Set Your Mind
A couple of nights ago, I was watching a news story about a particularly awesome 94-year-old man who has been deliberately programming his mind for optimum health and happiness. You can watch it here.
This guy is not “off his rocker”, he is as sane as can be, and he has totally tapped into the power of his mind.
You’ve probably heard me talk about mindset before—it’s one of my favorite topics, for sure. But what does “mindset” really mean?
Your mindset consists of your attitude and beliefs about yourself, others, and the world. In more literal terms, mindset happens when you simply set your mind.
It's true! You can program your mind AND when you get your mind in the right “mindset” reaching your goals becomes a whole lot easier.
Does that sound powerful to you?
It is.
When your mind is set, your success (or failure) is practically inevitable. It’s that whole “whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right” business.
When you align your thoughts and beliefs with your goals, you have taken *the most important step* toward achieving your desires. That alignment, or congruency, will reduce the resistance that you have—that internal tug-of-war—so that reaching your goals takes much less effort.
The mind is the driver of how we experience the world (our reality). For most of us, our mind is our biggest limitation. If we want to change that, it requires very deliberate programming, or re-programming, as the case may be.
If your current mindset is crap, here’s some good news: Not only can you set your mind; you can change your mind. Thank you and hallelujah.
You can get started by noticing what is going on in your head. As you do this on a regular basis, you become aware *very quickly* of how often you mind is caught up in a story:
I wonder if Joe is going to be late again today. God, I’m so sick of his attitude. It’s like he doesn’t feel the rules even apply to him. I mean, last week he was late because he had to stop and get gas and apparently there was a line. Who doesn’t plan for shit like that? If you know you’re low on gas, you leave 5 minutes early, duh. And where is there ever a gas line…
And then you pull into the parking lot at work and Joe’s car is already there, lol.
Okay, we all do this ALL THE TIME. We waste all sorts of mental energy on a story about something that may happen. We get ourselves all worked up over something that is only occurring in our heads.
Can you imagine how much less stressed you would feel if you did less of this?
That’s part of re-programming your mind. Notice your thoughts, catch yourself in a story, and say to yourself, “Self, this is not happening right now”, and then bring your attention back to what is happening. Bring yourself back into the present moment.
On the flip-side, you can create stories in your head that work for you. Choose something that you really want, like say, wanting to be able to run a 5K. And then create a story:
Oh my God, I just registered for my first 5K—it’s a Mud and Chocolate run! I am so excited, especially because I know I’m trained for it. The training run I did this morning felt great. I am amazed at how much my body has changed over just a few months. I am leaner, lighter, stronger, and faster. For the first time in my life, I feel semi-athletic. Awesome!
If you really want to amp up the power of this mental exercise, make sure you are tapping into an emotional response. You want to really feel those feelings of excitement, joy, and gratitude.
I love to do this story-telling out loud—in my car, on a trail run, etc. It’s easier to “get into” the story when you are actually voicing it. It sounds a little weird, I know, but I absolutely swear by its effectiveness.
Are you willing to give this a shot?
Once you get over the awkwardness of it, you might really have some fun with it. AND if you continue to practice this kind of mind work you will be doing some serious re-programming.
P.S. I’m launching my 21-Day Mind-Body BLITZ program in September. Email subscribers always get first dibs and other perks…sign up here.