The mind is a beautiful thing. We use it to think and reason. One of its characteristics is known as mindset. This is the collection of attitudes and ideas which shape how you think about yourself and your environment. The mindset determines behavior, outlook and attitude towards the occurrences around you. There many types of mindsets depending on the setting. Examples of these are optimistic and pessimistic mindsets. Other types include the fixed and the growth mindsets. Seeing as this characteristic affects your most valuable asset, mindset is an extremely important thing to understand and control. Here are 10 things that can help you get back control over your mindset.
Accept yourself just as you are
Self-acceptance is a major key to controlling your mindset. This is because it determines how you think about yourself. If you do not accept yourself, you will have a negative self image and low self esteem. On the other hand, if you accept yourself, your self-image will be positive and self-esteem will increase. Many people actually do not accept themselves as they truly are. This is because the media and social constructs create requirements of how people are supposed to look like and behave too. If your identity is different from what is preached by the media, you may think less of yourself and get a negative self image. This creates a fixed, pessimistic mindset. Therefore, accept yourself and be proud of who you are. This will help you establish control over your mindset, create a positive attitude and generate self-confidence.
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Eat healthy food
Mental health is just as important as physical health. Your diet affects how your body functions on both of these levels. If your diet consists primarily of processed foods which have little or no nutritional value, then you are bound to develop deficiencies that can negatively affect your mental health and mindset too. Thus, strive to consume healthy, clean and wholesome food. These nutrients will help your body to repair itself faster, achieve growth and boost the mental strength required to control your mindset.
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Take time to appreciate yourself
There is a wise saying which encourages us to treat ourselves as we would treat a guest. This means that you should always take the time to love and appreciate yourself in a special way. Despite the mistakes which you feel that you have done or the shortcomings you see in yourself or your performance, you are special. This is a mindset that allows you to feel self-love. Thus, to control your mindset and maintain optimism, take some time to appreciate yourself. You can call it "me-time" and it can be one day out of your week or even more.
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Stop and swap
One activity which is required in controlling your mindset is determining the thoughts which run through your mind. As indicated above, positive thoughts have good effects in your life while negative thoughts are destructive in nature. Whenever you find yourself thinking something negative, immediately order your mind to stop. You are in control of it and not the other way around. After stopping it, swap that thought with a positive one. You can keep a list of positive, constructive and healthy thoughts in your mind for this purpose. This is an active way of getting back control of your mindset.
Share your thoughts with a trusted person
Sometimes, you need a new perspective of your thoughts. You can achieve this by confiding in someone that you trust. This can be your parent, a counselor, coach, a mentor or even your partner. They can give you a new view of the negative thought which you are struggling with. Most of the time, this new perspective helps you to learn how to control your mindset in future for your own benefit.
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Maintain positivity
The perspectives of life can be divided into two general groups. These are positive perspectives and negative ones. People also fall into these two main groups. Some people see all that is wrong with the world while others see all that is right about it. Having a negative attitude leads to negative emotions and thoughts. These are destructive in the long run. Thus, if you want to control your mindset, begin by having a positive attitude. See the opportunities in your problems. Constantly remind yourself of your strengths and abilities. This creates personal confidence and leads to the mental strength which you need to control your mindset.
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Appreciate the little things in your life
Never before has such a large percentage of humanity had access to so much information so easily. Today, we can learn anything about the world through our smartphones, tablets, laptops and TVs. Most of the time, we spend hours staring into them as we perform our jobs and also as we seek entertainment. This can lead to a stressed, fixed mindset. The ideals and ideas of the society can overwhelm you and cause frustration over the things that you want but don't have. This leads to a mindset of never being satisfied. Control and change it into one of satisfaction by appreciating the little things which you have. Play with your pet, take a walk in the park or meditate in your house. This allows you to feel peace and foster an appreciative mindset.
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Do something that makes you excited even if it is unconventional
Do you have an activity which you have always wanted to perform? Are there things which you always wanted to experience but could not due to your culture, family environment or type of upbringing? Well, you should go ahead and do it. The society around us instills specific guidelines of behavior. They are unwritten rules which we have to stick to in everything we do. This created a fixed mindset. You may be able to go to work and make a living with this mindset. However, you will never be able to experience your personal desires. Therefore, control and transform it into a growth mindset by breaking the rules of society and following your desire. It will give you a chance to do what you love and the confidence to own your identity no matter what.
Speculate on the worst and then live your life
One of the negative activities which we spend so much time on is worrying. We worry about almost everything. Our jobs, our relationships, our careers, health and even public image. This is not good for our hearts and is definitely worse for our mindsets. Most importantly, worrying prevents us from living a full life. Therefore, if you are worried about doing something, just ask yourself, what's the worst that could happen? After that, explore this consequence and compare it with the joy you will feel when you perform that activity. In most cases, the joy of this risky activity will outweigh the consequences if everything went wrong. Thus, you control your mentality and create one of courage. This helps you to live your life to the fullest.
Change your activity
To get rid of negative thoughts which have a bad effect on your mindset, simply change the activity you are doing so as to create a new train of thought. If you were sitting at your desk and fatigue causes frustration to set in, you can simply change your location and take a walk to the window. Moreover, you can go and chat with a friend or colleague about something interesting and positive. This will return your mindset to one of winning and success.
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The Important Take Away
Mindset is very important because it affects the way we view our surroundings and ourselves too. If you have a negative one, everything around you will be negative as well. However, if you have a positive mindset, positivity will surround you and opportunities will come knocking at your door. The guidelines above can help you to change your mindset into a beneficial one. They are wise words of counsel for all of us.
