Mindset shifts to make this year
Have you ever heard someone say, “it’s not what happens that affects you, it’s how you react to it” or something similar?
Although many situations call for certain reactions, and we all need to feel our emotions and let them out to deal with them in a healthy manner, there is some truth to the above saying.
Think about it this way: If you always have a negative attitude, most things will generally feel like negative experiences. If you lean towards more positive thinking, you’re likely to experience things in a brighter light, even when they are difficult.
So, this year, in the spirit of improving wellbeing, here are our tips on the mindset shifts you can make to improve your life and find the brighter side to any situation.
Aim for more confidence and self-belief
There are a few ways to help yourself gain more confidence and self-belief. For example you could:
Speak positive affirmations to yourself, think ‘I am amazing,’ and ‘I am capable’
Acknowledge and list your achievements
Carry the thought of ‘I can do this; I can do anything’
Have respect for others and understand that everyone has worth, including you
Think about what you bring to the world and to the people in your life
It’s so important to have a strong sense of self and confidence in who you are and how much you are capable of. This can stop thoughts of fear, doubt and loathing that might creep in during hard times that can prevent you from achieving amazing things.
Acknowledge what is, and pinpoint the lessons learnt
When things are a bit rough, you need to feel your feelings. Acknowledge the situation for what it is, and when you are ready, try to make a mental list of what this situation means for you. You don’t have to add meaning to every bad day, sometimes, stuff just happens. But, many times, a tough situation can be a learning opportunity for us to understand ourselves or others better. It can also help us increase our problem-solving skills for the next time we encounter a difficult circumstance.
Avoid victim mentality
Feeling sorry for yourself? That’s a bit of a dangerous path to go down. By believing you are a victim of life’s circumstances you can get into a spiral of negative thinking. If you believe in the law of attraction, the more negatively you think, the more negativity you attract! If you don’t believe in that, playing victim is still not a good position to be in because you ultimately end up taking the control out of your own hands which makes it hard to get out of a bad mindset, making it harder to find positives.
Learn to re-frame your thinking
Empower yourself and realise you can re-frame any thought or situation. In a way, it’s similar to thinking about what lessons can be learnt, but in fact it is even more than that. Remind yourself of the greatest human condition of ‘choice’. We can choose. It is important to consider what is in our control and what isn’t. When we focus on the things we can control and can choose or adapt to, we can take action on those items and preoccupy ourselves enough not to let the things we can’t control overwhelm us.
Practice gratitude
Being thankful is the easiest way to shift your mindset into a positive space by recognising all the abundance you have in your life. This is an easy and uplifting reflective exercise.
Have a sense of belief in ‘the good’
When there is a lot of chaos around, and things are challenging in life, it can be hard to remember ‘the good’ in the world. Yet, having a sense of belief in good things and possibility (aka, hope), is one way we can begin to see the world in a brighter light. No, not everything is rainbows! That’s okay, you don’t have to be a full-blown optimist. Yet, it can help to take a moment each day to think about one good thing you are experiencing. Maybe the sun is out and feels warm against your skin, maybe you smiled at a stranger, and they smiled back, maybe you achieved something at work, maybe you had your favourite meal, or a great morning coffee. If you can just pinpoint one ‘good’ moment in your day you may even start to think of more.
Be more present
Being present isn’t always easy. We are hard on ourselves about the past, and we stress about the future. We are always planning and organising, thinking and forecasting. Yet, the best thing we can do to feel more peace is to be more ‘in the moment’. You can become more present by practicing mindfulness or meditation. If you don’t want to label it or feel like mediation isn’t for you, you can start with a simple practice like this:
Identify a physical touch you feel right now
Identify a scent you can smell right now
Focus your eyes on something pleasant you can see right now
Relax your shoulders and unclench your jaw
Breath in and out slowly
You’re in the present moment!
Be where you are and try not to be anywhere else in the moment. Especially when you’re experiencing something special like time with friends and family.
We hope these tips help you improve your mindset this year!