Well hello there! Today I wanted to talk to you about how your mindset can help or hinder your happiness. Isn’t it odd that some days we feel great and happy, and other days we just feel rubbish and down? Why is that? Who creates that? Can we control that? Well, I wanted to share my point of view on some of these questions… So, let’s dive right in…
What do we really mean by Mindset? Mindset is an established set of attitudes held by someone. Essentially, it’s your way of thinking, the way you see the world, which in fact is unique for all of us.
The human mind is such an amazing muscle, complex, intricate and wanting to serve you. The human mind can’t process a negative, so it’s important when you are thinking or doing self-talk that you say it the way you actually want it, i.e. if I ask you to not think of a blue elephant, you actually have to think of a blue elephant in order to not think of a blue elephant, right?! So, the first thing to be aware of whether your mindset is helping or hindering your happiness is to focus your thoughts on what you want vs what you don’t want.
As human beings, we unconsciously absorb 2 million bits of information per second into our nervous systems. We take those bits of information through our key senses, how we smell, how we hear, how we sense, our touch and taste. Yet, we can only consciously process about 134 bits of information per second… so what happens to the rest of the information? How do we make sense of the world?
Well, we have what we call a RAS (Reticular Acting System) which is like an antenna that makes connections and signals. We use our RAS and make sense of the world by filtering this information as it enters our brain. This includes;
Deleting some of the information, meaning we just overlook it, tune out or forget it.
Distorting some of the information, meaning what we actually see is not the true reality, for example someone may say to their friend ‘He wants to ask me out’, but how do they really know that?
Finally, we Generalise some of the info, for example, someone may say ‘I will never be able to do this’, or ‘no one cares about my work’. Really, ‘No one’ cares?!
From here we then make an internal picture (what we see, hear, feel, smell and say to ourselves), which is our reality of the outside world. This internal picture is shaped by many things including how we make decisions, our values, our beliefs, our memories and our attitudes.
This internal picture of how we see the world switches on an emotion of being, which impacts our physiology (how our bodies react), which in turn impacts our behaviour (what we visibly do or say) and ultimately the results we get. Pretty cool stuff, huh?
When you talk to yourself, you are also changing the reality of how you see the world outside. Are you changing it in a way that is empowering yourself or not? Is it serving you or not? If not, it’s important to choose to be in the state that will always get you the result you want.
It’s important to remember your mind also impacts others. When you talk to someone, you always change the reality of how that person sees the outside the world, it’s inevitable. The question is are you changing it in a way that empowers them or not?
Everyone has a unique model of the world, no one sees the world in the same way.
We are in charge of our own minds, and therefore our results. Results depend on our behaviour, the behaviour comes from our mind. The beauty is you are in charge of your mind and how you use it. Many of us just need a helping hand every now and then to discover if it’s serving us in the right way.
Armed with this knowledge, how are you controlling your mindset to help you be happier? You have all the answers and the power the change it.
If you want to learn more or reach out, visit my website.
Good luck and remember you always have the power of choice!
