When you're faced with a challenging situation, how would you describe it? A battle or an adventure? How you answer that question may tell you a little bit about your mindset
Welcome to the fifth and final installment of a multi-part blog series on helping you recognize what might be keeping you stuck and small steps to get you moving forward again.
Sometimes all it takes is one little nudge to get you back on track.
The focus for this final blogpost in the series is on the role that your MINDSET can play in keeping you stuck.
Optimistic? Pessimistic? Realistic? It matters.
Mindset. The word itself suggests that our minds are set, and yet this is not true. Our mindset is a compilation of all of our experiences up until this very moment in time and truthfully, our mindset is not exactly our own. What do I mean by this? As we move through our lives, we are influenced by so many opinions and examples of how others view their world. Not only that, we are also influenced by others attitudes and the way they experience "their" world. It starts at home, and then as we enter other environments, school, work etc. we are exposed to others' sometimes strong viewpoints... the lines can get fuzzy. Whose thought is this anyway? Is this really how I want to view my world? It takes discipline to decide that how you have been looking at the world to date – glass half full – glass half empty – or completely refillable - is a choice.
Choice. This is the first hurdle to overcome. Why is it a hurdle? Because if you decided a long time ago that "this is who I am and this is just how I think” it can be a bit of a shock to realize that you do, in fact, have a choice about how you look at things. Bottom line…you CAN change.
It’s a moment-to-moment thing. Noticing when you're going down your usual path of negative thinking, doom and gloom. Initially, this noticing probably won't happen in the moment. Maybe it's not until the next day when you realize that you could have responded differently to a situation. That’s a start. Noticing. Asking yourself, how else could I look at this? Not in the everything is sunshine and puppies way, but rather in a way that promotes resiliency and optimism.
How else could I look at this? Eventually you will find yourself noticing in the moment, and that's where the opportunity to really change your outlook gets real. Noticing and course correcting.
I can pretty much guarantee that this is a game changer. People will enjoy being around you more, you’ll enjoy being around you more!
So let's get to it....
Are you willing to try this out? If so...
Your challenge for the next week…
The next time you find yourself going down your usual path of negative thoughts.. ask yourself:
How else could I look at this?
Each and every time. It's simple, but not easy.
Let it become a practice and you WILL notice a change in yourself.
Thank you for coming along on this journey with me! I truly hope that you have found a "nugget or two" to provoke your thinking and perhaps most importantly, to move you forward when you're feeling stuck.
If you're ready to get unstuck and shift your mindset please Contact me for a zero obligation chat. It's always good to hear from you!
Stay safe and well.
Warmly,
Ann