Two Simple Power-Packed Mindset Tools To Level Up Your Personal And Professional Growth Strategy Part 1
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Photo by Nathan Lemon on Unsplash
How many of you desire to impact your world, yet it feels like the world is against you? Do you have a dream in your heart, but you’re unsure if you’re capable of fulfilling it? Are you on your journey to fulfill your calling, and some days you feel like you’re taking one step forward and two steps back?
If you said yes to any of the above, I’m with you. I’ve experienced all of these at one point and still do some days.
God has a purpose for all of us. He’s our partner in this journey. What that means is we also have a part to play in making our dreams come true. The great news is, our Heavenly Father gave us an incredible asset so we can do our part in this adventure.
The most powerful asset God gave us is our mind!
Everything starts there.
We Think > We Feel > We Act > We Become
Dr. Caroline Leaf, in her book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, says it this way:
We Think > We Feel > We Choose
You create what you focus on most.
Not only that, your mind controls your brain, and your brain controls your body (Dr. Caroline Leaf talks about that in her book Switch On Your Brain). So, your mind even gives you power over your body.
I overcame fainting episodes that stemmed from fear using this mind/brain/body principle. One day I’ll share the full story in another post. 😉
What we choose to allow into our mind and what we choose to dwell on will impact our current mood and influence our future.
We must intentionally and strategically set our minds up for success. Then it can do what it was designed to do–help you accomplish your calling!
Enter two simple power-packed tools to help you level up your personal and professional growth. These tools will help you focus on what will bring you success and keep your mind in a healthy, positive state.
I’ve been using these tools for several years now, and even though they are simple, the impact on my life has been massive. So, let’s dig in, shall we?
Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash
Tool #1 – Gratitudes
Oh, Heather, gratitudes are so old school! We’ve all heard that we need to be thankful.
Hey, I know you’ve heard it before. Let me ask you, “Are you implementing this powerful principle daily?”
We know all kinds of things. It’s not what we know that helps us. It’s what we do.
Knowledge is NOT power.
The knowledge that YOU IMPLEMENT is power.
Gratitudes are being thankful for the external circumstances, people, or blessings in your life. It helps you look outside yourself and be grateful for the big and the small you encounter daily.
Psalms 107:1-2a NKJV
Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so.
Gratitudes focus your attention on what’s going right in your life rather than dwelling on what’s going wrong.
There will always be some unlovely junk in our lives we could choose to dwell on, but what good will that do us?
If you allow your mind to sulk in a state of despair, only focusing on what’s missing in your life or dwelling on the negative, you’ll cripple yourself. You won’t achieve the dream in your heart, you’ll stifle relationships, and you won’t enjoy your journey.
That’s a heavy price to pay for focusing on the wrong thing.
When you’re experiencing an adverse circumstance, one way to keep yourself from spiraling into a negative soundtrack loop is to do Gratitudes.
Ask, what are five things I’m thankful for right now? Then write them down.
Yes, you can just think them. However, there’s a magical connection between your hand and your mind. You not only remember better, but it also gives you more time to pause, soak and contemplate.
Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash
Guidelines to Create Gratitudes:
1. Structure your sentence like this: Today I am grateful for…
2. Must be something outside yourself that you’re thankful for. i.e., family, finances, adventures, friends, co-workers, circumstances, etc.
3. Be specific–Write them so you could look back a year from now and remember that incident.
4. Write at least five at a time. Multiple answers also allow you to sit in a positive state longer.
If you struggle with Gratitudes, this reveals to you that you may see the world as against you. As you regularly focus on all the good coming to you, it will shift your thinking from the world is against me to the world is for me.
In the next post, we will take gratitude to a whole other level with Tool #2.