Why Mindset is 42 – Caroline Ferguson, Mindset Trainer

Why Mindset is 42

By Caroline Ferguson | Mindset

What’s the one, single thing that can bring you success, happiness and abundance?

  • It’s not money.
  • It’s not talent or skills.
  • It’s not specialist knowledge.
  • It’s not education.
  • It not about knowing the right people.
  • It’s not even good luck.

The answer?

The one thing that makes all the difference is being able to direct the vast power of your mind in constructive ways.

I’ve said it before: I firmly believe mindset is 42. (In case you haven’t read Douglas Adams’ wonderfully loopy “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy“, 42 is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.)

So why do I think mindset is 42?

Because your mindset determines how you experience the world.

Take a second to read that again and absorb the enormity of it.

Your mindset determines how you experience the world. 

In other words, your thoughts create your reality.

Does that mean that if you’re not satisfied with how you’re experiencing the world, simply by changing your mindset you can change your experience?

Yep.

Everything you experience. Every choice you make. Every action you take – or don’t take. Every emotion you feel. They’re all shaped and coloured by your mindset.

So what exactly is mindset?

MINDSET = YOUR ATTITUDE + YOUR BELIEFS.

In short, it’s your world view.

We all know someone who can find positives in any situation, just as we know someone for whom life is an endless struggle (and boy, do we hear about it). And there’s that ‘lucky’ person who seems to leap from one success to another, propelled by her vision of what she wants to achieve.

Each of these people has a completely different way of looking at the world. Some ways clearly work better than others when it comes to living a life that matters – one that’s productive, enjoyable and about ease, rather than struggle.

How your mindset developed

You’ve been building your mindset all your life. It’s constructed from your observations, assumptions, conclusions and inferences about everything that’s ever happened to you, or around you. Basically, it’s your baggage.

We tend to accept what goes on in our heads as truth, but so much of what we’ve absorbed is based on inadequate or misleading – or just plain random – information. Many of your observations were inherited from other people, such as your parents and teachers, when you were too young to challenge their validity for yourself.

These long-held beliefs are simply stories that you tell yourself. They’re not The Truth. And those old stories can trap you in ways of thinking, feeling and behaving that don’t serve you or your community well.

Congratulations, you’re unique!

Every single person on this planet has a highly individual, constantly evolving mindset. No two people will respond to an event in exactly the same way.

For example, imagine that 100 people wake up one morning and each finds that his or her car has been vandalised. Are all of them going to react identically?

Of course not.

  • It’s realistic to be concerned, but those who are easily overwhelmed may feel consumed with anxiety and unable to cope.
  • It’s natural to feel annoyed, but those who view the world through an angry lens will be raging with fury.
  • It’s understandable to wish it hadn’t happened to you, but those with a victim or paranoid mentality will think, “why does this awful stuff always happen to me?
  • And those who are flexible and resilient may experience a moment of extreme annoyance, for sure. But they’ll deal with the setback, learn from it and resume business as usual.

You’re in charge of your mindset

How you respond to events is completely down to your attitude and beliefs.

You might be thinking, “But this is how I am! I don’t know how to do things any other way!” Well, trust me. The fact that it’s down to you – and no-one else – is great news.

You have very limited control over what the world throws at you. Yes, you can try to influence people and situations and events, but (generally) you can’t force things to go your way. The only piece of the puzzle that you can control is how you choose to respond.

So if the challenges you face are being compounded by what’s going on between your ears, the sensible thing to do is change the way you think.

And how do you do this?

By identifying the beliefs that are keeping you stuck and replacing them with more constructive ways of thinking.

When you change your mindset, you really do change everything.

I’m making it sound simple – and though it is actually quite straightforward, simple in this case does not mean easy. Remember, we’re talking about reshaping your mindset, which has taken decades to form (and just happens to be housed in the most complex structure in the universe: the human brain).

Fortunately there’s a proven, step-by-step process you can follow to change your mindset and I’m going to show you some of how that works in this blog.

A whole lot of Mindset help, coming right up…

I work with people who aspire to high performance and who want to choose a life that matters.  I show them how to develop a strong and flexible mindset that boosts their resilience and enables them to operate in what I call their Flow Zone (which I explain more about in this post).

In this blog, I’ll be explaining some of the ways in which I can help you train your mind to work FOR you, rather than self-sabotaging – as our untrained minds are wont to do.

To make sure you get the most out of my posts, take some time to do the quick tasks I sometimes recommend.

Task 1: Treat yourself to a beautiful notebook and start keeping a mindset journal. You’re going to get better acquainted with your own mind and it will help if you document the journey and keep track of any changes you notice.

Task 2:  Using the sign-up box alongside, register to receive my occasional newsletter  so that you don’t miss any of the practical mindset tips I’ll be sharing in this blog. I’ll even send you a useful guide to sorting out your mindset as a thank you gift for signing up.

In my next post, I’ll dive into the first of the five main ways in which we wind ourselves up, and how to recognise when you’re doing it.

Stay tuned for more mindset nuggets – and please do share this post and comment if you’ve found it useful.

 

 

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About the Author

Caroline is a Mindset Trainer and speaker who works with sensitive, high-potential leaders who know they were born for something more. She shows them how to beat mindset blocks and habits, such as limiting beliefs, low self worth and procrastination, that are preventing them from making a bigger impact.

  • Julie Dennis says:

    I’m going shopping for a beautiful new notebook first thing tomorrow.

  • Tania says:

    An excellent post and very, very true. I’m looking forward to the rest of the series.

  • Shannon Soenen says:

    Hi,

    I am wondering if you do trainings for elementary teachers ? We are looking to have a presenter come to Saline, Michigan to present all about Change Your Words, Change Your Mindset.

    Please let me know.

    Thank you,

    Shannon Soenen
    734-255-4662

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