What is the thing with mindset lately? We have been hearing about it more and more during the last year. Has it become a cliche? “Just think positive, and all will be fine.”
But there is more to it than that! I have been learning quite a bit about mindset philosophy over the past two years, and here is what I have found:
1.) What we tell ourselves on a day-by-day, minute-by-minute basis dictates the feelings we have and the actions we take. The internal script comes from deeply ingrained neurological connections that started when we were kids.
2.) Our brain will do everything it can to keep us safe. Chalk it up to cavewomen days. If there is a perceived threat, our brain throws our nervous system into fight, flight, or freeze mode. Negative self-talk is just like a perceived threat, and we go right into cavewoman days where stress and anxiety helped us survive, literally. Great for then, not so great for now.
Recently, I introduced mindset concepts to one of my clients and offered encouraging, brain-shifting strategies. I was told, “Wendy, you are so sweet.” While being “sweet” and/or “nice” is definitely something that is important to me, it’s more than that. This is not just about being sweet; it is about science. Another time I was told that thinking about positive outcomes was naïve. Again, it’s not naivete. It’s necessary. I believe that we can choose our thoughts and make different decisions. We can decide to think about things differently and be open to the possibility of looking at a situation from a different - and more productive - point of view. When we do this, our actions change. Our impact becomes greater. And our goals are realized in ways you never imagined.
How do we stop the maelstrom of negative thoughts? That’s what we dive into during coaching sessions. It IS possible to change our internal script. It IS possible to change the results we are getting day in and day out. It’s not just sweet, it’s science.
Interested in finding out more? Let’s talk…