Your mindset is your collection of attitudes, your established approach to life in all ways—how you respond to challenges, how you express gratitude, how you manage your time, and how you take care of yourself are just some of the parts of your life that you can assess to get a better understanding of your mindset.
So, let’s reflect. Do you feel strong in the face of adversity? Do you get overwhelmed when things don’t go as planned? How do you treat your friends and family? And what do you do on an everyday basis to take care of your health, mentally, emotionally, and physically?
Mindset can deeply affect your body’s reactions too. In the case of stress, one study found that those with a “stress-is-enhancing” mindset, as opposed to a “stress-is-debilitating” mindset, had fewer psychological stress responses like anxiety, depression, and anger. Those with less of an ability to cope with stress had higher likelihood of experiencing irritability and anger when exposed to it. This is one small example in how our perception can influence a noticeable outcome on our wellbeing.
Let’s then consider the concept of cultivating a positive mindset is incomplete without incorporating tools to support regular practice of that attitude.
While bad habits might feel hard to break, having the right attitude and resources to replace them with healthy habits becomes empowering. As an example, one of my clients would binge watch TV before bed with 2 glasses of wine, wake up groggy the next day, hit the Nespresso button, and head off to his desk. His calendar was always full with meetings of which he attended all. Next day, rinse and repeat. His “system of living” was high pressure from everyone else’s agenda! All his stress felt like it was happening to him. He had to switch his attitude to “I create my agenda” and enlist the resources to help him add value. Once he stood back and got the bigger picture of his life, he was able to create a work-flow that supported him – the good kind of stress. Making healthy habits part of everyday life, part of the daily pattern that you follow so they become second nature, is all part of harnessing the power of practice to create action from a healthy mindset.
I like to talk about the importance of cleaning your inner house—understanding what beliefs you hold on to in order to be what other people expect, looking at the self-destructive things you do and working to understand the root cause of them, so that you can begin cultivating a shift towards mindfulness.
Establishing your rules of attitude to consciously work on your mindset can drastically change your behavior.
We are reactive beings, oftentimes making a decision out of duress—like choosing to attend a meeting because someone scheduled us in or rescue a friend for the tenth time. But through working on mindset, you can decide to prioritize your needs (like the need for healthy boundaries) so that you don’t get to that point of reacting to stress. It takes practice and loyalty to your intentions to make your good mindset habitual.
Throughout my own life, I’ve found meditation to be an extremely powerful practice in maintaining the mindset that supports me the most. During times that I’ve lost touch with practicing meditation daily, I become noticeably more reactive to the stress of life and less present in my experiences. It’s noticing the negative consequences of a missed practice, I’m able to solidify my attitude that meditation is a necessary part of my daily routine.
Through inspiration and mindfulness, we can train ourselves to begin a daily meditation practice that quiets the noise and reveals a clearer and more sustainable mindset. I have created a library of meditations for you if you feel you need some support.
We know that health is not focused solely around one specific thing.
It’s a combination of many lifestyle choices, with the backbone residing in your internal attitude and devotion to doing the work. I will repeat, mindset and practice allow you to turn your intentions into vibrant, glowing wellbeing—be sure to make these areas part of your own in-depth life plan.
I invite you to take a moment now and ask yourself, “as a result of reading this article, what is one attitude I will change and one inspired action I can take today?”
Mindfully,
INSPIRING and Thought proving article. I too have noticed that i’m more irritable and angry lately as I’ve Let go my meditation practice. Your article is timely as yesterday i was thinking it’s time tO get back to my daiLy medit practice!
…and that’s how we roll when we take a moment to be conscious and responsible for how we feel and how we show up. So worth it! Enjoy the “Welcome Back!” from your soul 🙂
This couldn’t be any more true:
“We know that health is not focused solely around one specific thing. It’s a combination of many lifestyle choices, with the backbone residing in your internal attitude and devotion to doing the work.”
My internal attitude and narratives are most certainly the backbone of my wellness AND my illness – whether it be mental illness or back pain! For me meditation helps but/and I seem to need a constant practice of mindfulness and less an episodic attention to my mindset. A work in process!
Yes, Glen, a work in progress. And that is why it is called a practice; to be incorporated, not achieved. Welcome back 🙂
Yes, Glen, a work in progress. And that is why it is called a practice; to be incorporated, not achieved. Welcome back 🙂