Mindset Mastery: Give Yourself Permission

Mindset Mastery is a quick dose of mindfulness shared every Monday to help you launch your week with clarity, courage, and confidence!

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This weekend, as I was walking through the pencil and pen section of the office supply store, I had a sudden flashback of my tenth grade math teacher. While I couldn't remember his name I vividly remembered his oval eyeglasses, tall lanky frame, quirky mannerisms, and overwhelming fascination with trigonometry. He had two simple rules in his classroom: show all of your work for every equation and use only the pencils he handed out at every exam.

The problem with his rule, as I saw it then, was that it eliminated one of my favorite writing tools: my Dixon Ticonderoga #2 pencils with the chunky red eraser. I was a kid who loved to write. From English class to French class and even to biology class, my Dixon Ticonderoga pencils were filled with soft, smooth lead and allowed me to revise my thoughts and craft the perfect sentences to ace my exams. His pencils had no erasers at all and showing every single step of my work seemed like an incredible waste of time. It was a silly rule that I didn't understand until the day he handed back our mid-term exams.

There I was facing the first failing grade I'd ever had in math. There were red lines and scribbled notes all along the margins of the page. As he handed my exam back to me I looked at the words on top, 'See me after class.'

In less than fifteen minutes, he showed me exactly how I'd failed my exam. With my sloppy, detailed work on the page I could see my mistakes line by line: formulas that I'd mixed up and definitions I had all wrong. But with my failed exam in hand, full of all the sloppiness he intended for me to see, I had a roadmap for getting it right the next time and eventually getting a B+ in his class.

The reason why so many of us get stalled on our life goals is not because we lack the skills to accomplish what we desire it's because we never give ourselves permission to make mistakes on the road to getting there. We keep waiting for the perfect conditions that never come. Even worse, when things don't go as planned we spend more time beating ourselves up than we do brushing ourselves off, learning from our mistakes, and trying again.

What I hope you'll remember this week is that mistakes are a powerful part of the process of learning and every little step in the right direction is what matters.

Whether your goal is to own your own business, write a best-selling novel, or shed a few pounds to feel stronger, the mistakes you are going to make on the way are still points of light leading you closer to your north star.

Seeing and admitting your mistakes (not running from them or erasing them) is what helps you make better choices. Each time you choose to do something better or make an effort towards your dreams and goals counts for something, even if you make a different mistake the next day. Take notice of those little steps of progress.

This week, give yourself permission to just press go without having a rock solid plan in place.

Give yourself permission to try something new without having all of the details laid out.

Give yourself permission to learn from doing, not just thinking.

Because what really matters right now is progress, not perfection.

For your practice:

This year is quickly winding down and it would be great if you started taking real action on your goals. Your journal is a great place to broadcast your commitment to yourself.

Here are a few tips if you're unsure about how and where to begin:

• Create a powerful 'Why.' Set aside some quiet time to think about WHY you want what you say you want. How does it connect to your values and how is it going to really change your life for the better?
• Create a powerful 'Who.' Who do you need to become to have what you want to have? Writers write, runners run. What's the biggest mindset shift you need to make to let go of what's holding you back?
• Create a powerful 'When.' Today is the tomorrow you promised yourself yesterday. The most powerful tool you'll ever have in your toolkit is the ability to make a decision and take action. Baby steps are still steps.

If it still feels hard to figure out the Who, What, Why, When and How of your goals, maybe it's time to get the support you need and stop trying to go it alone. My 21 Questions For EXTRAORDINARY Goal Setting Course can help.

Don't let another year slip through your hands. Enroll now.

Wishing you an amazing week, friend.

Be well. Be love(d). Be good to yourself.

Angel V. Shannon, MS, CRNP

Founder + Executive Director of Seva Health + The Seva Institute

Mindset Mastery is a quick dose of mindfulness shared every Monday to help you launch your week with clarity, courage, and confidence!

Need a speaker for your next corporate retreat? Connect with Angel here and subscribe to her podcast here.