Mind Set

Through my years of experience as a coach, trainer, athlete, and parent I have dealt with the issue of mind set on a daily basis.  My journey on the path to improving my own mindset came approximately 13 years ago when I went through a tough personal decision.  The decisions that followed lead me to down a path of self doubt, low self esteem, and questioning life as I knew it.  I have never been one to sit around and sulk for long periods of time but found myself with out motivation and direction for the first time in my life.   Something had to change.  I started by going to the library and meandering through the isles of books.  One book jumped out at me:  NO EXCUSES!

This book started me down a path of understanding the importance of cultivating a positive mindset.  I mention cultivating because it is truly an on going effort.  You can never get away from continuing to seek out ways to maintain and improve the mindset.   We are all prone to moments where we give into the dark side.  Moments where we are far more; negative in our thoughts, spiteful in our actions, or just down right rude. Cultivating a positive mindset will help us better identify the moments that are pushing us over to the dark side and permit us to take corrective actions or in the case you are on the dark side to recognize the destructive nature and take the appropriate actions to return to a positive mind set.

Since my digesting of the information presented in the book NO EXCUSES! I have been enlighten through may additional resource such as Think and Grow Rich, The E-myth, The Laws of Success, How to Win Friends and Influence People, If you don’t’ know where your going how will you know when you get there, and many others.

 

Here is what I have learned:

• Don’t ignore issues.  When you ignore issues they begin to eat at you and the more you ignore or procrastinate the less likely you are willing to deal with the issue as time passes you just hope it goes way.  The truth is, it isn’t just going to go away.  It will come back to haunt you.  So dealing with issues or at least addressing issues in a timely fashion will save you.
• Have Direction.  Know what it is that you want to accomplish.  What do you intend to accomplish as a result of your career?  What do you intend to accomplish this year? Month? Week? Day?
• Have a Plan.  This goes hand in hand with direction.  The plan provides the means to stay on course and headed in the desired direction.
• Read something Positive everyday.  Take 30-60 mins each day.  Preferable before you go to be to read something positive.  I have personally found that when I consistently do this that my creativity increases and I am more keenly aware of the opportunity that surrounds me.
• Partake in an active outside of your career.  You need a break from the day to day functions of the job.  Taking time to pursue hobbies or other outside interests serve as a means to recharge your mental batteries.
• Listen More and Speak Less.
• Challenge Yourself.  Try something new, don’t get comfortable, push the envelop and step outside of your comfort zone.
• Spend time with others who are successful.
• Be humble.  Admit when you have made a mistake and own your actions
• Most importantly take time to enjoy life

Mental Gardening

When we are born we are born with a clean slate. Void of any presumptions and influences.  We are totally dependent upon our care takers.  Because of this early dependency our slate begins to fill based on the influences of our care takers.  Are we encouraged to take chances and risks? Are we prohibited in taking chances because of the fears of someone else? Are we bombarded by the word ‘No’?  Were we praised for good actions and decisions?  Were we criticized for poor choices?  The answer to these questions and many more is the information that begins to fill in our slate.  It is from these early influences that our current decisions are made.

As we enter into adulthood it is our ability to look back on our youth retrospectively and learn from our experiences good or bad and move forward. Each of us has a choice regardless of upbringing.  It is the wise man who can look back on his life and sort out the good from the bad and take corrective actions to improve or enhance his position.  Taking this corrective action can be done through ‘Mental Gardening’.  When one thinks of gardening one tends to think about tending to plants (vegetable, flowers, and grasses) and create the best environment to permit the plants to prosper. When conditions are just right the plants grow with what seems like little effort.  When the conditions are poor one strives to improve the conditions. One may consult the local nursery, read how to books, speak with neighbors, and search the internet all in an effort to gain the knowledge on how to improve the conditions so that the plants can prosper.  The term ‘Mental Gardening’ refers to ones mind.  In order for one to be successful they must tend to their mindset just as a gardener tends to the garden.  When the conditions are right we can see exponential growth both personal and professional.  When the conditions are poor one needs to put the effort in to improve the conditions.  One needs to seek out information that will help improve the mindset.  Negative thoughts regardless of the cause can take the momentum quickly.  No one is immune to negative thoughts, but those who have invested the time into cultivating a positive mindset are more likely to overcome the negative thoughts.  They have a higher purpose and negative thoughts do not serve a purpose.

There are any number of ways to improve ones mindset which way is best for you, well that is part of the cultivating process.  However, here is the method that has worked best from me through the years.  When I am operating at peak capacity both personally and professionally I choose to read something geared towards self improvement for at least 30 minutes every day.  I am choosing to pursue activities outside of my chosen industry.  I choose to take an active roll in the lives of my family. Finally the most important things that I do is take time for myself.