A Growth Mindset and Emotional Intelligence Do Not Come Naturally To Most!

If you follow my work, you probably know that I am a big proponent of the importance of mindset in all aspects of life; especially amidst chronic health challenges!

I, however, did NOT always have a supportive mindset.

For many years; even way before falling down the rabbit hole of chronic illness at the tender age 26, my mindset muscle was the definite underdog to my fight or flight muscle.

I was prone to perfectionism, fretting, and people pleasing. When life threw me curve balls and disappointment, I often engaged with destructive belief systems and spiraled into catastrophic thinking versus embracing a growth mindset.

Growth mindset and emotional intelligence are concepts that do not come naturally to most people; especially amidst hardship.

To this day, I have to work consistently not to allow my inner-critic and negative mind stories derail me when things do not go as I had planned or hoped.

Mindset Is A Muscle That Must Be Developed!

And, let's face it, life can be very HARD at times.

There are many curve balls, disappointments, traumas, and disasters to contend with. Nobody is immune!

But, it is during these times we have a grand opportunity to begin developing our mindset muscle.

In fact, during hard times, we are faced with a Choice Pointe to choose to respond to adversity per the "script" that our nervous system has been reading from up to this point in our life or take steps to begin writing a new, more nourishing one!

A script that will allow us to transform the pain of where we are at into growth, wisdom, and higher-level consciousness.

And from this space is where healing, clarity, and transformation occur.

You see, we don’t often get to choose our circumstances but we all have the choice as to how to respond to the circumstances and events that come our way.

And, how we choose to respond to our circumstances profoundly influences the outcomes we experience.

But choosing new ways of responding does not come easily.

Nope! It takes deep desire and commitment to want to change how we show up in the world along with daily practice; much the same way it takes to learn to play an instrument, speak a 2nd language, or tone one's muscles.

Perception Is Critical!

Cultivating the mindset for healing and personal success also requires a shift in perspective -- a shift SO simple that many overlook it. And although this shift is simple, it has incredible power to transform your life -- if you allow it to do so.

So, here it is:

Regardless of what your current circumstances are, whether you are chronically ill, in a bad relationship/marriage, in a soul-sucking job, family issues, building a business and feeling overwhelmed, trying to write a book, and the list goes on; your trajectory is what matters; not your current position.

Let me state that again!

YOUR TRAJECTORY IS WHAT MATTERS; NOT YOUR CURRENT POSITION!

And, our trajectory is significantly determined by our consistent, daily habits.

You see, it's SO familiar for our minds to overemphasize the power of ONE DEFINING MOMENT and underemphasize the value of making small improvements consistently.

It is human nature to convince ourselves that moving forward requires BIG, MONUMENTAL actions.

Because of this, we put pressure on ourselves to make a MAJOR change in a short amount of time.

Meanwhile, we stress ourselves out, set ourselves up for failure, and we lose sight of the importance of making, small, incremental, and consistent shifts!

Our Habits Shape Our Lives!

Making consistent improvements by just 1%, 05%, or even .01 % each day (or even each week) and maintaining a growth mindset amidst inevitable setbacks is the formula for long-term, sustainable success.

Over a year, a series of 1% improvements will add up to a monumental shift!

The opposite it also holds.

If we consistently engage in daily habits that keep us on the same trajectory or make our situation 1% worse each day or week, then by the end of the year our circumstances will be no better, or they will be worse.

True healing and transformation take time! There are no quick fixes or magic wands!

The more one looks for short cuts; the further stuck one will become!

The quality of our life depends on the quality of our daily habits!

And habits include how we think, behave, show up in the world, and how we respond to the events and circumstances in our lives!

I will tell you that embracing this concept has been KEY to my success in recovery from disabling chronic illness, healing my marriage and life, and building a successful functional health practice!

Putting It To Practice! A Short Exercise For You!

In closing, I leave you with this short exercise to ponder:

Starting today, If I were to improve my XXXXX (fill in the blank) by just 1% each day (or week):

I would...
I would...
I would...
I would...
I would...

Tip: Focus on actions steps you will take that are specific, manageable, relevant, and ones that you WILL commit to. Also, focus on positive habits that you want to implement, versus negative patterns that you are trying to break!

For example: If I were to improve my quality of sleep by just 1% each week:

I would read an actual book the hour before bed instead of surfing the internet or my phone
I would implement a pre-bed routine of 5 minutes of deep breathing followed by listening to a 5-minute guided meditation
I would watch the sunrise each night and get 15 minutes of sunlight within the first 30 minutes of waking each day
Etc..

Note: This is a real-life example of one that I did amidst my journey to recover from chronic health challenges when I was struggling with insomnia. :)