January 11, 2023

How to Improve Your Mindset

Do you want to improve your mindset to change your life?

Well, it’s definitely not possible but it isn’t easy. You can improve your mindset with the right tips and justenough willpower. But the real question is how?

The first step is obviouslyself-help, compassion, and awareness to bring small but consistent lifestylechanges. As they say that if you have this idea of who you want to be, you needto work on building that person every day, even if it means small changes. So,start small but go all the way!

Why Mindset Matters?

Your mindset is what drives you. Itliterally sets the tone for every day of your life. It’s basically yourattitude towards life in general. How do you feel about certain things? Whatgets you excited? What motivates you? What are your goals? What do you dread?How do you feel about the people around you?

And you should know that like attractslike. Hence, if you’re always fostering crappy thoughts and feelings, externalfactors are unlikely to change that. If anything, they might just make thesituation worse. But if you’re a positive and optimistic person, you can easilyfind the silver lining in almost every scenario. Either way, though, thisswitch is internal, and you can trainyour mind to behave exactly the way you want, i.e., develop the right mindset.

Understanding Your Mind

The human brain is complicated.Still, you can program it to run a certain way just like a computer. What youfeed into it as input will directly impact the resulting output. You can alwaysreorganize your thoughts and adapt to different situations. You can alsodevelop habits by repeating actions over and over until your brain learns tonormalize them. But the secret to all this lies in understating how to resetand rewire your brain pathways, and that means understanding how your mindactually works.

The cerebellum is the part of yourbrain that helps you internalize actions as part of your routine. For instance,you don’t need to think about opening your mouth or chewing when you eatbecause your brain already knows that’s what you’re supposed to do with food.Likewise, you don’t need to worry about putting one foot in front of the otherwhen you walk because your cerebellum has it under control. The prefrontalcortex region, it’s responsible for goal-setting. It helps you determine theright decision from all available options so that you can behave rationally.So, when you decide to do something new, your brain is immediately skepticalbecause it's not used to that style of living. It does this to protect you fromthe unknown. But at the end of the day, your brain is merely a tool, andunderstanding how you can use it to your advantage is the real power. Thus, youcan redesign your future by reframing and improving your mindset.

What you need is an abundancemindset which entails that you always have enough time, money, energy, andwhatever else you may need. This means that you are in control of your life andthat you give your all despite prevailing obstacles because you believe inyourself. And to break out of your scarcity mindset, you need to develop theawareness that life is happening for you, not to you – because that makes allthe difference!

The Power of a Positive Mindset

A positive mindset is more thanjust a happy mood it can actually render incredible benefits, specifically foryour mental health. Having a positive mindset means that you are completely incontrol of your life. This obviously helps you achieve your goals much fasterbecause you are more compassionate, empathetic, and creative when you allowyourself to be you. So, in your journey of personal development, start withpositivity, self-care, and self-awareness.

How to Change Your Mindset to Support You?

Your thoughts translate intoactions, and that’s precisely why you need to watch yourself and your thoughts.You should realize that you can change your belief system because your brain isnot fixed – it is adaptable. And remember that you can be anything you want, sostart by cultivating a growth mindset.

#1 Don’t Believe Everything You Think

If you want to cultivatepositivity, you need to separate yourself from your thoughts. It’s natural tohave both positive and negative thoughts but you should remember that thoughtsare just that: thoughts. They don’t define you and they certainly aren’t alwaystrue. Hence, you need to actively decide what to feel and consciously createthoughts that support you. And more importantly, you must work on your beliefsystem rather than just your actions. After all, your actions are a result ofyour mindset, and thus, you need to deal with the root of the problem to solveit effectively. The transition from negative to neutral and finally, positivebeliefs. Make a list of beliefs that you want to develop and break them downinto actionable intentions that would allow you to reach your goals.

#2 Practice Self Love

Self-love is important because itmakes you more confident. When you accept yourself as you are, only then canyou fully harness your capabilities. Know that you deserve good things,wholesome friendships, and all the love in the world! Self-care provides contentmentand naturally deflects negativity. If you’re cultivating a positive mindset, youwon’t beat yourself up even if you fail. Rather, you’ll ask supportivequestions like, “How can I do this better?’”, “How can I solve this problem?”,or even “Why am I upset about XYZ and how can I feel better about it?”

#3 Foster Gratitude

Anotherimportant aspect of a positive attitude is to be grateful for what you alreadyhave. Life is full of ups and downs. So, even if you feel like everything is going wrong – that'slikely, not true. Negative thoughts often tend to overshadow other emotions,but you need to realize that there is always something to be grateful for, suchas good health, supportive friendships, a loving family, or even just food onthe table. Hence, focus on the good rather than the bad and you’ll find thatyou are, in fact, very blessed. And ultimately, gratitude can go a long way inhelping you develop the right mindset.

#4 Show Empathy

Compassion and empathy are thecornerstones of positivity. So, you should try to do something for someone elseat least every once in a while. Being empathetic really doesn’t cost anythingbut it can genuinely help instill a positive attitude. This is especiallyimportant if you struggle with self-love because if you’re a nice person,you’re automatically easier to love – not that you aren’t otherwise. Frequentlycheck in with the people around you to show you care because what matters isthat you’re trying. So, keep your intentions pure and help other people out –it will 100% make you feel better about yourself. And it’s the best way totransform your mindset.

#5 Forgive Yourself

What’s more, you should forgiveyourself and those around you. Understand that you might mess up once or twice,or even more sometimes. But if you’re doing your best, then that’s all youneed. You should focus on learning from your mistakes rather than sulking. Tryand make the best of your situation, no matter how bleak it may seem at first.And of course, all these tie back to cultivating positivity.

#6 Get Emotional Support

Apart from the effort that you’reputting in yourself, you should know that it’s still okay to ask for help. Ifyour loved ones check in on you, be open to their love and kindness. Accept itwholeheartedly and don't stomp on your feelings. Feel what you're feeling –don't belittle your emotions. And definitely don't keep them bottled up. Beyourself unapologetically and don’t be afraid to seek emotional support fromyour besties. You don’t need to do everything yourself all the time. Asking forhelp is healthy. Remember that it’s okay to be vulnerable around the peoplethat care about you. So, let your guard down and let your social circle supportyou when you need it.

#7 Surround Yourself with Like-Minded People

They say that a man is recognizedby the company he keeps – and they're absolutely right! Positivity iscontagious, so, if you want to elevate your mood, maybe you should surroundyourself with happy people. Make sure that your social circle includes peoplewho inspire you to be better. Life is a marathon, not a race.

Find Your Safe Place to Start Healing

Awareness is crucial to develop theright mindset and taking control of your life. Remember, you can choose to bewhoever you want, no matter your past. And if you decide to change yourattitude, you need to cultivate positivity and declutter negative thoughts. Butmost importantly, ask for help when you need it. Seek support. Open your heart to love.Be receptive to affection and friendship. Your Friend Community is a good place to start. It’s a safe space for you toexpress your feelings, even the ones you might feel ashamed of. Remember thatyour thoughts are not who you are. So, choose friendship and love because youare worthy of it!

Nancy Nguyen - Peer Counselor

Subscribe to Our Monthly Newsletter

We hate spam. Your Friend Community writes to their friends once a month because we focus on bringing value to our community with content that is share-worthy.

If you subscribe, just have peace knowing you won't be constantly bombarded with unnecessary emails. ;)

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.