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If you’re here, it’s probably because you’re struggling with negative thoughts or how to have a more positive mindset and be happy. We all want that right? To be happy and successful in our lives.
While we won’t experience happiness in every second of our lives, there are things we can do to change our mindset and attitude so that we experience happiness more often and feel more confident working towards our goals.
I hope to help put things into perspective for you today.
So if you’re wanting to know how to change your mindset to positive, change your mindset for success or how to change your mindset to be happy, you’re in the right place.
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Stick around and you’ll discover why your mindset matters, how to improve your mindset, and I’ll give you daily action steps to drastically improve your mindset starting today.
Let’s get started!
Why Your Mindset Matters
Have you ever heard this before? Thoughts create feelings, feelings create actions, and actions create results.
Probably not, so let me elaborate.
Most people think if they become successful, rich, and accomplish all their goals, they’ll suddenly be happy. They grind and work hard to achieve their goals day in and day out, only to realize later that they’re just as unhappy with their life as they were before all the work and accomplishment.
Maybe you’ve experienced this before. Have you ever worked hard on something thinking it would bring you so much happiness and joy, and once you were finished, you still felt like something was missing?
That’s because results don’t create feelings. Your thoughts create your feelings.
Let’s think about this.
Have you ever known someone who lived pay check to paycheck with barely any money in the bank, yet every time you’d see them, they’d have a smile on their face and be talking about the latest laugh they had?
On the other hand there are millionaires with more money than they know what to do with, that could do anything they want to, yet you see them sulking and unhappy. Or maybe you’ve heard of the many celebs that “have it all,” but end up on the news for having overdosed on their drug of choice.
Again, that’s because all the success in the world can’t make you happy. You have to be in control of your thoughts and choose to be happy. And in order to do that, you have to first improve your mindset.
So let’s jump into that!
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How to Improve Your Mindset
If you want to create a positive mindset and be happy, positive, energetic and loving life, the first step is deciding. Decide that you’re going to make a change. You get to choose to be happy. And once you choose, all you need are the right tools to move you forward.
1. Practice Awareness
In today’s world, we’re accustomed to quick results and everything moving swiftly in line. So much so, that we often have our heads in our phones constantly checking email or any other updates that pop up on our mobile screens.
The disconnect with your thoughts, feelings and the outside world that’s created because of this, causes anxiety, and it keeps us in an endless cycle of uncontrolled thoughts and constantly feeling behind.
One of the best things you can do to improve your mindset is to be more aware. Be aware of your surroundings. Be aware of the man that waves and sends a friendly smile as you take your daily walk.
But most importantly, be aware of your thoughts. When you get frustrated, stop to think about why you’re truly upset. What caused these feelings? What are your thoughts around this area of your life?
By taking the time to stop and think, and be more conscious of your thoughts, you’re opening a door for understanding and a better thought process. Maybe it’s not upsetting as you initially thought.
2. Shock Your Limiting Beliefs
As we grow up and become adults, we are conditioned by our parents, family members, teachers, friends and sometimes life experiences to believe certain things about life.
Maybe it’s that money causes people to be arrogant and care less about others. Maybe it’s that if you’re overweight you can’t be happy with yourself. Or maybe it’s that if you grow up in poverty, you’re supposed to live that way forever, because “that’s just who you are.”
What are these thoughts? LIMITING BELIEFS.
They’re limiting because you believe so much in them, they’re so ingrained in your brain, that you can’t see any other way of being.
But there are two sides to every story, right? You have to ask yourself, “Are these stories you’re telling yourself really true?”
There are many wealthy people who are grateful, giving, compassionate and considerate of others. There are many people in this world that happily embrace their bodies. They’re confident and happy in their skin. And there are many people that have dug their way out of poverty to live successful, happy lives.
It’s all in your belief system. Can you think of any thoughts or beliefs you have that are holding you back?
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE: Write them down on a piece of paper, then for each one, write 5 reasons they’re not true, or 5 reasons you can be happy in spite of these thoughts.
3. Focus on Gratitude
Gratitude is a major factor in your mindset. If you’re constantly focused on everything that’s going wrong in your life, it’s hard to see anything good. And if you can’t see it, you can’t appreciate it.
On the other hand, if you pay attention to and acknowledge the good things in your life, the things that bring you joy and make you smile, then you will notice more good in yourself and everything around you.
So if you want more joy and happiness in your life, you need to practice gratitude. It’s simple really, but you have to make a commitment to spending time each day to practice gratitude and show appreciation for the good things in your life.
It can be a quick 5 minutes spent jotting down 3 things that you’re grateful for, or it can be spending 30 minutes journaling about the best parts of your life.
4. Acknowledge Your True Desires
Once we become adults and have responsibilities other than taking care of ourselves (like having children, for instance), we tend to put our wants and desires aside in order to make those around us happy or successful.
There isn’t anything wrong with that, and you might even think that’s what you have to do if you want to be a “good person.” But when we bury our own dreams and desires, we often bury our motivation and inspiration to be happy with it.
It’s not wrong to spend time, money or any other resources on pursuing your dreams and goals.
We’re all human. We all have wants and needs. While you might think that spending time on the things you desire isn’t a necessity, you’d be wrong.
Acknowledging your wants and desires and actively pursuing them, is one of the ultimate forms of self-care. And if you don’t take care of yourself, if you’re not happy because you’ve given up on the things you want in life, how are you supposed to consistently and wholeheartedly show up for those nearest and dearest to you?
5. Take Action Every Day
Improving your mindset takes time and real effort. You’ll be stuck feeling lost and unhappy as long as you aren’t willing to put in the time and work.
So make the conscious decision now to show up every day for yourself. Do at least one thing every day that will move you closer to who you want to be. Spend time focused on the abundance you have in your life. Take time to really think about the things that inspire you. Slow down and try to experience more calm and peace in your life.
I promise if you do this, you’ll notice the change in your attitude and habits within a few days. You’ll start noticing how good it feels when the sunlight hits your cheek when you walk outside. You’ll find yourself smiling for no reason other than it’s a beautiful day. And you might even find yourself being nice to the ungrateful coworker that not-so-secretly wishes she had your job.
How to Uplevel Your Mindset
If you really want to uplevel your mindset, and you’ve made the decision to turn your overwhelm and negative thoughts into gratitude and positive energy, these daily habits will help keep you on your path to success.
5 Daily Practices That Will Drastically Improve Your Mindset
- Journal – Spend time each day journaling. First, write about anything that pops into your head. Dump it all out. Then, take some time to write down a few things you’re grateful for.
- Meditate – A meditation can be 5 minutes or it can be an hour. It doesn’t really matter how much time you spend. What matters is that you spend quiet time alone being intentional with your thoughts.
- Repeat Affirmations – I used to think affirmations were stupid. How was I supposed to make myself believe something that I knew wasn’t true? The trick is, not to go elaborate. Don’t create an affirmation that your brain can’t get behind. Use an affirmation that is already true, something that motivates you to keep going.
- Read a Book – Not everyone has time to sit and read a book, but that’s why we have audiobooks now. Either way, reading non-fiction books, especially biographies of successful people, help you to see things from a new perspective. It can open your eyes to a new possibilities.
- Spend Time with Happy, Successful People – Did you know, you are the sum of the people you spend the most time with? That’s right. If you spend time with people who are always complaining, never smiling, and just can’t seem to get it right, how can you expect to be happy? Be intentional with the people you choose to spend time with.
Closing Thoughts
Let’s recap – Your thoughts create feelings, your feelings create actions, and your actions create results. In other words, if you want to be happy, you have to be intentional about your thoughts in order to be in control of your feelings. Otherwise, you’re just gliding through life wondering why you still don’t feel successful.
Improve your mindset by practicing awareness, shocking your limiting beliefs, focusing on gratitude, acknowledging your desires and taking positive action every day.
Change your mindset, change your life!
How would you describe your mindset?
Take some time to think about how you’ve been feeling lately. And then, think about how you want to feel and who you want to be. What actions would you have to take, what would you have to do to be that person and feel those feelings?
“Your beliefs become your thoughts,
― Gandhi
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
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