What exactly is mindset? Why is it important to our personal development? These are important questions and I’d like to address it briefly in this article to do otherwise would result in a dissertation …
When I asked my youngest son “When I say mindset to you, what do you think of?” He replied without hesitation “Your attitude … I think.” He was right even with his “I think.” It is all about your attitude, beliefs, assumptions, and your view of the world. Why is this important?
Henry Ford once said “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you’re right either way.” This is a very profound and true statement. If you already believe you will fail, you never make an attempt to try. If you are afraid you will get hurt, you refuse to allow anyone to get close to you. If, on the other hand, you believe you will succeed at writing an article that will be widely read, you will. If you believe you will find your perfect partner, you will.
The key is to define what success means to you. For example, if your goal is to write three articles a month, success is writing three articles … triple bonus points if you get a fourth. If you want to attract your perfect partner, define exactly what you want in that person. For instance, start your list with “I want a partner that …” and think of as many positive attributes as you can.
Now this is where the mindset comes in .. if your mindset is “I’m terrible at writing, I’ll never make it, I just don’t have time, and so on, do you think you’d be successful? Do you have similar experience in another area of your life? If you focus on what you don’t want in a perfect partner, do you think you’ll attract your perfect partner? Probably not! Your so focused on what you don’t want, you haven’t defined what you do and you’ll miss that person when they do show up … and then leave.
Have you ever heard yourself saying things like …
- I’ll never find a job.
- I can’t do this (whatever this is).
- I’ll never find my soul mate.
- Who would hire me?
- I hate my body.
- I’ll never be successful.
What if you turned those around, with your mindset? Now it will take some work! It most definitely will if you’re used to thinking negatively. What if you focus on ONE thing and turn how you feel, think, and believe about it to the positive? For example, what if instead you said, I will find a job. Then take action to find a job. The key here is to NOT GIVE UP. Keep looking for A JOB and STOP the negative slide into doom and despair that you can’t find one. You will find one. Will it be your ideal job, perhaps, but the key is you found a job! Now write down all the things you want your job to be, believe a job with all those attributes is waiting for you and that you are traveling the road to get there now.
How is this different from the way you thought before? If you’re like most, this is a huge shift in thinking, believing, behaving, and may even be outside your comfort zone. BUT it’s okay! The key is to start shifting your mindset to the “I can do it.”
Believe and become the best version of yourself. I’m positive you can do it!
