result of practice, behaving in certain
ways, and solidifying neural pathways in your brain. The good news is, it is
never too late to learn to change your mindset.
The first step is to recognize your current mindset and how it influences your
behavior. Start noticing your thoughts in response to others and to life’s
circumstances. How do you talk to yourself? What is your automatic response
when something negative occurs? What is your general attitude most days?
Becoming aware of your mindset can help you see where you need to make changes.
The next step is to be conscious of your behavior. The old adage “fake it until
you make it” has some credence when trying on a new mindset. Want to be more
positive? Start actively more positively in various situations. Want to embrace
risk? Start by taking small risks regularly. By adopting these behaviors
consciously, you can become aware of how they make you feel and the various
outcomes from acting in these new ways.
Stick with it. Changing behaviors is hard, and changing attitudes is even more
challenging. You need to make a focused effort every day to change your mindset
and embrace the new ways of thinking. Be sure you are clear with yourself about
why you are choosing to adopt a new mindset, as knowing the “why” behind your
transformation will keep you motivated and focused on your goal.
Start by changing small things, then build up to making more significant
differences in your behavior and attitude. Through small, incremental change,
you can achieve real transformation. Know that each day you are working on your
new mindset is one step closer to your new way of thinking.
Changing your mindset is important if your current way of thinking is holding
you back from achieving your dreams. Not everyone needs to change their
attitude fully. You may just need to modify a few key areas.
Knowing yourself and your current mindset will
be crucial, as is having regular check-ins with yourself to evaluate your
progress. Be patient, as changing your ways of thinking about the world will
take time. But know you are doing it for the right reasons, which will lead to
you becoming the best person you can possibly be.