How Improving Your Mindset Can Change Your Entire Life
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Within the last year, I've become really inspired by many bloggers, YouTubers, and life coaches (Natalie Bacon is amazing). I especially loved topics regarding personal development, setting goals, and just doing things you love to do!
Every morning I start my day with gratitude journaling and listening to one of Natalie's podcasts and she instantly makes me so happy! It's the most enjoyable and satisfying way to start my day. One of the topics that Natalie discussed was improving your mindset (stick to the end I'm sharing her tips on improving mindset!). I was honestly so excited, motivated, and I felt like a changed person just learning about mindset, I can't even imagine how life-changing it'll be once I apply everything I have learned to my life.
What is Mindset?
Our mind is an incredibly powerful tool that has the ability to create our realities. Mindset is exactly what it sounds like, it's the setting of our minds. It holds what we believe to be true, helps us define our lives, and develops our futures. Our mindset is what guides our thoughts, actions, and responses to everyday situations and events.
Some believe that we are born with certain traits and characteristics and there isn't much we can do about it (fixed mindset). Others, on the other hand, believe that we have complete control and can change anytime we decided to (growth mindset). I bet you can guess which one I'm going to be talking about today...
Growth Mindset
I think the best part about our mindsets is that they are not fixed. We can decide to change right here, right now. Just think about that. You have the power to change the way you think, the power to accomplish things you never thought you could before. Natalie said, "our thoughts create our feelings, our feelings create actions, and those actions lead to results!" Once you understand how to take control of your mind, you can change the way you feel by changing your thoughts.
Every single day, you can continue to carry out current problematic thoughts and behaviors or you can step back and reflect. If you want to change your results and your future, you need to change your thoughts first.
If someone would have told me that I was going to actually start up a blog, I would have NOT believed you. I would've said "yeah right! I'm awkward and not confident enough to do something like that.." well, look at me now! I love sharing, writing, and I no longer carry such negative thoughts around my capabilities and the things that I CAN accomplish in life. I'm growing and enjoying every second of it. I plan on expanding my platform as well! Goals, goals, goals!
Having a growth mindset allows you to be apart of a more meaningful life because we choose to become better, and enjoy new exciting experiences. I'm so happy that I just decided to go for it. I know you will be too, so just start believing in yourself and never stop. You can accomplish anything you put your mind to.
Growth Mindset Doesn't Mean Always Happy
Before getting into the steps, I need to address that improving your mindset doesn't mean being happy 24/7. It means striving for things you were always scared or embarrassed to try. It's about believing in yourself and choosing to respond better to obstacles that you'll face. Bad things happen. It sucks, but it's true. However, learning how to react to situations with a better perspective, can lead to you being happier compared to reacting poorly. If we stopped trying to reach a goal because it got hard, we would never grow or accomplish anything in life.
I read this example earlier. Let's say you woke up late and missed your bus. Then, you scrambled to find an outfit and missed eating breakfast. Are you going to cuss all day, let it affect your mood and the way you act to others around you? Or are you going to learn from it and decide to go to bed earlier, make breakfast the night before, and place out your clothing before going to bed?
Another example. You've made a fitness goal this year, around week 2 you're feeling unmotivated, you aren't seeing results yet, and you convince yourself that "there is no point". This thought process is what kills your action. You can either believe that it isn't worth it, or you can tell yourself that you've gone this far and understand that results take time. If you stop now you'll be back where you were 2 weeks ago wanting to make a change, so just keep going.
“Whether you think you can or think you can’t — you’re right,”
Henry Ford.
Steps on Improving Your Mindset - From Natalie Bacon
1. Write for 15 minutes straight.
Let it out! Write out how you feel at this very moment, or tomorrow, or the next time you're feeling down. Learn more about yourself, your thought patterns, and see how those thoughts affect your mood and how they affect your actions.
2. Make a list of the emotions you consistently feel vs the emotions you want to consistently feel.
Compare your current feelings to the feelings you want to have. See the difference, and recognize the areas you want to improve on.
3. Create a list of the new beliefs you want that will satisfy those emotions.
Write all of your beliefs, goals, and views down. Whatever it is you write, you have to actually BELIEVE it. It could be career-related, money-related, or even about relationships. Practice these new beliefs every day!
4. Ask yourself one question every day that supports your thinking.
If you have a belief that you can become a successful blogger by the end of the month, ask yourself "how can I accomplish my goal?", "How will this belief and goal make me happier?". Always place your thoughts around your newly formed beliefs so that you stay on track and are consistently reminded of how to get where you want to be.
5. Create a vision board with images that inspire the beliefs you want to manifest in your life.
I have never actually created a physical vision board, but I do use Pinterest. This works as a reminder and a wonderful motivator, which I discuss in my blog post "10 ways to boost motivation".
6. Make a list of daily intentions.
After you've recognized where you want to be in life, and the thoughts aligned with that, it's essential to plan. Ensure you are keeping your focus on those thoughts every single day and turning them into actions. This will help you accomplish your goals to achieve the life you truly desire.
7. Ask yourself daily what you're thinking.
It takes time to change your beliefs. Our brains love living off patterns and habits, this includes the way we think. Compare it to creating habits in your life. It takes around 30 days and an actual commitment to developing habits, and so does improving mindsets. You can practice journaling to make sure you're still placing focus on your thoughts, till one day they become the new pattern your brain develops.
I haven't even fully grasped improving my mindset completely, I still have off days. Just last Saturday night I had an extremely off night and felt extremely alone. But, every step makes a difference.
Changing your mindset is definitely not an overnight task. Improving your mindset may appear scary and intimidating, especially when we start to remove ourselves from our comfort zones. But, by taking baby steps anyone who wants to create a growth mindset can.
If you love listening to podcasts, or reading blog posts check out Natalie. She is amazing! I hope I've influenced you guys to start pursuing anything you want in life and working on improving your mindset! Even those goals that you believe are impossible, start believing they are possible, and see what you can accomplish.
