The mind – arguably the most powerful tool in Life’s Toolbox. Its where ideas, thoughts, and decisions are made, and I think that it’s so fascinating that all of ours work so differently from each other. The fact that two people can be involved in the exact same experience but process it in two completely different ways is something truly unique to the human experience.

That being said, how does this play into what we recognize as the mindset? 

Good ol’ Merriam Webster defines the word mindset as, “a mental attitude or inclination” or, “a fixed state of mind.” You know what this tells us? That a mindset is all about perception, thus being in an internal state of being. Different opinions and perspectives can exist because a mindset is internal and is unique to the individual that it is housed in.

Mind blowing, isn’t it.

This got me to thinking; how does my mindset, a.k.a outlook on life, affect my daily actions and decision-making skills? Well, it actually doesn’t just affect these things, it creates them.

For example, I have the mindset that I would much rather live a life that I love, doing what I love, instead of laboring at a job that I hate just because it pays more. That mindset may have a lot more financial risk to it, but to me the ultimate goal of happiness, joy, and peace is the invaluable gain that makes it all worth it.

In the last month alone I have made change, after change, after change to ensure that my well-being is taken care of this year, and that my heart is protected from any lurking emotional danger. However, because life is just a chain reaction of change, there tends to be a little fear that pops up every once in a while. Even so, I do realize that change/having a growth mindset is what allows us to move along in our respective journeys. This is how we unlearn bad habits and learn to thrive in compromising and challenging environments.

On the other hand, having a negative mindset can be dangerous because it tends to lead us down a sneaky path towards destruction. Sometimes you don’t even realize you are in a bad place until it all kinda hits you at once! Last year I had a mindset that convinced me that suffering and pain was all to be had, and there was no way out of the mental deficit that I found myself in. Not only did it feel like hell on earth, but my mind literally convinced me that there was no way out. I’m telling you, the mind is more powerful than you think!

The good news is that there IS a way out, and trust me, there always is (: Rewiring your brain is the key. I literally had to train my brain that the negative thoughts that I was experiencing were a part of an alternate reality, and the TRUE reality is that there is a way out, and I will get through this no matter what. Kinda matrix-y, I know. 

I had a decision to make – either let the positive thoughts win or sacrifice my mental health in a big way. Thankfully, I chose the former. 

This is the power of the mindset, and it showed me that all the battles that we deal with in life begin in the mind. Additionally, we are ALL capable enough to win these battles, so don’t let yours or anybody else’s negative mindset convince you otherwise!

What thoughts will you let win today?