Anxiety, the thief of mental peace
And what about the feelings that this state suggests to you? Have you found yourself thinking and projecting something that is just about to happen but doesn’t depend on you to change the course of its direction? Have you realized that you can lose focus on the present because your mind is projecting a future that does not happen yet? Quite often, being anxious is an unconscious state, but if we become aware of how much energy we spend on this state of being, we can re-directed our attention for what really matters: the present. And aware of this present, where everything happens, we can control our attention to performing what really depends on us to achieve the desired goal. The process isn’t simple, but it is possible, and this is the challenge that Coaching intends to support you to overcome. If we do not have control over our thoughts, our mind can bring us to a state of restlessness where we don’t explore most of our potentialities. To address your attention for what is really important to you is one of the benefits of a coaching relationship. Furthermore, Coaching offers you a space to grow and to reflect on your priorities. By ourselves is quite hard to separate enough time to translate all of our dreams and aspirations into practical action, even because while we don’t express those thoughts, they are just ideas in our minds. To understand more about this phenomenon of self-realization, we need to talk, verbalize and share those ideas to allow them to become real possibilities. Therefore, this professional interaction will help you organize your ideas, considering your reality and available resources, to create an action plan that will inspire you to create a positive attitude towards your goals. Finally, you will realize that the same energy you spent being anxious you can now spend being productive. Cognitive Behavior Approach to Recognizing Destructive Patterns I want to borrow from the cognitive-behavioral classification of negative thought/emotional patterns because these categories are easily recognizable in both anxiety and depression. Recognition of your habitual patterns is a key factor in learning how to face anxiety and depression consciously. These habitual reactions and thought patterns include: Polarized Thinking all-or-nothing thinking: viewing the world in absolute, black-and-white terms often associated terrible childhoods, e.g., unloving or otherwise abusive parents Filtering disqualifying the positive: rejecting positive experiences by insisting they “don’t count” for some reason often associated with negative mothers Automatic negative reactions having habitual, scolding thoughts parents who constantly scolded or judged Catastrophizing magnifying or minimizing the importance of an event: making a bigger deal about a specific event or moment repeated exposure to disappointment by a trusted caregiver Over-generalization drawing overly broad conclusions from a single event Personalization taking things too personally or feeling actions are specifically directed at you Jumping to conclusions immediately judging a situation without reflection Control fallacies external control fallacy: we are helpless victims (I can’t help it! syndrome) internal control fallacy: we are responsible for how others feel (did I do something wrong? syndrome) childhood and family relationship issues Fairness fallacies judging everything in terms of fairness childhood and family relationship issues Blaming holding others responsible for how we feel about ourselves never feeling loved by primary caregivers Shoulds imposing our particular rules on others terrible injustices suffered as a child Emotional Reasoning buying into what you feel about reality when it may not be the truth about reality: I feel stupid, so I am stupid. They didn’t invite me because they hate me. lack of development in the thinking function Global Labeling generalizing a few qualities into a global, hyper-emotionally charged negative judgment: someone you don’t like is automatically a jerk Always being right striving to prove you are right/getting the last word Reward/Punishment expecting sacrifice and denial to payoff or scorekeeping unresolved religious conflicts Shift That Anxiety It has become prevalent for women to suffer from an anxiety disorder at some point in their life. Sometimes it can be situational: your husband loses his job, you get downsized, your child goes off to college, or your real estate business has been affected by the economic crisis. Some women suffer from panic attacks that are unprovoked and occur for no particular reason. Other women have generalized anxiety because of their mindset. They see the glass as half empty, or they are waiting for the other shoe to fall. Are you the type of person who lets fears and anxieties permeate your existence? Maybe your life is going well, but you worry too much to be able to enjoy it. Perhaps your past keeps you from living in the moment and enjoying the here and now. Regardless of the type of anxiety that you might suffer from….you can utilize some skills that will assist you in managing it. How do you reduce it? Well, you may not know this, but it is impossible to have 2 simultaneous thoughts at the same time. Therefore you can learn to shift your anxiety with an alternative and balanced thought, greatly reducing it. I worked with a young mother who feared for her daughter’s health. She constantly fretted that her daughter would become ill because she was exposed to other children’s germs. She created a more realistic thought that reminded her that the germs would strengthen her immune system. This greatly reduced the anxiety. These next 7 mindset shifts will give you an understanding that even though life isn’t always fair, it doesn’t mean that you can’t still be happy. 1. Accept That Life is a Challenge I’m going, being honest…life is challenging — being an adult is far from being easy. This is a fact that we have to face our reality and learn how to adjust to it. Once I started to really (REALLY) comprehend and accept this reality, my anxiety triggers diminished. Before, I used to ask myself “why” all the time. “Why” is this happening to me? “Why” can’t things be different? “Why” does life
Healing Your Past With Meditation
We all know it is not possible to roll back time or undo or change bad decisions we made in the past, however using meditation we can change the way we feel about the bad decisions we made in the past so that they will stop tormenting us here in the present. We all carry a lot of baggage from the past, such things as maybe a broken heart, hurt feelings, or bad memories of friends or loved ones that have lied, cheated, or betrayed us, events that may have brought us pain, or we may torment ourselves over opportunities we may have missed out on or even wrong choices we made in our lives. We absolutely cannot allow ourselves to let things in the past we cannot change take over our present lives. Meditation is simply collecting our thoughts in a relaxing atmosphere. If you take the time to learn how to heal your past it will enable you to be happy in the present. You may ask how can you heal the past? You can look at past situations you cannot change in brighter light with a new understanding of the events in the past that have hurt you. When you are by yourself in a quiet place start your meditation. Think about how whatever may have happened to you in the past may even be a benefit to you. You know how bad you felt when something or somebody said or did something to you that you felt that you had no purpose in life or was not good enough to associate with others. Meditating about how those things in the past made you feel helps you to understand how others who are now in the same situation you were in then feel about themselves. You know how they feel so you maybe can tell them your experience back then and how you turned it around and made a life for yourself. So many of us just need someone to take the time to just say hello or a nice day isn’t it? Just a kind word to someone who has had a bad day can make all the difference in the world. My dear sweet mother told me all the time that you can kill more flies with honey. Meditation can make you feel so much more positive and give you a different outlook on life in general, it is something very positive you can do to help yourself. What she meant was if you have been around someone that wasn’t pleasant or had a bad attitude don’t act like that person does, instead just turn the other cheek and it may rub off on the person who has a bad attitude. Meditation could be the key to this happening. So you see meditation can be used to turn bad situations into something good or even good situations into something great. Shining the light of the new understanding of those events that happened in the past will help you have a feeling of acceptance, peace, and happiness. Manifest in the Midwest
How Meditation Can Help Creativity
How do you encourage creativity? The unfortunate irony is that the more you try to ‘force’ your creativity, the less likely it is to come. The less likely you are to have that aha moment. The reason for this is that when we try and force anything, we become stressed – physiologically aroused. We produce more adrenaline, cortisol, and other stress hormones. And as such, we narrow our focus onto the thing we think is most pressing. Creativity, on the other hand, happens when we are relaxed. This in turn allows the mind to wander – to explore different memories and knowledge and to make unique connections out of those disparate topics. They say that all new ideas are just recombinations of old ones! A 2000 study from Slovenia shows that ‘coherence’ in the brain is critical for creativity – that means disparate brain areas working in unison. Meditation can help greatly in encouraging this then. When you meditate, you will be able to encourage a state of calm, that will allow you to access novel ideas and connections. What’s more, is that you can use specific types of meditation in order to encourage this. One example is Cal Newport’s ‘Productive Meditation’. This is a form of meditation where – rather than completely empty your mind – you focus on a particular problem or creative pursuit and then try to come to a solution. When was the last time you just sat and thought about something that was important to you? When you do this, you will be able to actually practice using the parts of the brain we use for imagination and creative thinking. These include the ‘default mode network’. This is the network of brain regions that fire when we are not engaged with a task. Interestingly, studies seem to show that we need to utilize a combination of both the default mode network and the executive control network in order to come up with useful ideas. In other words, free-flowing nonsense that occurs when you’re falling asleep or drunk is not useful. But ‘mulling a topic over on the other hand can be extremely useful. So, the next time you have a challenge, or you want to come up with a creative solution to a problem – take a moment out and ‘think on it’. Meditate on the subject, then let your mind just wander. A creative solution may just come to you. Manifest in the Midwest
Benefits of Meditation for the Wellness of Ourselves
Meditation, an exercise recommended for everyone, but especially those with hectic, stressful lifestyles, is defined as an engagement in contemplation, especially of a spiritual or devotional nature. Meditation has been shown to relieve stress and promote overall good health, by simply reflecting upon our day, and finding happiness within ourselves. This and other mind exercises help us to keep our minds fit and functioning at top performance levels. But up until the last twenty years, meditation was something the western world knew little about. Is it necessary for our health? Or have we just come up with a new fad, to fill up the empty hours of our day? Our mind has varying levels of operation, known as brainwaves. As we pass through the different stages of our day, we enter various stages of brain wave activity. The brain uses this tool as one way to allow us time to rest our busy mind, and cope with all the pieces of information we’ve received, a way to kind of “mind file” for the day. Modern alternative medicine and holistic healers believe in the power of the energy that flows through our bodies; this energy radiates from our minds as well. It is believed to be the chief form of transportation for our body’s nervous system to carry out communication. Breathing techniques, music, aromas, and candle therapy are all ways we utilize the opportunities to reflect on our day, allow our mind to rest, and replenish itself for further use. But are these methods keeping us mentally fit? Yes, it does help to keep us mentally fit. The great benefit in meditation, however, is the mind’s ability to transform itself into a vehicle for higher awareness. Meditation is a way for us to become aware of the fact that there is more to our being than just our physical activity. We have so much more potential locked away in our mind, resources that we never tap into until we have the chance to quiet the mind, quiet our surroundings and open the door to the possibilities we don’t examine on a day-to-day basis. In our meditative state, thoughts that never have the opportunity to be heard during the bustle of the day are afforded the opportunity to come forward and be heard. Every step that we take is a step in some direction for our life. The opportunity to set our own destiny, develop our manifestation of what we believe our life should be, is the opportunity meditation provides. Every action we’ve ever taken started as a thought. The thought was then brought into reality by our action on that thought. So are we able to produce new thoughts and new possibilities, in this time of quiet reflection? It is in these small moments of creativity and higher conscious operation that our mind heals itself from the stresses of everyday activities and maintains a real level of healthy operation. Our mind is like our body, we don’t have to look unhealthy to be unhealthy, and sooner or later, the illnesses show.
Meditation For Minds That Never Slow
I ask my oldest son all the time (when he is quiet, & he is quiet a lot of the time) “What are you thinking honey?” and he always says, “nothing”. Which prompts me to say “Like nothing? You aren’t having any thoughts?” With the normal response being “No, not really.” So, this blog isn’t for people like my son, Shaderek who is apparently meditating all the time. This blog is for that person who: a. always has something on their mind, b. who’s mind rapidly changes focus, c. for someone who gets started on one thing which triggers another thing and another d. and sometimes can feel overwhelmed by all of the things they have to do and just can’t seem to get everything (and sometimes anything done). NOW FAR WARNING: I am not a guru! I am not a yogi, and I don’t have all the answers to meditation. I am also the kind of person when told to “focus on my breathing”, I feel like I can’t breathe or just can’t catch my breath. So here is one technique that has helped me a great deal. This mediation is perfect for the person who has tried traditional meditation (focused breathing, quiet, eyes shut, sitting or lying down) and HATES it. Step 1. Head to a window with a nice view (no I am not going to tell you to jump out of it) and focus on something outside that attracts your attention. (You can do this outside as well but I find from indoors the environment is more controlled and less likely to pull your focus away.) Step 2. For a count of four (4) breathe in through your nose. Now the key to this is, the four (4) count is at your own pace. It could be 1234, or 1 2 3 4, or 1&2&3&4 whatever you feel most comfortable with. Step 3. For a count of four (4) exhale through your mouth. And again the key is to let this happen with a cadence that feels comfortable. Step 4. Speak 1 phrase about something in your day that is positive. Examples: “Lovely snow is falling outside and making the trees look beautiful.” “I get to drive my car with the music blaring on my way to work.” “I am excited about the meal I will be cooking tonight when I get home.” Most of these examples could have a negative response to them such as: Examples: “God it’s snowing again”, “uhhhh I have to go to work today”, “I have no idea what I am going to make for dinner”. With this exercise, we are trying to find something about the day and its tasks we can be positive about. Now the key is not “faking until you make it”, the key is trying to focus on an aspect of the task that you can feel gratitude in or happy about. We aren’t trying to lie to ourselves by saying: Examples: I love snow. It’s the best. I love going to work. I love cooking it is my favorite thing. if they (the statements above) are untrue. Step 5: Repeat steps two through 4 (2-4) for a minimum of 10 times, or up to 15 minutes. Meditation works differently for everyone, but the benefits are great. It helps you focus, it lifts your vibration, it helps you problem solve, and it puts you in a better state to handle stress. I’d love for you to try this technique out for a week or so and then get back to me with your results. Manifest in the Midwest
Growth Mindset: Discussion Questions
A growth mindset perspective can be used when interacting with peers, family or friends, even colleagues. Everyone may have times when they get in the way of their own success and become their own worst enemy. When they can change their mindset, they can unlock a whole new world that stops the block that keeps their thinking trapped. A growth mindset is one way that fosters positive development and healthy forward-thinking and refers to how an individual responds to challenges and setbacks. It takes more than motivation or resilience to face challenges in today’s society. A growth mindset can have a multitude of benefits that will increase intelligence. Unlike a fixed mindset, a growth mindset needs to be nurtured and developed to thrive. Educators and parents have a unique opportunity to encourage growth by helping youngsters develop a growth mindset. Today’s blog will provide you with discussion questions you can ask youngsters daily to encourage them to embrace the growth mindset process. How did your parents and/or teachers praise you as you were growing up? Did they tell you how “smart” you were, or did they focus on how hard you worked? How do you praise others? Is there someone in your life (a parent, teacher, friend, boss) with a fixed mindset – someone who won’t take risks, who can’t admit mistakes, who falls apart or gets defensive after setbacks? Do you understand that person better now? How do you act toward others in your classes, your dorms, etc.? Are you a fixed-mindset student, focused on being smarter than others? Or, do you take advantage of the learning opportunities available to you through your peers? Was there a difficult transition in your life where you fell into a fixed mindset and lost confidence in your abilities? Describe it. When do you feel smart? When you’re doing something flawlessly or when you’re learning something new? Grow Your Mindset: How can you make striving, stretching, and struggling into something that makes you feel smart? Can you think of a time you faced an important opportunity or challenge with a fixed mindset? What were your thoughts and worries – about your abilities? About other people’s judgments? About the possibility of failure? Describe them vividly. Grow Your Mindset: Now, can you take that same opportunity or challenge and switch into a growth mindset? Think of it as a chance to learn new things. What are the plans and strategies you’re thinking about now? Think of times other people outdid you, and you just assumed they were smarter or more talented., Grow Your Mindset: Now consider the idea that they just used better strategies, taught themselves more, practiced harder, and worked their way through obstacles. You can do that too if you want to. Are there situations where you get stupid – where you disengage your intelligence? Grow Your Mindset: Next time you’re in one of those situations, get yourself into a growth mindset – think about learning and improvement, not judgment – and hook it back up. Is there something in your past that you think measured you? A test score? A dishonest or callous action? Being fired from a job? Being rejected. Focus on that thing. Grow Your Mindset: Now, put it in a growth-mindset perspective. Look honestly at your role in it, but understand that it doesn’t define your intelligence, personality, or anything else about you. Instead, as: What did I (or can I) learn from that experience? How can I use it as a basis for growth? Carry that with you. How do you respond to “constructive criticism”? Grow Your Mindset: Remember that constructive criticism is the feedback that helps you. (and others) understand how to fix something. It’s not feedback that labels something as deficient. Us constructive feedback to improve, even if you believe you’ve already done your best work. Are you a person who tends to avoid responsibility for your problems or failures by making excuses or blaming others? Grow Your Mindset: Think of specific examples and discuss how you could use a growth mindset to take responsibility and start to correct the problems you face. Do you use feeling bad as a reason for doing nothing? When you feel disappointed, thwarted, cheated, or depressed, do you use this as an s reason to stop trying? Grow Your Mindset: What steps could you take to help growth mindset thinking overcome your fixed mindset? Discuss a specific plan. Additional Growth Mindset Practices Think about a time during the past week when you were faced with an academic, social, or personal challenge. Determine if you faced that challenge with a growth mindset or a fixed mindset? How do you know? If you faced the challenge with a fixed mindset, how might you have approached it differently? Reflect on real-life examples of using a growth mindset (by you or someone you know). Do some journaling or free writing about this example. Try to explain how the growth mindset helped you (or someone you know) solve a problem or achieve a goal. Be specific. What did you think and/or do that allowed you to push through the challenge? Save your writing. After engaging in #2 multiple times, read through your free-writing. Are there similarities in what you did each time? What did you think each time? Is there a pattern you can identify? Again, be specific. Try to identify specific thinking patterns and behavioral patterns that exemplify the growth mindset. Remember these when you face a new challenge. Think of something about yourself you’ve wanted to change. What is it? Has a fixed mindset prevented you from doing this? Think about it from a growth mindset and spell out a concrete plan for change. When you’re feeling stuck, remember . . . . . . THE POWER OF “Yet.” Remember to: focus on effort, struggle, & persistence despite setbacks choose difficult tasks focus on strategies reflect on different strategies that work and don’t work focus on learning and improving seek challenges work
Journaling to Increase a Growth Mindset
Journaling to Increase a Growth Mindset If you have been keeping up with my blog, I can feel you rolling your eye from here. “Another journalling post! Does this woman do nothing but write in her journal? Yes, pretty much.” I can almost hear a collective suspire and the words being spoken “who has time for that?” Try my structured journaling process for four to six weeks. Then you can compare your growth and progress to where you would be without that practice. Having a journaling habit is not an idle activity, it’s actually quite intentional and meaningful, and, in fact, it may be one of the most positive things you can do in your daily life as a mom. Journaling has helped me tremendously in expressing my emotions, especially when I’ve been alone or feel alone – like no one understands what I’m going through. I’ve also used journaling in finding a sense of direction when I feel stuck, hopeless, and lost, in getting through something that feels impossible. And that is where growth mindset journal prompts come in. These growth mindset journal prompts are designed for moms like you, to help you put yourself first, take care of your mental health, increase your emotional intelligence, and improve your mindset so you can harness the power of positive thinking and face life struggles and difficult times. Using these growth mindset journal prompts will help you get back on track and find happiness once again and will send a clear message to your subconscious mind that you: are willing to step out of your comfort zone, matter are open to trying new ways to practice self-care. Journaling Template It is a lengthy template, but I journal twice a day. I rarely go beyond one page (front and back in my 9X7 journal). So it is not much writing. There are many areas, but my reflections are brief. I synthesize. I have adapted my template from Michael Hyatt’s daily journal template. The first page of Journal: One of the first pages in my journal lists my goals in each key area of my life and at least three sub-actions (commitments) that must happen in order to achieve those goals. My areas for goals are Spiritual, SELF, Children, Family and Friends, Home/Finances, Business, Coaching Skill Development. Morning Journaling Session Sleep: I note how much sleep I obtained the night before. This compels me to ensure that I sleep the hours that I need to function optimally. Moreover, there are interesting correlations between sleep and outcomes of the day based on adequate or deficient sleep. Word of Day: – I am a logophile, and I love learning new words. Spiritual Reflection: A short reflection based on Scripture or a short spiritual reading. “Yesterday I…”: I describe the events that happened yesterday…sometimes in as little as two or three sentences. “What I learned…”: Here I reflect on the insights from yesterday. How can I leverage yesterday to be better today? “Today I am grateful for…”: It is always good to start the day with gratitude. I do this by writing one sentence of gratitude (meaningful or seemingly inconsequential things that make life beautiful). Today’s Goals: My daily goals are 80% informed by my goals for the year, which are recorded on the first page of my journal. As I create my daily goals, I look at my goals page and draw from there. I only allow myself three goals. I accomplish (work towards) more than three things. However, the ones designated as goals for the days take precedence over everything. Evening Journaling Session I write the word Examine and then reflect on the following: “I am reading/learning about ….”: I always want to be learning, reading something, listening to a podcast, thinking deeply about concepts. Moreover, I record a couple of sentences for that. Review of Clarity, Focus, and Intensity: This is where I reflect on my time and energy use. My three words for the year are clarity, focus, and intensity. So I reflect on whether I approached my three goals with clarity, focus, and intensity. “Tomorrow, I want to be mindful of …”: I desire to do better tomorrow than I did today. My intent is to grow. Therefore, I set an intention based on my insights of the day. My win from today: Always, always end on a positive note. So no matter how small or grand the win –document it. Some people sleepwalk through life. When you are investing time to journal about life and reflect twice a day you will awaken. You will become conscious of all the unconscious things that are working against you. You will not only awaken to internal factors that hinder you, but you will also awaken to external factors that hinder your progress. Moreover, you will be able to avert those. Keeping this system of journaling, you will have a journal filled with entries documenting your life, how you gave of yourself to others and to your work, of your struggles, and triumphs. You will have your goals and the works that you did towards achieving them at your fingertips. Moreover, you will have documentation on the progress of those goals. I hope that your year-end synthesis and reflection will amaze you and fill you with gratitude because you lived the year well…with a growth mindset. Conclusion The idea here is to put forth effort for continuous self-improvement, and developing that habit means developing a growth mindset. Those with a growth mindset can change their life through dedication and hard work. Like all skills, it takes time and practice, but the return on your investment in yourself is lifelong. Are you ready to activate a growth mindset? Manifest in the Midwest
Flipping the switch, From a Fixed to a Growth Focused Mindset
Going from a fixed to a growth mindset can take some work. This is because habits and psychological tendencies can be extremely entrenched in our psyche. So we have to adopt best practices to observe what is truly possible. One of the best ways to gain a growth mindset is to observe how the other half live, the richest 1% of society. You will find that they do not pay any attention to what is commonly written on the internet about best financial practices. They are in the mindset of wealth, and they constantly expect wealth to flow. However, it can be tough to accept this for somebody who is used to watching every penny and budgeting all the time. Additionally, these people are usually born into wealth where they never picked up negative concepts surrounding the financial acquisition. If you could manage to spend some time with wealthy people, their high-growth mindset will rub off on you. It’s an easier way to live. Even if you do not have a privileged upbringing, you can still adopt this mentality. Habit and repetition are key to cementing a growth-orientated mindset. So you could focus on growing your capital reserves significantly. Set a figure such as $10,000 and try to explore ways to increase your account. This will be a combination of cutting back on certain expenses, visualizing different flows of income and the pile getting bigger, and concentrating on ways to increase revenue in general. Either way, your focus has to be on your capital reserves getting bigger, not on being unable to afford things. Don’t try to justify your lack of growth – focus on growth. Neither the universe nor other people care about your excuses. And you shouldn’t either. Tools for Dealing With Limiting Beliefs Everybody has certain fears and limiting beliefs that keep them stuck in negativity and distress. Some people find it impossible to attract a partner, no matter what they do. Other people find it difficult to manifest money and material items, despite applying all the online techniques and turning their attention to the problem. This is where meditation and mindfulness can really demonstrate their effectiveness. They can serve as tools to calm down our central nervous systems when we are anxious or upset about anything. When we get in negative thoughts spirals about something, the situation continues to perpetuate itself. This is also happening when we cannot manifest money, relationship, wellness, or any abundance on a larger scale. Deep down, we have firm convictions based on prior experiences. And it is these deeply held beliefs that stop us from growing in a genuine sense. Mindfulness and meditation can help to observe these beliefs without having any negative reactions. They free us up to grow and expand. Of course, when using them, we need to make sure to take a long-term and mature approach. They are not overnight shortcuts that we are so used to hearing about, but lifelong approaches that always work to greater or lesser degrees. We need to do things that put us in a good place and integrate them into our lives for frequent emotional and mental resets. In truth, all things that relax us, such as surfing, singing, dancing, painting, writing, doing martial arts, going for a massage, essential oils, and more, are useful for getting us out of our own heads. When we are in a good place, we can focus on our growth mindset much more efficiently. Remember, if you are unsure of your capability to do or achieve something, this is just a belief that you happen to have. No more, no less. People pick up beliefs from their parents and wider society and go through their lives without replacing them with empowering ones. Don’t let this happen to you. Use all available tools to replace limiting beliefs with good ones. Manifest in the Midwest
What is a Growth Mindset?
Getting out of a fixed mindset can be difficult. Over time, people learn certain habits or patterns of beliefs that are tied into specific experiences that are often painful. These experiences compound until the person becomes convinced that life is just the way it is and you have to make the most of it. In fact, you will find that many people have little personal mantras or ways of looking at the world. They might say that “life is a battleground” or “work hard play hard.” These idioms have little to do with the way that the world is and everything to do with the unique mindset of the individual. Either way, the person needs to adopt strategies that will help them out of a very fixed way of looking at the world. Growth Mindset Dr. Carol Dweck, a psychology professor at Stanford University, brought us the concept of the growth mindset. In her research, she discovered the impact of having a “fixed” versus “growth” mindset. Dr. Dweck summarizes her findings as follows: “Individuals who believe their talents can be developed (through hard work, good strategies, and input from others) have a growth mindset. They tend to achieve more than those with a fixed mindset…” Because of that, it is important to explore how one can journal to increase growth mindset. Imagine what would be possible for you if you had an ingrained belief that you could grow, change, achieve. And imagine that you coupled that belief with an unrelenting passion and perseverance. I believe half of your success equation would be in place. Further anneal your success with a daily, conscious, deliberate, reflective, experimental, and persistent effort towards achieving your goals. Now, any success that seemed elusive has transformed into a success that is highly attainable. Daily journaling about your goals and how you are investing your time and energy in your priorities, forces you to align with and course-correct as needed in order to do the small daily, weekly, monthly actions that your goals require present every single day. If you still feel ambivalent about investing time to journal, it might help to know the numerous benefits that journaling affords. The benefits of journaling can be: increasing cognitive abilities, increasing mindfulness, goal achievement, increase in emotional intelligence, boosting memory and comprehension, strengthening self-discipline, improving communication skills, healing, exercising creativity, increasing self-confidence, increasing clarity, deeper self-awareness, stress reduction, improvement in problem-solving, and helping with improving relationships. What is a Fixed Mindset? The most common example of a fixed mindset is money. People have certain ideas about what their time is actually worth. And what happens is that other people reflect this idea to them. So the person who values their time at $15 an hour will apply for jobs that reinforce the idea that they are worth $15 an hour. And they will actually self-sabotage jobs that pay them $30 an hour because “they are not worth that.” This phenomenon was documented in a book by entrepreneur and success coach Tim Ferris called The Four Hour Work Week. He noticed that competition was tough at the bottom and medium levels because everybody was fighting it out. It can actually be easier to shoot for high-end jobs once you have the appropriate psychology than working your way up step by step. But it actually gets straightforward in the upper echelons of management because they believe that it is worth every penny even though they often do very little work. This is a reflection of the esoteric principle that the whole universe is a product of the mind. What we believe internally is reflected in us, and we then proceed to believe that this reflection is actually the truth of existence. This has also been demonstrated in the scientific literature to a degree. In advertising, people only notice marketing materials that are relevant to them. Everything else is subconsciously filtered out, as the brain can only handle a limited amount of data. If we don’t change our perspective, we will keep seeing the same information and believing that it is the ‘truth.’ A fixed mindset can be loosely defined as a narrow and precise view of reality where we are sure about certain things. And they are only true because the fixed mindset person believes in them so strongly. How would somebody with a fixed mindset ever change the world with a revolutionary invention? It would not be possible. People of a fixed mindset observe the world as it is. People of a growth mindset create the world as they would like it to be. This is a huge difference. What is a Growth Mindset? A growth mindset focuses on expansion at all times as opposed to trying to preserve the existing situation. While finances are the easiest and most obvious example to give, the concepts of both fixed and growth mindsets apply to relationships, health, creativity, spirituality, and personal happiness. Typically, people can apply a growth mindset to one area of their lives but fail to carry over this into others. But if you grow a company, you can grow a relationship or even spiritual success. You have to take the same principles into a different field. The details will differ, but the foundational ideas for improvement will remain the same. People with a growth mindset are not focused on the past or even with current difficulties. It’s not even that they look for ways to solve problems; they are focused on creative ways to grow that can completely bypass existing issues. It comes down to a question of focusing on lack of focusing on growth. This does not mean that you ignore things that need to get done. You will still attend to specific obligations. But they are less of weight when your focus is on where you are going instead of where you happen to be. A Quick Mindset Quiz Wondering where you fall on the spectrum of growth mindset to fixed mindset? Take a quick quiz
