Mindset

A healthy mindset is one that is growth oriented!

Creating Mental Toughness

A healthy mindset is one that is growth oriented (read Carol Dweck’s book “Mindset”). It is one that is able to focus on the things you have control over. A healthy mindset is one where you are aware of your thoughts and feelings, rather than be blindly controlled by them in day to day life. A healthy mindset is the foundation of good mental health, a positive mood, and healthy coping.

Developing and understanding mindset is a big topic in 2020. There’s tons of good resources on it where you can learn and practice techniques to improve it. For now, let’s focus on 3 tools to start using to improve your mindset in your daily life:

TOOL 1: FOCUS ON WHAT YOU HAVE CONTROL OVER

When negative emotions present themselves, that is a sign that you are focusing on things outside of your control. When anger, frustration, sadness come over you – ask yourself this question and use it to guide your response:

What do I have control over in this situation?

Focusing on anything else will magnify feelings of upset and powerlessness and push your behavior in an unproductive direction.

TOOL 2: NEVER MAKE ASSUMPTIONS

It’s easy to evaluate what someone is thinking or feeling, or why they took the action they did, but our minds don’t always lead us in a truthful direction while thinking that way. We make assumptions that fuel negative emotions. When you find yourself making an assumption, instead, stop and ask yourself:

Are there any other explanations for this?

Consider all of the possibilities, not just the ones you think are true. Then, take some action and have a conversation. Ask questions to find out what is real.

TOOL 3: CULTIVATE GRATITUDE

The single, most powerful mindset tool you can develop to transform how you feel about your life is cultivating gratitude. This means:

Train your mind to look for and focus on things to be grateful for in any given moment or any given situation (even when it’s hard to do).

Start by adding a daily ritual of finding 3 things you are grateful for from that day. Next, challenge yourself in situations where you feel stressed to take a deep breath and find something for which to be grateful. Keep practicing this daily, and it will continue to become easier and automatic!