MINDSET - 1st Key for LOVA
Words and thoughts are KEY in achieving or not achieving anything in life.
I LOVE this topic of mindset. Believe me! life is challenging, and I have had some periods intense life challenges in my lifetime . How you handle those times or anything you want to achieve in life, I strongly believe depends greatly on what goes on between your ears.
The dictionary definition of Mindset is “a fixed attitude, disposition, or mood”. I strongly believe the attitude you have has a direct impact on how you perceive things, how motivated you are and the outcome of reaching your goals and dreams. Before we dive in a little more I want to explain the two types of mindset.
First is a Fixed mindset. This is a limiting belief where an individual believes their talents and intelligence is static. This is where one feels “It is what it is” and they believe they won’t ever change. The other is a Growth mindset, this is a mindset of freedom. Where one has strong beliefs in that their talent and intelligence can be improved through learning and applying effort. This is what personal development is all about. Striving and working to feel better, move better, live better, achieving goals whether it physical like losing weight, gaining more energy, achieving a new PR in your workouts, eating healthier to reaching monetary goals like paying off debt, building a savings, making the income you want to make, take that art class, starting a new hobby etc. The possibilities are endless. Yet they are yours and yours alone to work towards and conquer.
By all means I am no professional expert on this topic. As I mentioned before I have had my share of life experiences from personal, professional and in business. I used several tools to help me deal and get through the tough times and to help me focus on achieving the goals I have set for myself.
The following I have used to keep my mindset on a positive focus. And these tools can be ways to help you reset your Mindset. Love that saying. Ok first one.
Read inspiring and uplifting stories and listen to personal development podcasts. There are a TON out there, spend some time, looking around and listening to find something that you can relate with as well stick to.
Here are some of my favorites
Three Feet From Gold – A Napoleon Hill inspired story. Its about not giving up. If you don’t have the book “Think and Grow Rich in your possession…I feel it is a MUST for anyone who is looking to build a business and take your personal journey to another level.
On Fire! By John O’Leary – This one I couldn’t put down. If you haven’t read it this is a story of a horrific accident turned into a success story starting from the age of 10. I’ll leave it right there as I don’t want to spoil it for you.
Podcast – I listen a many different ones raging from Pilates, Health and Mediations.
Level Up by Debbie O’Neil. She’s a go getter and you can feel her energy come through her voice. This helps be get motivated and work on my business.
Live Happy Now by the editors of Live Happy Magazine. I loved the magazine when it was in print. Now they have everything online. You can follow them on social and their podcast.
Affirmations. I LOVE affirmations.
They can be whatever resonates with you. sayings that hit you it the gut and rock you to your core! Words and phrases that help you move forward toward your goals, changes you want to make or what you want in life. "I’m Strong!" "I have a purpose to"…..fill in the blank. They don’t have to be perfect, but allow them to change on your journey. There are many books and resources out there to inspire you to write your own affirmations.
I have sticky notes at my desk, on my bathroom mirror. I also have pieces of art in my studio all with positive says and affirmations. I even have an app on my phone. I read them when I wake up in the morning. But you have to do more that just read them…Say them out loud! And With Belief!!!!
Vision Boards!!! Another favorite of mine. So simple to do and I believe they WORK!!!! Back in 2012 my husband and I created a vision board for our new house. We were living with his parents at the time to save money to find or build a home. We listed the main features we wanted in a home – walkout basement, at least 3 bed rooms and a three car garage. We had a sketch of a home that we wanted, and pictures of the kitchen. We had one of those thermometers diagrams to color in as our savings for a down payment grew. Along with a timeline which was our game plan to pay off debt. We had it displayed in our bedroom. A year and a half later we started building our home. The lot basically fell in our lap and we got it for steal. We moved and about a year living in the home I found the vision board in a box in the garage. The picture was almost exactly like our home except the garages faced a different direction. We had the walkout basement 4 bedrooms, 2 and half baths and the kitchen had everything on our check list. Stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, espresso 42” in cabinets. I tell you this all in detail because whether you have a vision board or you visualize in your mind, you have to be crystal clear in that vision and BELEIVE!!! With all you heart and soul! You deserve whatever comes into your life, especially with a strong vision, belief and work! Yes work….got to put in the work…more on that later.
I have a few more ….
Surround yourself with people who have a positive outlook and will lift you up. We’ve all heard the saying “You are a product of the people you hang around with” Many of us have experienced and probably watched it happen in others….good and bad. If you want to succeed in life say your business or career, show up where successful people hang out. It maybe a coffee shop, or one of those rent office places I see popping up here and there, networking groups just to name a few. Want to get back in shape…find workout buddies or find a place where you feel inspired to be consistent.
Expressing Gratitude to others and yourself – Saying Thank you and being grateful has an abundance of benefits to not only for your mind and health but the quality of life and the people in your life and those around you. This can and will be a future show in itself. Did you know that our emotions have a vibrating energy. Depending on the emotion, sad, worry, acceptance, love are all energies and each one vibrates at a different frequency. Gratitude is a high vibrating energy its up there with love. Be grateful for the body you live in. It gets you to point A to point B. It allows you to experience many things. Say thank you to those who support you in your life and in any endeavors you have. There are very simple ways to share gratitude Thank the kid that bagged your groceries, the person who holds the door open for you. To your friend or spouse who brings home dinner. Send gratitude notes to others who have touched your life in a special unique way. These are few ways to express gratitude. Nothing warms my heart than writing thank you notes…well I kinda like shopping for them I love picking out ones with nice artwork. Anyway I enjoy handing writing notes and finding cool stamps and popping them in my mailbox. Then knowing someone special in my life is going to find a little joy next time they get their mail. I LOVE my clients they have entrusted me to help them feel better in their bodies. I thank them all the time and I send a card or a special gift for their birthday or just to express my gratitude for being part of my business and my life.
Meditate – This also has many health benefits. And I will admit it is a challenging one for me to do. Well unless I'm on the beach and can just tune into the sound of the waves while enjoying the warm sunshine on my skin. Easy to tune out life and the world with sandy beach and a palm tree or two. Reducing stress, anxiety, can help improve sleep and help alleviate pain are some of the scientific findings of a meditation practice. The practice of meditation can be really simple as listening to your breath for two minutes or light a candle and watch the flame all the while blocking out anything that tries to enter your mind. There are many meditating videos and podcasts out there. One of my favorites is Tracks to Relax.
Ok on to the last one….
Journaling – I have quite a few journals. A Gratitude journal, a vision journal with pictures that I have on my vision board. I also have a brainstorming/planning journal where are write down ideas that come to mind then I map out my plans. I write in these journals every day. Journals are a great way to get your feelings out. At times during my 12 years dealing with an unstable individual in family court. I would sit down and write a letter to him or the attorney or the judge. I’d let it rip…I would get out everything I wanted to say. My verbiage was very detailed and pretty explicit but for me it was an outlet to release what I felt because there was not other option. Journals can not only get you on a path toward what you want to achieve but they can greatly help you release the negative feelings you have inside when going through a challenging or tough time. There’s a book I have that was recommended to me by a mentor of mine. Journalution by Sandy Grason. I have provided link below this post. It’s a great resource.
My goal for you today was to share some tools for you to use to reset your mindset. I believe without the right mindset accomplishing anything in life will be more of an uphill battle. Doable but you may find yourself dealing with more road blocks than necessary. Lastly, there are a couple of links to quiz yourself to help you determine what type of mindset you have. Along with some resources that I have used to do research on the topic.
Quizes & tests
https://www.mindsethealth.com/matter/growth-vs-fixed-mindset.
Fixed Mindset Vs. Growth Mindset Quiz | Big Life Journal
Resources
What Mindset Is and Why It Matters (verywellmind.com)
The Importance of Mindset | SkillsYouNeed
** Sandy Grason's Journalution **
I would love to hear more about you, and your thoughts, your goals. Share what's on your mind in the comments below. Be sure to sign up to be notified of future posts.