All about mindset…

I believe your mindset is the key to living your best life!

Life happens outside our control whether we like it or not…

However, it’s our ability to cope with anything life sends our way that dictates our level of peace and contentment.

Yes, we all have our day-to-day struggles, whether it be our kids, mortgage, bills to pay or perhaps just a shitty day at work.  But it boils down to how we view and treat these in our mind that either free you or hold you captive.

I decided to change my mindset some years ago, and yes shitty things still happen but now instead of being frustrated and saying, “why me” I now take a deep breath and ask, “how important is this in the grand scheme of things?” 

Sometimes it’s just a matter of letting it go, other times I realize that I need to take action to change something in my life to move past this current roadblock or situation.

The way I look at life is that everything that happens is neutral.  We unconsciously decide in our heads to either make it an issue or not.

That little voice that lives in us all has a lot to answer for – that’s all I’m saying!  Lol!

We can choose to respond the way we’ve always been programmed since childhood, which is often “poor me” and become the victim, or we can begin the process of rewiring our brain and moving beyond how we’ve always reacted.

Often when you take an alternate approach or take a different point of view new opportunities appear that weren’t obvious if we’d kept our original mindset.  ❤️

This may also mean a different course of action to what you might normally do, but still get to a successful outcome.

Freeing your mind and imagining every situation as neutral change’s the game in so many ways.

No longer are you bound by history or your reactions, but able to step back emotionally and examine the situation from all angles before moving on.

In the past you may have reacted strongly to something that happened in your life, but through a simple change in mindset you’re now able to just “let those feelings go”.

Remember, it’s your choice on how you react.  ❤️

I’ve personally found that a change in mindset is a powerful tool which enables me to have a lot less stress in my life, because I choose how I will react, and not the other way around whereby my emotions lead me.

Sounds simple enough… right?

When I first began taking this outlook, I often found myself slipping back to my old ways of thinking and being driven by my reactions…

I literally had to stop, take some deep breaths, and emotionally distance myself from where I was in my head.

Staying positive and not becoming discouraged is important.  It took constant focus and a significant level of personal forgiveness to keep my motivation to move forward.

I also found that self-love enabled me to forgive myself if I slipped backwards or reflected back on how I’d handled things in the past – which ultimately was not productive.

You can’t change history, just the future! 

I’m committed to becoming the best I can be… just for me. I knew that if I was able to change my mindset then I could change my life.

I don’t think the journey is ever over, but sometimes it’s a jolt when you slip. Fortunately I’m quick to realize that the little voice in my head is trying his utmost to derail me.

The other amazing outcome with my change in mindset is the role model I’ve become for Zach and Sam.  ❤️

They’ve witnessed and experienced their change firsthand throughout their teenage years and now into adulthood.

Clearly, it’s been a positive change as now they have a father that is not reactive, but reflective and is able to provide perspective and support when needed.

Deep down I know that this would have been unlikely with my old mindset…

Hopefully this will have a lasting impact on them and perhaps even pass it onto their kids in the future.

I suppose there were two distinct concepts that helped me evolve my thinking to the point where I could change my mindset.

The first thing is to realize that everything in life is created neutral and that we spin it based on our history and past behaviours.  The second is that we control how we react.

No one does this for us… it’s all about us!

Often these patterns of behaviour were formed during our childhoods and the environments that we were brought up in.  We observed others around us and often mirrored the way they reacted.

Again, we can’t dwell on the past.  It’s all ancient history…which we can’t change.

All we can do is be open to new ways of thinking and take one day at a time to live our best life.

Until next week

Ciao!