Want to Improve Your Life? Improve Your Mindsets!

I think I know something about you: You are navigating life the very best that you can.

Between how you were raised and your life experiences, you have come to see the world and operate within this world in a certain way, a way that you have come to believe is the best way to live.

Stated differently, how you were raised and your life’s experiences have caused you to develop certain mindsets that shape how you live. And, you have every reason to believe that the mindsets that you are wearing are the very best mindsets to wear (or else you would be wearing different mindsets).

Let me give you an example from my life.

I was raised in a rather frugal household. For us, this meant a few things. First, when birthdays and Christmas came around, the presents were generally things that the person needed, and rarely were they things that were wanted and not needed. Second, debt was seen as bad and evidence that you were living beyond your means. Third, the best way to increase how much money you had was to reduce costs.

Thus, my upbringing led me to develop a scarcity mindset. And, I had every reason to believe that I was viewing life in the best way. I got in the habit of eating PB&Js every day for lunch because it was a good way to keep costs low. When I would see someone purchase a brand new car off the lot, I would think, “That wasn’t a very good financial decision.” I was reluctant (and still am) to purchase decorations for my living spaces because I saw decorations as being an unnecessary want instead of a necessity.

While I knew I thought about finances in a particular way, what I didn’t realize is that this was a mindset. It was a lens that I was wearing that impacted how I thought and how I interpreted the world.

With this scarcity mindset, I saw my finances as a fixed pie, and the less I could spend out of that pie, the more money I would have.

You may be laughing at me, but I was very serious about this. I completely believed that this was the very best way to see the world and live life. This mindset shaped how I thought (processed information), learned, and behaved.

But then, I read a book that (1) made me conscious of my otherwise unconscious deficit mindset, and (2) helped me completely change my mindset from being a deficit mindset (fixed pie) to much more of an abundance mindset (expanding pie). The book is “You are a Badass at Making Money” by Jen Sincero. I couldn’t recommend it more highly (so do yourself a favor and purchase it now).

I now see and live life quite differently. As a result, I now think, learn, and behave completely differently. As an example, I chose to go into debt to start my consulting business as a way to expand my pie. Something I never would have considered doing before. 

Ultimately, me shifting from a deficit mindset to an abundance mindset has led me to starting my consulting business, this blog, the book I am writing, and having a greater positive impact on the world. 

What I am trying to get at is this: You are currently wearing mindsets that (1) you aren’t fully conscious of, and (2) you think are the very best way to view life. But, it is likely that your current mindsets are not the very best way to view life. 

Acknowledging this can be very powerful because if you can admit your mindsets are in need of improvement, you will be open to improving your mindsets. And, if you are open to improving your mindsets, you are on your way to improving your life. 

Thus, if you want to improve your life—to get from where you are currently at to where you want to be—it is going to be necessary to (1) become conscious of your mindsets, and (2) improve your mindsets.

To help you with this, I have developed a personal mindset assessment. It is designed to help you identify the degree to which you possess success mindsets. 

In the meantime, what mindsets have you had to change in order to live life in a better way?