“Don’t feed your mind with negative thoughts. If you do, you will come to believe them” Catherine Pulsifer
As the title says, it’s all about mindset, because mindset really does matter and I want you to get very clear about your personal ‘starting point’. As I’ve already mentioned, this isn’t a race or a competition, so comparing yourself to other people really isn’t helpful and won’t give you the insights and breakthroughs you need. This is your own personal journey and a chance for you to look within and be completely honest.
In this first module, we’re looking at several aspects of mindset, which all contribute to the foundations of your mind. I’m sure you’re keen to just get started with the money piece, but after working with over five hundred people in thousands of sessions, I can tell you that often their blocks were rooted in a poor mindset. So commit to doing this work, even if you think you’re already pretty positive. There’s a reason you’ve chosen to do this program, you want answers, you want breakthroughs and you’ve already tried to do this alone. It’s time to lean on me and let me support and guide you.
In each section I will be including some material for you to read through and then some questions for you to reflect on. We’ll cover negative thinking, playing the victim, limiting beliefs and self esteem. Make sure you give your attention to every section, even if you think it’s not relevant. Too often I see things clearly in others, that they can’t see in themselves. Just be curious and be willing to see what you couldn’t before. It’s in those moments that we suddenly have those flashes of inspiration and insight.
This sudden clarity can be very emotionally triggering for us, we feel so silly that it was staring us right in the face all along. We’ve all done this, so don’t get embarrassed, or judge yourself, you’re ready now and that’s all that matters. Once that clarity hits, life can get very exciting, very quickly.
So let’s dive in and talk about what mindset is, at a very simple level.
Mindset is all about the thoughts and beliefs that you’re bringing to the present moment and these thoughts and beliefs determine how you show up in the world and the choices you make.
We all look at the world very differently and this is because we each bring our own perspective to things. This is based on our own personal experiences of our individual life – for example, our childhood, our role models (parents and teachers), our friends, our education, our work experience and any circumstances or situations that we may have experienced.
We’re all individuals and it’s essential that you remember that – what causes an emotional reaction in one person, is unlikely to trigger another. No two people ever walk the same path in life, and this is what makes people so fascinating, and at the same time so confusing!
Interesting fact for you – did you know that most of our conditioning is formed before the age of 6. This means that we’re likely to be carrying the beliefs of those that raised us, or were most significant in our life at a young age. Their thoughts and beliefs became our truth.
How we see ourselves and the world around us, is already in place at such a young age. Every experience or encounter we subconsciously draw to us throughout our life, is likely to ‘confirm’ those beliefs. We will continually look for evidence to prove ourselves right….for example, ‘money is hard to earn’or‘rich people are selfish, self serving and arrogant’or even ‘you can’t trust money to be there for you when you really need it’. These are only examples, but you get the idea!
As a parent myself, this blew me away – to say that I felt a huge amount of responsibility is an under statement. I can remember at times, being obsessed by what I was saying or doing with the children, as I didn’t want to adversely affect them! What I eventually came to accept, was that you can be the best parent in the world and still not give your child all the lessons they need. For example the parent, who never allows their child to fail by continually coming to their rescue, or being so protective of them, that they prevent their children from even trying – these parents are not allowing their children to learn resilience, or how to pick yourself up and bounce back. These children are totally unprepared when they come up against their first stumbling block. Failing is part of the process to achieving success and I’m sorry if this is coming as a bit of a shock to you.
How and why you see the world as it is, is such an important starting point. It’s within these filters of the world, that we can begin to unpick why some people feel like they deserve things such as success, happiness, health and love and why others just don’t. As you go through the material or resources, you may have times where you feel very resistant and uncomfortable. Personally this tells me that you’re onto something and there is a part of you which is worried about what might come up. My advice, take a deep breathe and lean in. Just notice what you’re feeling, notice the memories that arise and under no circumstances judge yourself. If necessary, allow yourself to feel the emotion, take note of it, ask yourself if there is something deeper going on.
This quote sums up how I feel about my own journey, and it may be useful for you too. Especially if you continually tell yourself that life should look different, or you should be further ahead:
“Your journey has moulded you for your greater good, and it was exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. There is no short-cutting to life. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the now. And now is the right time.” – Asha Tyson
So now you have a basic understanding of mindset, let’s move on.