The Difference Between
The act of thinking is very different than having a mindset. Thinking means having thoughts about something, pondering, planning, debating, and logically figuring out. Mindset is your frame of mind, the way you are thinking, your attitudes, opinions, judgments, and programmed beliefs.
Mindset is the context in which you hold things. It comes from experience, education, upbringing, and the society you are in. You can have a general mindset about life or the world, or a specific mindset about a particular topic, event, item or person.
Mindset is the lens you look through that determines how you perceive, interpret and approach things. If it is positive, you see things positively; if it is negative, that’s how everything appears. With a negative mindset, you read the news and your focus is drawn to how depressing things are. If it is positive, you see possibility and opportunity in all that you read. It also defines how you see yourself. It determines your level of self-confidence and self-esteem as well as your willingness to be open to change and personal development.
A fixed mindset has you believe that your basic qualities are unalterable traits. Rather than trying to develop or enhance those attributes, you spend time justifying or quantifying them.
Your primitive consciousness, hardwired to make sure you survive, is the groundwork that develops your mindset. Prior to the onset of your ability to think logically, traumatic incidents programed your beliefs about yourself, others, and life. These notions are stored subconsciously, and when they get triggered your mindset steps in to try to protect you. Your mindset is always trying to prove it is correct. Why? So you can be right and say told you so. This cycle continues even with experiences that go counter to your set beliefs, even when life repeatedly shows those notions as faulty.
Mindset Shifts
The aphorism “Change your mind and change your life” is simplistic and may sound easy. But be patient: A fixed mindset is a challenge to shift. Those long-held notions offer predictability, comfort and security, even if subconsciously. However, if you have a strong desire to change, with dedicated inner digging, mindfulness and education, even stubborn false beliefs can be transcended. Your superpower is to question those automatic thoughts holding you back.
Mindset & Business
Based on the Law of Attraction, the energy of thoughts always manifests in some physical form. In other words, if your business mindset lives in doom and gloom mentality, that self-fulfilling prophecy is what shows up no matter what strategies you apply.
The tremendous challenges of these past two years have triggered a justifiable negative mindset for indie business owners. Now that things are improving, you could still be living reactively, stuck in that template, anticipating the next shoe to drop. So here are 11 suggestions to help you come from a more positive, growth-filled mindset:
Be aware
An important first step in shifting your mindset is to consciously notice it. Take note of your attitude during the workday, the automatic thoughts you have as people walk into your shop, your reaction to hearing news reports about retail sales numbers, your judgments about employees, and any beliefs, resentments and fears about life in general.
Particularly observe the self-sabotaging, limiting thoughts constantly dictating false information about yourself and see the patterns manifesting to prove they are right. By observation and acknowledgment, you are starting to “bust” those thoughts as the untruths that they are, releasing some of their power to affect your life and business.
Counter Them
Once you notice mindset-generated thoughts, it’s important to remove some of their oomph. Remind yourself that these are just false notions, untrue thoughts, and consciously, lovingly, imagine sending them off. As you do that, feel any physical sensations indicating fear (such as your stomach tightening, your breathing getting shallow, etc.) and direct your body to relax. Use visualization, mindful inhaling and exhaling, a moment of meditation or prayer or whatever helps you feel calm and trusting.
For example, You read the latest economic forecast and notice a slew of negative thoughts. As soon as you can, go somewhere by yourself, breathe slowly and state something like this: “I choose abundance as my personal reality, and I am open to positive, infinite possibility. Thank you for helping me awaken to any false programming that I can now recognize and release.”
Allow Positivity
Challenge yourself to recognize and verbally state at least three positive thoughts per day. This helps train you to acknowledge opportunities for success, suggestions for growth, willingness to change and different ways to perceive things. Try keeping a visual score by putting a dollar into a jar only to be used for a special treat once filled.
Prioritize Self-Development
Take some time to do inner work that supports embracing success and expanding deservingness. Whether you meditate, do yoga, psychotherapy, spiritually based inner work or journaling. Have the intention to grow past your mindset to generate positive change.
Change Your Shoes
To help alter your mindset, experience what it is like to approach your business from a different viewpoint. Try doing the job you hate the most or have a heart-to-heart with the person who has been doing it – it can completely change your attitude.
Get Feedback
Ask friends, relatives and even employees what they have noticed about your mindset. Encourage honesty and be open to hear objective feedback. You might learn some important things about yourself.
Be Vulnerable
Being a business owner in a position of power makes it difficult to expose vulnerability. However, being open about whatever you are going through — sharing your feelings, expressing your needs – can positively shift your mindset and help you become a better leader.
Just Let Go
Being invested in your business, wanting nothing more than success, is a good place to be. However, spiritually speaking, letting go of any sort of attachment is a universal lesson to learn. Consciously releasing the need for something to be a certain way is not easy but is effective to “create space” for things to change.
Power of Gratitude
Pledge to write down three things you are grateful for each day, either before or after work. Notice patterns as to what you feel gratitude for – it can help you shift priorities toward what is truly important in your life.
Re-Focus Your Vision
Your shop’s overall mission could be stuck in your negative mindset, preventing the manifestation of your long-term goals. It could be time to change, clarify or adjust your vision in some way. Is it still relevant? Does it fit with who you are or who you want to become? Does it need to expand in some way? Perhaps re-write your mission statement to see what comes to you intuitively.
Be Gentle on Yourself
Change doesn’t come easily or quickly, and it always brings fear along with it. If you are noticing resistance to shifting your mindset, allow yourself to acknowledge fears, whether they are rational or irrational, big or small. Simultaneously, know that you have the power of creation flowing through you generating positive results and all that you deserve for your business and your life.
Author: Royce Morales
Royce Amy Morales is the founder of Perfect Life Awakening. Morales is also a transpersonal development speaker and author of Know: A spiritual wake-up call. Royce was an independent retailer for two decades in Redondo Beach, CA. To know more about the author, visit her website.
Website: https://www.perfectlifeawakening.com
