Episode #77 -Tune up your mindset!

Episode Notes: 

Lately, have you been really on edge, in a constant state of irritation, frustration, bitterness, unusually sarcastic, negative, or just plain angry… but not exactly sure why?

 Feeling like you’re just not firing on all cylinders, badly sputtering through your days, desperately in need of a tune-up! 

 Can’t help but feel that you ARE stuck in this funk, and not really sure how to get through it?

Has the last 24 months of COVID “side-effects” have your mindset completely out of whack?

  Join us this week, as we discover the answers to these questions, lie in the lack of our basic human need for CERTAINTY in our lives, and how the lack of that through the last 2 years of “side-effects” has fouled-out our mindsets. I will give you a few tips & suggestions to help tune-up your mindset and get back to living the life you want! 

Visit Rick’s website: www.rickselover.com  

Need one-on-one Mindset or Personal Development coaching? – drop me a note @ www.rickselover.com/services 

Help support the show!     https://www.buymeacoffee.com/Mindwrench

Affiliate Links

Read or listen to Top non-fiction book on Blinkist 20% off membership & 7-day free trial

Need freelance help with your business? Check out Fiverr

Want an easier way to shop? Check out Instacart

Transcript

Tune up your mindset!
This week I have a quick message and I just wanted to address something that’s been bothering me lately…  and I would dare to bet, that it has bothered most all of you as well, only you may not have realized exactly what it is or why you’ve been feeling the way you do?

I have had several conversations over the last couple weeks with customers, clients, friends and some very successful people in my network that said something along the lines of “thanks, I needed that”, or “I’m feeling much better after our talk”, or “I’ve been in the dumps a bit, thanks for putting me back on track”, or “that’s just what I needed to hear!” 

It seems many of us are really on edge, in a constant state of irritation, frustration, bitterness… we’ve been unusually sarcastic or negative, or just plain angry! I’ve really never seen anything like this before!

Some of us may feel like we’re just not firing on all cylinders, badly sputtering through our days, desperately in need of a tune-up! 

Any of you that know me by now, know that I not only preach and promote having a positive or growth mindset and how much that can affect our lives for the better, but I walk the talk as well, right?... but lately I have found myself with these same thoughts, feelings or what I would characterize as “side-effects” of the last 2 years.

Even the most positive, successful and determined people, have their moments or periods of these negative feelings and doubt, but fortunately we have the tools and resourcefulness to recognize these minor detours and make the mental adjustments to get ourselves back on track quickly.

As a country and as a world, we have had a full two years of non-stop COVID situations that have changed our world and our way of life, and now it seems to finally have turned the corner and life is starting to return to some shades of normal (as normal as it’s going to get). But we haven’t even had a chance to take a breath, and now it seems the “side-effects” of COVID have quickly taken its place as another source of uncertainty and frustration. Those side-effects come in the form of shortages of products and services, back-orders and stock-outs on things we never dreamed of (I mean did you ever think there would be a time in your life that you couldn’t go down to the local car dealership & pick out that new model car or truck you’ve been waiting for?),  a massive lack of workers in almost all sectors of the workforce makes it even worse, inflation that’s driving our investments into a bear market, gas prices rising faster than a SpaceX rocket… and oh yeah, we have the whole Russia invasion of Ukraine that has the entire world on the edge of their seats!

Thank God the news finally found a new lead story that wasn’t related to COVID!

My point is, there has been a lot of uncertainty in our lives for an extended period of time, and it has been extremely difficult to focus our thoughts in the right directions and maintain a positive, productive mindset.

But, with that said, staying in this state of mind is NOT an option!

One of our basic human needs, is the need for Certainty in our lives… without it, we will feel scared, confused, unsure, vulnerable and anxious.

I know a lot of us feel that we ARE stuck in this funk, and not really sure how to get through it?

It’s like being in your car out in the middle of nowhere, flat land all around you, a big curve a ¼ mile ahead of you, with your car in neutral because all you see in front of you is a powerful storm. You’re afraid to move forward, because you don’t know if you could make it through, or if it gets better or worse around the corner… so you wait for the storm to pass, it starts to clear a bit and you start to move forward, but then you see another storm moving in on the horizon, so back into neutral it goes… and you keep waiting.  But if you keep waiting, there will always be another storm... but that’s just how life is. 

You just need to put it in gear, hold that steering wheel tight, have some faith in yourself and drive right through the son-of-a-bitch!

You will find yourself on the other side of that storm, the sun will come back out, and you can continue on your journey towards your better future.

Now you just need to do that same thing with your mindset, and I’m going to give you a couple tips to help you on your way.

By the way, if you’re a new listener and haven’t gone through some of my older episodes, I’ve done several talks on the subject on mindset in the past (go check them out when you have time!), but if you’re wondering what all this “mindset” stuff may be about… here’s a quick summary.

Our mindsets are what determine our success, our mediocracy or our failures. They determine our mental, emotional or spiritual growth (or lack of) 

They determine our level of happiness in our relationships, our families, our jobs or careers or business... They determine the images we hold of ourselves… our own sense of worth.

The mindset you have each day keeps you happy, positive and hopeful for the future or, it can keep you unhappy, miserable, frustrated & ready to throw in the towel at any given moment.

So why do I have the mindset that I have right now?... I don’t remember making a conscious choice at any point?

Unless purposefully selected & adopted, our current mindset, and our decision to stay in it or change it, is shaped by several things like the people or conditions around us… our history… our background… our thoughts, our goals & dreams (or lack of), but most importantly by what we choose to feed our minds on a consistent basis… or what we prevent from entering our minds.

So here is the good news!... all of us have, and I do mean ALL… have the ability… every single day of our lives to change our mindset, that’s right… every day, our choice... to change, that is up to each of us.

We are never too old, too young, too far gone or not ready yet, to make that change… it can be done at any point in your life.

First thing we need to do is recognize, accept and own our current, unhealthy, state of mind or mindset.

That means we need to be self-aware enough to see that our current mindset is not positive, not productive for ourselves or our family, friends or coworkers… and certainly not taking us in a good direction… frankly, if we’re feeling “stuck where we are”, that’s a pretty good sign.

We also must accept the fact that this current state of mind is not good for us or anyone else, and it does need to change, and then finally, we need to really OWN it… this is NOT someone else’s fault, can’t blame it on COVID or the President, or our spouse, or our job or even God… this mindset we are living in is completely and 100% OUR OWN CHOICE and that WE are the ONLY ONE’s that can change it!

Second thing we need to do, is figure out exactly what are the factors or influencers, that we are allowing to create this negative mindset we seem to be stuck in, and make plans to do what we need to do, to stop letting those negative things keep us off our game, and replace them with more useful, positive and helpful things for us to focus on. I mean is it the people we are spending our time with, is it the things we see & hear on the news each day and night, is it the things we spend our quite time thinking and worrying about or maybe those nasty little self-limiting beliefs we have about how it’s not a good time to make any moves, better lay low, we’re not smart enough, rich enough, lucky enough or worthy of pulling ourselves out of this current situation, or make some improvements in out lives right now?... what is it for you??

Third thing we need to do (and this is my favorite part), start making those changes RIGHT NOW that have the most substantial impact on our mindset… take IMMEDIATE ACTION on these few influencers of our brain that really mold our mindsets.

1.     Feed you mind daily some good, healthy “brain food”, like inspirational, motivational or educational podcasts, e-books, apps like Audible from Amazon or Blinkist (which are non-fiction books boiled down to 15 min blinks you can read or listen to). Or search YouTube for one of thousands of great teachings and messages from the world’s top motivational speakers, authors and business leaders like Tony Robbins/ Zig Ziglar/ Brian Tracy/ Les Brown/ Jim Rohn/ Dean Graziosi/ Dr Wayne Dyer and many more… all FREE!

2.     Reduce or eliminate the negative noise in your day. Go on a news diet for a few weeks (or months), stay away from the negative people in your life (as much as possible), don’t get sucked into “complaining sessions” with coworkers, stay off or really limit the time you spend scrolling on SM sites, or taking advise from friends that aren’t maxing out in life.

3.     Take a little better care of yourself. Start eating a little better, plan to lose 5 or 10 lbs, start an easy morning routine, or at least get your body moving in the morning. Reduce sugars or high amounts of carbs from your diet, drink more water every day, go a little easier on the partying!

4.     Set some attainable (not super-simple) challenging goals and then plan on working toward them to achieve them. Plan the rewards you will allow yourself when you reach those goals. You will be amazed at how that changes your thinking patterns.

 Like I mentioned in some previous episodes, we are constantly growing, developing, and changing. We were not designed to stop that process, I’m quite sure we were not designed to be sedentary or fixed…. Our body and minds capacities are not stretched and strengthened by sitting on the couch at night, watching Netflix, drinking beer and eating potato chips. We are destined for so much more than that.

 We are designed to continue to learn, grow, expand our abilities until we leave this earth.

I know 70- and 80-year-olds that have started new businesses, started a new relationship, learned a new skill, travelled across the states or explored a new country, or learned a new language. 

We are never too old to start something… never too old to change our mindset.

If you want to run a better shop, have more success in your business, add some enjoyment to how you spend your time at work, have a better shop atmosphere and make a more positive impact on those that you serve, or maybe just have a more peaceful home life, and enjoy your downtime the way it should be enjoyed… a mindset shift can produce a massive positive effect on your shop, and in your personal life as well!

One of my favorite bands growing up and still is today, is The Eagles (for you non-boomers, they were a popular rock band in the 70’s), their music seemed to transport my mindset to a beautiful place. If I ever needed a little boost in my mood, I would just put on some of their songs and would immediately get that “Peaceful, Easy Feeling” …. There’s a line in one of their greatest hits, “Already Gone”, that really sums-up what I’ve been talking about:

Well, I know it wasn't you who held me down
 Heaven knows it wasn't you who set me free
 So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
 And we never even know we have the key – from The Eagles album On the Border -1974

Well, I hope these keys I’ve shared with you today, helps get you out of that funk, gets your mindset back on the right track, give your mindset a well-needed tune-up, and get back to the life that you want to live.