Mindset Challenge – The Foundation For Getting What You Want

Autumn’s in the air. The time of year when leaves turn dramatic shades of red, yellow and orange.

It makes me want to change colors too.  I’d love for you to join me.

You and I will be “changing” the colors of our brains with

The Mindset Challenge.

I’ve been thinking about doing this for a while – on my blog – with full accountability.

According to The Traffic School at Think Traffic, people who set up accountability pages for themselves and regularly update them do 10 times better than people who don’t have any accountability.

So you could set up a page on your website or blog and I could link to it so we’re holding each other accountable. I’d love your help and I’d love to help you.

If there’s enough interest, I’ll make this into a fun contest with prizes and surprises.

What’s the value in a mindset challenge?

Your mindset is the foundation for all you do.

• If you believe that you’re not capable of speaking in public you won’t try to do so.

• If you believe that you’re smart and can learn anything you’ll take on any challenge thrown your way.

• If you believe you should “be seen and not heard”, you won’t speak up at meetings or challenge authority.

• If you believe money is the root of all evil, you’ll do things to sabotage making money for yourself.

These are all examples of mindset.

My Story As Example

I’m at the precipice of making major changes in my business and in my life.

I was rolling along, making progress, accomplishing some awesome things and then I stalled. It’s like I let out the clutch but forgot to push down the gas pedal. It took awhile but I realized I was self-sabotaging with some of my (unconscious) bordered thinking.

As I started to pay attention to my thoughts and words, I noticed a theme related to money and “big” success.

• “Money does funny things to people.” (Words of my realtor mother who experienced how otherwise loving families turned against each other when it came to the estate sale of a property. She had many war/money stories that occurred under all sorts of circumstances).

• “People who become highly successful also become highly arrogant.” (Another all or nothing statement I’d absorbed in my life.)

• “This is something I really want. I can’t screw it up.” (Doing nothing doesn’t give me the chance to screw it up.)

As I recognized these thoughts, I also realized the affect they had on my taking action toward more income and increased business success.

1. I did not want to take advantage of my family or anyone related to money.
2. I did not want to become arrogant.
3. I did not want to screw up.

How To Move From Mindset Awareness to Action

I’m going to borrow from and credit The Work of Byron Katie for the 4 questions to ask yourself about the bordered thought you put on your mindset accountability page. (Click here to see my accountability page.) You can also put your answers to Katie’s questions on the page or in a journal.

I simply walk myself through the questions in my mind. Do what works for you.

Question 1: Is it true? (for example is it true that successful people become arrogant people?)
This question can change your life. Be still and ask yourself if the thought you wrote down is true.

Question 2: Can you absolutely know it’s true? (Can I absolutely know that it’s true that successful people become arrogant people?)
This is another opportunity to open your mind and to go deeper into the unknown, to find the answers that live beneath what we think we know.

Question 3: How do you react—what happens—when you believe that thought? (I get anxious about being successful. I distract myself from doing what I need to do to obtain the type of success I want).
With this question, you begin to notice internal cause and effect. You can see that when you believe the thought, there is a disturbance that can range from mild discomfort to fear or panic. What do you feel? How do you treat the person (or the situation) you’ve written about, how do you treat yourself, when you believe that thought? Make a list, and be specific.

Question 4: Who would you be without the thought? (Wow, I won’t go into specifics here, but I’d behave a lot differently).
Imagine yourself in the presence of that person (or in that situation), without believing the thought. How would your life be different if you didn’t have the ability to even think the stressful thought? How would you feel? Which do you prefer—life with or without the thought? Which feels kinder, more peaceful?

Turn the thought around:
The “turnaround” gives you an opportunity to experience the opposite of what you believe. Once you have found one or more turnarounds to your original statement, you are invited to find at least three specific, genuine examples of how each turnaround is true in your life.

Asking myself those questions brought tremendous change for me. I hope they do for you too.

But first, you have to capture your mindset thoughts. I’m going to write in my accountability page frequently. You can click on my page from here and the Navigation Bar. Link to this page so I can also see what you’re doing.

So Who’s In?

Let me know in the comment section what questions you have and if you’re up for The Mindset Challenge.

Feel free to contact me if you want tips on how to recognize your mindset “tells”.