The Importance Of A Winning Mindset
What is a Mindset Coach Anyway?
As a Mindset and Performance Coach, a lot of people don’t understand exactly what this means or the benefit one can provide. Hiring a coach, whether executive, business, wellness, etc. is an investment you make in improving some area of your life, or those of others.
While those are definitely needed, the fundamental reason for all behavior starts in the mind. A difficult employee, a business leader who is unproductive or scattered, or putting off exercising in an effort to lose weight all have their basis with what goes on in the mind. So, this is where a mindset coach is beneficial.
A mindset coach will set you on the right course; they will help you dig deeper into your thoughts and fears – yes, fears – that you’ve been struggling with, perhaps all your life as fears don’t just arise. They have deep-rooted places that started somewhere early on. Thoughts are embedded deep in the reptilian brain but can come out at any time. They lead to our beliefs which drive our actions, thus, the way you react to situations or that you keep eating that piece of cake, even though you know you shouldn’t.
A mindset coach uses principles of psychology and neuroscience to guide you in banishing mental blocks once and for all, helping you to understand that their are biological, physiological, and psychological processes going on, some of which you don’t have control of. This understanding is where self-awareness comes in which, then, is when change can occur.
If you have ever had an idea that you want to move forward on but didn’t, there is a reason for that. You’re fight or flight response went off releasing cortisol, which goes directly to your prefrontal cortex and shuts it down, leading to feeling foggy, disorganized, or freezing up; “I don’t know” becomes the common answer to why you did not move forward.
A mindset coach, who understands the brain, and its effects on the body and performance, is able to help you understand your reactions and then how to positively manage them. They help you to take control of them so you know can be more successful overall.
If you’re struggling in your business, a mindset coach can be the answer. You can have all the best systems and processes, funnels, and the like but, if you aren’t acting on them for whatever reason, it’s time to deal with your mindset. A coach can be your answer.
If you have been struggling, then it’s time to finally overcome. It’s time to soar to newer heights, to grow your business so it’s profitable and, ultimately, lead a happier and successful life.
Committed to Your Success Coaching & Consulting focuses on workplace happiness and organizational success using brain-based principles. If you need help gaining clarity on your business or career goals, why not get some help – stop the struggle and call today to get started! https://cyscoaching.com or barbara@cyscoaching.com. For more great tips, visit our other blog at https://allaboutcareersites.com
How the Pain/Gain Exercise Can Help You Take More Action
If you’re struggling with moving your career or business forward, you need to look internally to see what is actually going on. You may not realize it, but there are thoughts going on in the subconscious that are keeping you ‘stuck’ in a vortex that spirals nowhere. The gain-pain exercise is a great tool to help you take more action by uncovering what is the root-cause of not going after your goals.
Essentially, you identify:
- what is your current pain – this refers to the pain of the problem or situation you are currently dealing with, such as wasting time or getting distracted
- what is your future gain – this refers to what you will gain stopping the identified behavior, so wasting time becomes being more productive and achieving more, and getting distracted become being more focused
- what is your current gain – this refers to what benefit you are getting from the behavior; whether you realize it or not, there is a benefit we get which does not mean it is positive. Going back to the examples, wasting time can mean you don’t have to worry about failing or disappointing someone; being distracted means you can avoid dealing with issues – both of these aren’t beneficial but you do know how to deal with them now
- what is your future pain – this refers to what will happen if you keep in the same mode – getting nothing done; getting written up at work or, worse, losing your job; feeling anxious or depressed over self-disappointment, etc., and what needs those costs will lead to
Identifying your blocks, or what prevents you from moving forward, is critical to stopping those behaviors. Often, our past values and beliefs stand in the way of which we don’t realize how impactful they are. Think of statements you may have heard when you were younger: children should be seen and not heard; money is the root of all evil; be respectful of your elders. Determine how you feel about them now.
Each of these examples can lead to behaviors, such as: not speaking up for yourself because children should be seen and not heard; holding yourself back from going after a high-paying job because if you get it, money is the root of all evil; feeling fearful around high-level executives because you need to be respectful of elders and you might say, or do something, that would look disrespectful.
The pain-gain method can help to get you out of the loop; once you uncover reasons for your thoughts and behaviors, you can now focus on future gains that would move you forward and lead to a more positive and achieved life.
Revisiting Christmas Random Acts of Kindness
Two years ago, I participated in a challenge so I’m revisiting Christmas random acts of kindness in the hopes you will do the same. This is the time of year that we need to be thinking of more than presents and parties. If I know anything, it’s that paying it forward leads to good things, for both the receiver and the giver.
I found study after study, along with many personal stories, of the impact that paying it forward has on both our brain and our body:
- oxytocin is released which makes us feel better and more connected to to others; it leads to less anxiety and depression, and it increases self-satisfaction and confidence
- it leads to less health problems, such as colds, as it strengthens our immune system; it also leads to less body aches, and having more energy for the tasks we need to complete
- as less cortisol is released, the executive functions in the brain work more efficiently, leading to better thinking and decision making, to name a few; overall, performance improves
- relationships are strengthened by bonding more with others; it also leads to having more empathy, which seems to be sorely lacking these days
The benefits of practicing random acts of kindness don’t just apply to adults – it leads to happier children, as well. Here are some ways s you can show kindness; use them in your work, your family, and or yourself (we also need to be most kind to ourselves):
- give compliments
- send a card to a soldier or to someone in a nursing home
- donate to charities, such as through money, clothes, books, food, or house goods – there are man people who are in need
- take supplies to an animal shelter – blankets are needed, especially in the cold, but they can use food, shampoo, etc.
- pay for the person in back of you in the drive-through; bring in bagels or other goodies to coworkers;
- hold the door open for someone at the store or let someone out in traffic (or to merge)
- help a coworker out
- smile at everyone you see -it could make someone’s day
From my own experience, giving random acts of kindness works like gratitude – it takes the focus of of you and onto others, which spreads good karma. I’m on day 850 of gratitude (from another challenge I did) and have found I’m able to deal with stress and any adversities easier and am happier, overall. Now, I just need to work on being kind to when driving (lol).
Committed to Your Success Coaching & Consulting focuses on workplace happiness and organizational success. If you need help gaining clarity on your business or career goals, why not get some help – stop the struggle and call today to get started! https://www.cyscoaching.com or barbara@cyscoaching.com. For more great tips, visit our other blog at https://allaboutcareersites.com
The Power of Self-Talk
One of the most powerful ‘tools’ you can use is that of self-talk; this is where you talk to yourself as if it were a friend, family member, or coach. Self-talk allows you to hear perspectives from an outside source.
Self-talk can be done in both the positive and the negative. From a positive perspective, you can say affirmational words, such as ‘I rock’ or ‘I am extremely talented.’ Tony Robbins says to look yourself in a mirror and repeat ‘you are beautiful’ so those words ‘stick’ in your mind and reinforce positive patterns.
Self-talk on the negative side is when you challenge any negative, or derogatory, words or thoughts you are saying to yourself. Dr. Daniel Amen says to talk to yourself as if a teenager would: “you’re really going to say that you aren’t good enough – remember the time when……..” Disrupting negative patterns will stop this behavior.
However, it’s not enough to stop a negative thought as we need to replace it with a positive. From a neuroscientist perspective, we need three positive thoughts to override one negative which is why the positive words need to come. Consistency is what give mastery, so the more you keep saying positive thoughts the more you will maintain positive habits.
Living in the right side of our brain is what creates a more satisfied and happier life, where you will take risks and move towards your goals and dreams. Being creative through your passions or coming up with ideas, living in peace and love all elevate your mood and outlook. While you may have adversity, you won’t look at them as doom and gloom but as what they are, which will allow you to find solutions to deal with them and to let them go.
I’ve had clients who have used this technique and find their outlook as happier; they feel less-stressed and calmer. Those annoying co-workers may just be having a bad day vs ignoring them, or getting angry; family members who have hurt us in some way can now be viewed as hurting themselves so their actions are not taken as an attack; past failures can now be forgiven and new resolves to learn from them as the norm.
Self-talk is a powerful tool to use to delete negative patterns and to override fears you have. An important step is to reinforce new behaviors you’ve developed so when you find yourself in a situation where you are holding back, you can remember a past success.
Our brains tend to hold onto negative thoughts, which then become predictors for the future; using self-talk to challenge that fear, and then remembering a past success, is what will move your forward. For example: as a child, do you remember when you were learning how to ride a bike? You started off with training wheels but then your parent said it’s time to take them off and ride without them; you may have said no, or cried when it was time, because it was scary and you didn’t want to fall. However, you did- but then you got up and tried again and again and, maybe, again, until you got it right.
When you want to learn a new task, and you don’t think you can, go back and remember your experience of learning to ride a bike but the success you had; self-talk comes into play “See, you can do it – you didn’t think you could but you did.” This will change your whole outlook to move you in the direction you want to go.
Start today to use self-talk when you feel challenged and see how it positively impacts your life. Write down your new achievements as ‘proof’ – you will now be able to work off of them, as your self-efficacy and confidence increases , and to move you through fears that may arise.
