Over the past 20 years of working with my clients, I’ve noticed the one thing that consistently blocks their success is a poor mindset. More often than not, they come in with the best of intentions and often have fairly quick success after months or even years of no health improvements. But time and time again, the ones who have long term success are those that commit to daily mindset practices.
What exactly is mindset and why should you focus on it?
Basically, it’s your frame of mind. Your mindset is your collection of thoughts and beliefs that shape your thought habits. And your thought habits affect how you think, what you feel, and what you do.
If you have a poor mindset or haven’t’ taken the time to build your mindset “muscle” it’s easy to get discouraged or fall back into bad habits when things aren’t going the way that you want. Basically, you want to work on your mindset so that you feel GOOD, no matter what life circumstances throw at you.
What is a daily mindset practice?
Well, I’ll start by telling you that it’s not 3 hours of sitting in quiet meditation (unless that’s your jam – then enjoy!) or attending monthly silent retreats (though that does sound pretty amazing after homeschooling 3 kids through this pandemic!)
The daily mindset practices that I teach my clients are quick and easy to implement. Here are 7 different practices to try. Pick 1, do it for 3-5 days and then reassess if it’s helping and if not move onto another practice.
1. Guided Meditations
Not sure where to start but you’ve heard all the hype about mediating? Why not start with some short (less than 10 minute) guided meditations that will help your brain refocus on the abundance and positive things around you. My current favorite is Gabbie Bernstein’s Super Attractor meditations.
2. Daily Intentions
My last business coach share with me the idea of intention setting for the day. Since then I’ve seen it shared by lots of coaches in the personal development space too. This one’s as easy as setting the intention (before bed or in the morning) of how you want your day to go. You could journal about it (5 minutes is enough) or just state it out loud to the universe.
My intuitive coach has recently reminded me that I can restate my intention throughout the day – and ground myself that way. With 3 kids around 24/7 it was an important reminder that I do get to choose how my day goes. Daily intentions could be as simple as asking yourself some questions. How do I want to feel today? Who do I want to be today? What do I want to receive today? What do I want to give today?
Busy mom running with kids
3. Affirmations
The word affirmation gets thrown around a lot in the online and self development space. Personally I think of affirmations as quick little reminders that I am okay. I’ve got a lot spread around my new home to remind me of exactly that. I found wall decals that are affirmations at my local dollar store and I’ve spread them throughout the house.
I even have one specifically positioned for my daughters to see every time they leave their room. It reads: Be Silly. Be Honest. Be Kind. Others that I have spread throughout my home: You are capable of amazing things, You’ve got this, I’m proud of you!, You are so loved. Keep chasing your dreams and Every Day is a Fresh Start.
Pick an affirmation that makes you feel good and practice repeating it daily. Sometimes we need a “trigger point” to remind us – I often repeat my daily affirmation as I enter a different room or every time I visit the bathroom. Make it easy to implement into your day. One that I’ve been working with after listening to Louise Hay’s Heal Your Life is: I accept myself. (I often add in I love and accept myself).
4. Movement
Incorporating some movement into your day is a great way to improve your mindset. By taking care of your body and moving it (a simple walk suffices) it’s giving your body feedback that you love and respect it and that can improve your mindset. Also as we move our bodies endorphins, also known as “feel-good hormones”, are released from the brain.
5. Creativity
Spend some time doing something that sparks joy in your soul. Being creative doesn’t mean only painting or sketching etc it can show up in a variety of forms (moving your body, playing with your kids) but the shift in mindset happens because you’re allowing yourself the opportunity to enjoy something, be present and feel GOOD!
6. List of appreciation/gratitude
Another simple daily mindset practice is to spend 5-10 minutes every morning (or night) listing everything that you are appreciative of or have gratitude for. By focusing on all of the abundance around you, you’re training that mindset muscle to focus on the good. This not only helps you feel more gratitude but studies show that people who practice gratitude daily have less stress and are generally happier and healthier.
7. Thought Re-framing
This is a big one and can take some practice to get used to. It works on the cognitive behavioral model. Which means you think a thought, it leads to a feeling which than results in an action. Spending 5 minutes per day listening to your thought is a good place to start. Then try a re-frame.
Here’s an example from my work with a recent client. She kept beating herself up throughout the day thinking: why can’t I just do what I am supposed to do. I ate another cookie. Her re-frame to insert every time that limiting belief came up was to state out loud: I am working on improving my health and wellness is not built on one cookie. I am doing a great job.
Shifting your mindset can seem like a big task but it doesn’t need to be.
If you’re having trouble making mindset a daily practice or have any questions feel free to reach out. Click here to book a free 30 minute mini mindset call. On this call we’ll pinpoint what’s blocking your mindset and how to implement an easy daily mindset practice that fits into your lifestyle!
