One of the hard things about mindsets is that they can be largely based around habits. Habits around how we think about things. It takes conscious effort to change your mindset, especially if you are, per say, a natural cynic.
Forming habits around being intentional with the way you think is one of the best first steps. We can get caught up in fear-based mindsets, or anger mindsets that are not productive. Coming back to a neutral mindset before making decisions is a good practice.
I like to help people start to change their mindset by introducing a gratitude practice. Writing down what you are grateful for. It can be hard for people who are habitually negative to get past the “this is stupid” part of the practice. Hang in there. It DOES get easier with time.
Starting with a gratitude practice is just that…..practice. It’s helping your brain understand that there is a different way of thinking. It’s helping you practice thinking from a different mindset. Listing out all the things you are grateful for will create a habit to start looking at things differently. Once you master this first step, you can train yourself to switch from negative thought patterns to positive ones, every time you notice a negative thought coming in.
It does take time, so don’t be hard on yourself. Start by picking 3 things every day to be grateful for and write them down in a notebook. Each day you may increase that list or you may not, but it’s the discipline of writing these down that will start to form the habit.
I’m going to talk more about mindset in the coming weeks, so start here!
Heather
Heather Juliet 