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It is true, Mindset Mastery is everything! Too many of us are unaware of what mindset really even is. I include myself in those too many, I have been learning about mindset for only 4 years – actually studying it and taking it seriously. Had I known earlier in my life how Mindset is so very important, I would have given it more attention, taken it far more seriously. Another reason I am a Late Bloomer … at least I’m consistent.
Mindset Mastery does matter – whether we do it or not, it makes a difference to our lives.
The Realities of Mindset
It is easy to slip into a mindset that does not serve you. It is easy to not even know that you are in that mindset. Survival Mode is a perfect situation where one can slip into the wrong mindset. When you are in survival mode your focus is on the here and now, there are no big plans for a bright future when you are wondering where your next meal or sip of water will come from. As long as your focus is on those kinds of needs, you are not going to lift your eyes, and your mind, to bigger things.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
This is the typical Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs scenario, below you can see the pyramid used to give an overall understanding of this concept.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs
Physiological
As you can see, from this pyramid, our physiological needs are the basis of everything, included in here are food, water, breathing, sleeping – really the basic things we need to survive as human beings.
Safety
The next one up is Safety – our physical safety, health, job security, resources, morality and values, and also our property.
Love and Belonging
In the middle we have Love and Belonging – human beings are designed to live in community, in relationships, in families. We have an intrinsic need to love, be loved and belong.
Esteem
Esteem is all about self-esteem, confidence, receiving the respect of others, regarded as a person of worth.
Self Actualization
Finally, we get to Self Actualization – now this is where the real magic happens, we can become all that we are meant to be, we can be creative and spontaneous. This is ideally where we all need to be!
When all of our needs are taken of, we don’t worry about the basics, we feel loved and accepted, respected and confident. These things combined allow us the freedom to dream, to explore, to grow, to learn. Sadly, that is not what always happens.
How many people do you know who do live with all of these needs taken care of and yet, they are living unfulfilled lives, merely existing, some depressed, some demotivated, just not achieving everything they are capable of, and why? Mindset! This is where Mindset becomes so very important.
We are discussing Mindset Mastery but what is Mindset?
I Googled this question and came up with 88 880 000 results, clearly, it’s a popular topic. There are articles written by professors of universities, psychology magazines, scientists, the medical field – you name it – and bloggers, but of course.
They speak about different aspects of mindset, there really is a plethora of information out there. What does this mean for you and me though, how does mindset impact us?
In my experience, my mindset impacts everything! If my mind is focused on happy things, my spirits are lifted and I tend to be a happier person. Conversely, if I watch too much news, spend too much time on social media, dwell on the plight of the downtrodden, the less fortunate – well yes, unhappiness, lethargy, and depression could become a reality.
It is not only about that though. There is no doubt that what we think about and focus on impacts us. What about taking control of our thoughts, making a concerted effort to examine what we think, what our values are, what we believe (about people, the world, love, life, spiritually, business).
Let us look at some examples, you fill in the blanks for yourself:
- Men are ________________________
- Women are ______________________
- Millionaires are ________________
- I am ______________________________
- My husband is _______________________
- Love ____________________________
- God is ____________________________
I think you get the gist. The answers in those blanks are your beliefs – beliefs doesn’t make it true. Test what you believe, do it consciously, you will surprise yourself.
Beliefs about Money
Let’s look at millionaires. If you fill in the blanks and say the following:
- Millionaires are selfish
- Millionaires untrustworthy
- Millionaires are greedy people
… would you want to be one?
How about if we said something along the following lines:
- Millionaires are generous
- Millionaires are intelligent
- Millionaires are loving, fabulous people?
Much more appealing, right?
Depending on what you believe, you may or really may not want to make a lot of money!
This impacts your earning potential, your ability to build a business, grow your company, your ability to negotiate. It affects everything around money!
Beliefs about Love
How about if we considered the question around love?
Say we completed the love question as “Love Hurts”? Would you want to be in a love relationship?
And if we said that Love is everything that 1 Corinthians 13 says – patient, kind, etc and that it never fails? How would you approach relationships then? Would you behave differently, would your expectations be different? Of course, they would.
Beliefs About Self
With the above definition of love, how about if we believed these things about ourselves? This was particularly profound for me, I did a little exercise and placed my name in place of the word “love”. As follows:
- Louise is patient
- Louise is kind
- Louise does not envy
- Louise does not boast
… and so on.
Try it out … how does it make you feel?
Joyce Meyers said to try something along these lines. Decide that you are difficult to offend. So, say the words:
- Louise (or your name) is difficult to offend
It’s quite incredible, the moment you feel offense rising up inside of you, remember the words, “…….. (your name) is difficult to offend”.
I found this exercise to be completely liberating!
One definition of Mindset
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mindset
Indecision theory and general systems theory, a mindset is a set of assumptions, methods, or notations held by one or more people or groups of people.? History (Academic) ·In politics · Collective · Specific theories
We can safely say then that mindset is what we assume or believe. I think the illustrations above about people who have amassed wealth and what we could expect from love, are fairly clear about how what we think and believe can affect what we expect.
So, let’s turn it around for ourselves. Let’s believe the best in love, in whom rich people are, who men and women are, who we are. Just those beliefs will change our approach to our businesses, making money, our families, and our spouses.
“Watch your thoughts for they become words. Watch your words for they become actions. Watch your actions for they become…habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny! What we think we become.” Jul 20, 2012 Margaret Thatcher
This is mindset. This is Mindset Mastery – powerful stuff!
Fixed Mindset versus Growth Mindset
https://www.developgoodhabits.com/fixed-mindset-vs-growth-mi…
According to Carol Dweck, a researcher at Stanford University, there are two types of mindsets: a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.
“In a fixed mindset, people believe their qualities are fixed traits and therefore cannot change.”
“In a growth mindset, people have an underlying belief that their learning and intelligence can grow with time and experience.”
In the article that link leads to, they are discussing intelligence primarily. I put it to you that we can be fixed or growth-oriented in everything we are and do. If we believe we are lovable, then guess what, other people will see that. If we believe we are not lovable but observe others, and see what it is about them that is lovable, we can also develop those traits. The same goes for every aspect of who we are from intelligence to heart to our physical bodies, our spiritual development – literally everything!
Visualizing and Mindset Mastery
I have learned an incredible tool, based on training my subconscious mind into seeing and developing a mindset towards what I want my life to be.
I was taught to imagine and write down a perfect day in my ideal life. Right from waking up to going to sleep – everything including how I feel; adding in the use of all my sense… what things smell like, look like, feel like, taste like; sound like. My home, how it looks, where it is; what I do when I wake up, where I go, with whom – literally, every detail of that day in high definition colour and feeling. Here is an excerpt:
“I awaken to the sound of the sea and can smell the ocean breeze blowing through my open windows. The windows are open because I live in a safe environment, no need for burglar bars. My home is light and airy, warm and welcoming, with a mix of gorgeous floor tiles in the kitchen, patio and bathrooms, wooden floors in the lounge, passage and study and sumptuous carpeting in the bedrooms. The windows and doors are wooden frames, and my furbabies enjoy the freedom to come and go. I live in a little town on the coast of Australia, not far from Melbourne, perfect for me. It is a safe, friendly community and I have a group of warm friends who have the same spiritual beliefs as me and together we enjoy making a difference in the lives of others. Our lives are intertwined; we enjoy taking long walks along the beautiful beach, sharing meals together, in each other’s home, picnics on the beach and braais in one another’s gardens. Special occasions, sunsets and sunrises. My garden is a peaceful haven, a riot of colour and fragrance, one of my many prides and joys. The vegetable garden is tended to with lots of love and feeds not only me but also those around me – friends who swap delicious goodies from their gardens for those in mine; soup kitchens, children’s home and shelters.”
My encouragement to you is to try this, write down your perfect day in your ideal life from waking to retiring and everything in between. You will be amazed and how this simple practice daily (or as near as humanly possible) will impact your life, your business, your relationships, your world!.
Try it, and let me know, I would love to hear from you.
Here’s to your Mindset Mastery!
Blessings
