As we approach the end of summer, a time in which families traditionally start planning for back to school, we find ourselves still immersed in the complexities and uncertainties of the global pandemic and changing world. We are all facing challenges, most of which we have no control over and a few over which we do.
Your mindset, attitude, disposition, and mood are all things well within your control and worth contemplating as we all face an uncertain short-term future. If you are a person who is always seeking challenges and growth I cannot think of a more worthy challenge than to focus on your mind and how you use it.
To begin, I would ask you right now to take out a piece of paper and write down all of the things you can control on one side, and all of the things you cannot on the other. I have seen this exercise improve my own mindset as well as the mindsets of many others who have taken this challenge.
If you’re like most people, you will easily come up with a list of issues that are occupying the majority of your time, 80% or more over which you have no control. It may take several minutes to come up with a list of things over which you do have direct control, but this is the value of doing the exercise.
Once you have a list of at least ten things over which you can control, you have a list of projects well worth investing your time, attention, and resources in to. These are the things that will not only change your outlook but will also change the way you think about yourself and others. You will suddenly discover that your mind is thinking of things that you can do to make your future even brighter.
Suddenly, you become someone who is encouraging other people just by your new demeanor and a newfound commitment to focusing on things that stimulate your mind versus things that depress it. We fall into mind-numbing and mood-altering behaviors when we allow our minds to focus on and worry about the things that are completely out of our control
I am convinced that each of us has much more mental capacity to push ourselves and achieve more difficult results. While this is true in every area of life, it is most evident and rewarding to start with your mind and your mindset. Try it and prove to yourself how much greater your abilities are than you think. It takes work and daily commitment, but the results are significantly better than our default to fret about things we cannot regulate.
Obviously, I am a big believer in a positive mindset. I write about it, I speak about it, and I coach it. I have heard from, spoken to, and witnessed dozens of people who have literally changed the directions of their lives by controlling what goes into their minds. The more positivity you allow in, the more you crave. It is a self-reinforcing loop.
My challenge for you this week is to make that list, find ten things over which you have control and work to improve your inputs and mindsets around those things. You will be happier, healthier, and more motivated to tackle other challenges in your life.
For a different perspective on this topic, I invite you to visit my YouTube channel here. Each week I am posting videos in addition to my written words to encourage you and give you Aims, Approaches, and Actions that you can take each week to maximize your personal development. I appreciate your support and invite you to share feedback and comments both here and on YouTube. Thanks for reading.
Did you enjoy this article? If you haven’t already, please be sure to subscribe to this blog, where I post every Tuesday. You can also get additional free content by subscribing to my YouTube channel or following me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn.