Our Mindset... Why It Matters So Much

There is nothing new in the fact that the beliefs we create for ourselves play a pivotal role in what we achieve or not. We are our worst enemy when we are unable to position our mind in a way that is conducive to positive outcomes.

What is a mindset anyway? Per the thesaurus, it is the ideas and attitudes with which a person approaches a situation, esp when these are seen as being difficult to alter.

It therefore depends on us to be either negative and skeptic or positive and optimistic. We've all met people who drown in negativity and fear and who put themselves in a state of complete paralysis because their mind is stuck in a self-induced ditch they can't get out of. They end up smothering anything that shows signs of prosperity, productivity, creativity or simply life, and think it's the normal outcome because they've always acted that way.

What's worse is that they are unable to realize that they are the creator of their state of disarray and think there's nothing wrong about it. Yet they complain that they never achieve their goals, dreams and aspirations.

Let's face it: getting completely out of our comfort zone can be terrifying, even when the comfort zone has nothing comfortable about it. It's exactly the same thing as not being able to get out of an abusive relationship, a dissatisfying job or any situation that prevent us from breathing properly, creating diseases we don't understand.

What CAN we do to change our mindset and the outcomes of our lives?

Because a mindset is the ideas and attitudes with which we approach a situation, we first have to become aware that we approach that situation from the wrong angle. Just like any addiction, the first step is the awareness and acknowledgment that we have a problem.

Here is an example I've been experiencing in the past few months after moving to Las Vegas. I woke up every day believing that this place was not for me and that I had made a mistake moving here. I was suffocating because of the lack of greenery that I was used to have in the Sierras in Northern Nevada. I felt constrained by my inability to go take a long hike in a forest full of lakes or walk in a green meadow full of lush vegetation. The result? I was miserable, depressed and could only think of leaving the big casino town that didn't seem to match my expectations.

My mind was set on the wrong quadrant and nothing good could come out of it. It's only when I realized what I was doing that I started to shift the perception I had developed that had put me in a negative state of mind. And because I wanted positive outcomes, I consciously decided to approach the problem from a different angle. The light bulb came to life when I realized that I had many options to deal with my discomfort and that the outcome didn't have to be a negative one. I had changed my mindset and my world had finally opened up to present satisfying results.

No Risk. No Reward. No Guts. No Change.

The adage is true. If a situation becomes intolerable, something needs to change. However change is hard. We hate it because it takes a lot of work and a huge dose of courage as change is risky and scary. But no great lives have been built on laziness, procrastination and on a "giving-up" attitude. Great outcomes come from great courage and from the willingness to do all we can to initiate change. We need to mold our mind to make it more nimble and to counteract the thousand nay-sayers that will do all they can to make us believe that we can't.

Shun the Darkness and Focus on the Light

At the end of the day, your mind will believe what you feed it, so fuel it with positive, uplifting, motivating and fun thoughts. If you don't like something, change it instead of lingering on it forever.

Life is short, so let's live your dreams and your passion. Take a chance and if you don't know where to start, just start anywhere. A static object will only move if you push it. Once the movement is initiated, velocity takes place guiding you exactly where you'll need to go to thrive.

Catherine Oaks | Founder SliiceMarketing.com