Why should you change your mindset?
At the end of the day the real reason you may want to change your mindset is to unlock your full potential. As they say… same old thoughts, same old results. If you’re reading this it might be because you are seeking some new results in life.
No matter how disciplined, no matter how lucky or motivated you may be, your mindset is going to be the main focusing lens on the road to your journey.
So come along for the ride, and let’s observe a few common situations which may necessitate a change in your views.
#1 You’re Procrastinating
It’s as common as it is hard to defeat.
Procrastination can be the single biggest killer of ideas and projects anyone can ever know. It can lead to fear and overwhelm if not addressed in a timely manor.
This is why it is important to have the right mindset, specific to you, which can
help you to deal with distractions. Yes, sometimes this means you need to change your mindset as hard as this can be at times.
One way you can improve your perspective, for example, is by allowing yourself small breaks in between work.
These not only stop your curious brain from thinking “ooh, but I wonder if anyone commented and liked my posts,” but it is also generally very healthy to rest your eyes from a computer screen.
Another critical point is that the last thing you should do is beat yourself up about succumbing to procrastination once in a while.
It’s a perfectly normal thing to do, especially if you’re working on a personal project and aren’t on a strict schedule.
The goal is to have a healthy outlook on it and recognize it’s going to creep in here and there, that that’s a-ok, and keep it to a minimum, rather than getting angry it’s even there in the first place.
Also, sometimes procrastination is a great red flag. If you catch yourself procrastinating, explore why. See if there is anything you notice. Sometimes it is telling you this project, job, hobby, or relationship are not right for you. Be aware of the why behind the procrastination if you can and this may help you change your mindset around procrastination.
#2 You’re Always Negative
This seems like a big one, or a common one, that we often quickly look at when we think about when we or others think we need to change. Change your mindset by being less negative seems easy, but is it? Really?
Stories and famous Hollywood productions would have us believe in the tales of misunderstood geniuses, authors, and songwriters sour at the feebleminded people they have to work with.
This is a flat-out lie and you should change your mindset if you believe this.
The truth of the matter is, no matter how talented you may be, no one can father a big project on their own, much less be appreciated when they’re smug and dismissive to their team members or their audience.
In order to truly realize how much even great people of the industry have to utilize the help of others, think of the rockstar as a good example.
Yes, we all know Bon Jovi, hair flailing on the stage, powerful booming voice echoing through our speakers.
But he has a band, a bassist, a drummer, a producer, tour managers, and makeup artists not to mention a skilled photographer who is able to capture genius, and energy, and beauty, and frontman solitude in a moment. He’s definitely no one-man show though. As they say it is teamwork that makes the dream work.
A positive mindset might seem like just a plus, but one which isn’t totally necessary, but that just isn’t the case. Trust me on this, I’ve gone it mostly alone for the last 24 years being a self-employed business owner. For the last decade I’ve been trying to build community, culture, and a team as well as doubling down on mindset for nearly 2 decades.
If you change your mindset, you might be surprised at how it changes your life. I know my mindset is so different than it was a decade ago. It is much more positive than it used to be.
#3 You Neglect Self-Care
As I previously stated, breaks aren’t just a luxury for those who have help with their work.
Self-care is the number one defense against burnout and should therefore naturally be a priority right after that main job itself.
No, it is not a sign of weakness or laziness as some might think, when different from
procrastination, it’s simply a sign of a well-planned schedule.
To be honest… this is probably the biggest issue that lead me to burnout and 2 dark years of depression. Over the last decade, learning and practicing self-care has been pretty much my number 1 priority over almost everything else.
So much so, that once I found solutions that worked for me I felt obligated to help make an easier path for other to find these solutions including my first course which I titled the SELFCARE Mindfulness course. Notice the all-caps in that title and logo. THAT was intentional.
Honestly, I am NOT just trying to sell a course here, I am trying to sell an idea, a mindset, and a lifestyle where you take care of yourself often not just by the societal standards of just exercise and nutrition but by starting with mindset because the wrong mindset will wreck everything else.
And in pure honesty, I do also share the movement and proper diet as part of the bigger picture, but mindset is the core of what I am trying to use as the influence to flip societal status quo ideas on their ear.
As a matter of fact, the membership community and learning environment I created for self-mastery and titled the Change Maker’s Academy is where I try to bring a wholistic approach to round out the mindset and self-care stuff.
I am hoping it’ll help you find tools to meet you where you are but offer a diverse set of tools to help you reprogram a negative mindset.
#4 You Have No Clear Goals
A great indicator of inner fear and an unclear plan for the future are non-specific goals or milestones.
What causes these is the subconscious fear of failure and our need to cope with it.
If, for example, you have a goal of “workout more this year,” you can be 2 pounds lighter by the end of the year and still “technically” have achieved it, even if that doesn’t really satisfy you on a deeper level.
In some recent research I was surprised to find out there is some evidence that says if you share your goals publicly then the excitement of telling others and the boost you get in pride from doing so my actually keep you from working hard enough to accomplish your goals.
Here is a short video where I share some of the research as I am seeking to dig deeper on life and how to live it best.
For years I’ve been told that by sharing goals you are more likely to accomplish your goals. So… which is true? I am not 100% certain as I have done both and failed at both and succeeded with both so I am still working on WHY one might work better and one might fail.
One thing I know for sure is that I believe in my core that goals are important.
We’ve all probably heard of SMART Goals, right? Here is a business article I wrote discussing SMART Goals about 5 years ago if you want a different perspective and how this might apply to your personal life and how this could help you change your mindset see things from a different perspective.
If not it is said that we need to set SMART Goals to better reach our goal outcomes. So a SMART Goal needs to be Specific. Not just “Work Out More This Year”, but maybe ride my bike at least 2 miles each ride and I will ride at lest 3 times a week. That is much more specific, right?
Next it has to be Measurable. That is why I dropped “more” and said 3 rides a week for 2 miles each ride. I can measure that, right? It has to be Achievable. One day I might be able to dunk a basketball, but I truly doubt it is possible and so I focus on more achievable goals that I can realistically hit – riding 2 miles on a ride for example.
Then it must be Relevant. For me riding my bike is fun and so it makes the exercise benefits easier to stick with. Riding gets me active and in a mostly sedentary lifestyle of the last 20 years, this is easy for me to do because it is fun, but it meets my wanting to also add exercise to my weekly routine. So it is relevant for me.
Lastly, is it Time-Bound? So, riding is timely for me because I got a new bike and cleaned out the garage to make accessing the bike more accessible to do on a regular basis as well as I have been in the mindset to find a decent exercise program that I could stick with.
Slowly this is helping me hit my long-term goal of losing a certain amount of weight by the end of this year. I am not going to share it just in case that truly does keep us from missing our goals. ha!
If we know about SMART Goals, why do we often fall back on weaker non-SAMRT Goals or no goals at all? We do this so that if we fail to meet our expectations, we can shift the goalpost, so to speak.
Take “I will lose 11 pounds by the end of the month” for a modified example, however, and you can see a much more structured, attainable, clear, and yes, scary goal.
But we mist remember, vague tasks aren’t really a saving grace, a solution to that fear, because it will only become apparent that you have failed them when it’s too late.
Final Thoughts
As you read this article, ask yourself if there are any areas of your life in which you need to change your mindset.
Are you holding yourself back from achieving success? Are you stuck in a negative spiral that’s preventing you from growing? If so, it might be time for a mindset overhaul.
The good news is that once you become aware of the signs that it is time for a change, the process of making those changes becomes much easier.
Do you have any questions on the matter? Comment below!
Another thing I should share as I wind this one up is that sometimes we don’t even know what we don’t know so to speak. Sometimes it is hard to change your mindset. Sometimes these issues are deeper than we realize and we do not know the roots of the above issues or others we maybe running into.
This is why recently I have been exploring Limiting Beliefs. Sometimes we do not make the connections to beliefs we have and other seemingly non-connected behaviors. In 2010 I was introduced to the idea of self-limiting beliefs and I was amazed once we are aware of them it becames much easier changing your mindset.
Honestly, this can be life changing.
If you are interested, I offer a free Limiting Beliefs Assessment Test that takes a few minutes and helps us see some beliefs we have that very well could be the root or partial root to the mindset that might be holding us back.
This might be just another easy way to flush out areas hindering a stable and healthy mindset. Click the image below for more details.