Start Fixing Your Broken Mindset
While attending a post-bac program at Southern Illinois University, I had a fire-red Ford Escort. The car was debt-free, ran well, and kept me from walking. I’m sure people clowned me for having it, but I couldn’t care less.
I loved that car.
But it doesn’t mean I didn’t have to replace one thing after the other on that car.
The clutch went twice within 18 months, totaling nearly $2000; as a grad student, that was painful. Not too long after that, the thermostat went, and me, not knowing a ton about auto repair, thought that thermostat would be an easy fix; it wasn’t and ended up costing another $300. If I could travel back in time to talk to my 24-year-old self, he and I would have been looking for cars.
But that is not the point of this story.
The car thermostat (at least on my car) needed several things moved to get to it. It wasn’t a 5-minute job that made the labor cost more. Also, the parts are harder to find because it was an older car.
The thermostat is the regulator of the temperature of the car. Your car can overheat a lot quicker and cause even more headaches if it goes.
The engine, radiator, and water pump all rely on the thermostat to do their job.
Your mindset is a lot like that thermostat.
It controls everything in your life, and if it’s broken, it causes an untold amount of headaches.
The older you get, the more challenging it gets to change your mindset because you’ve been thinking this way for a long time.
If you aren’t getting the results you want, your mindset is likely broken. And it needs to be fixed if you want things to change.
The two most prominent ways we fix our mindset are by changing what we think and say.
Changing your thoughts can be easier said than done, but it’s worth your time to start.
For instance, if you struggle to focus, what is the prevailing thought?
It’s likely many thoughts. There is no governance of your thinking, so the mind is in overdrive.
If you give the mind instructions on what to think is a way to slow down the racing thoughts.
- fix this issue by 12 PM
- Call this person at 2 PM
Instruction provides little leeway in response. The mind obeys what you tell it.
The second thing you can do is change what you say. When you say things like, “It’ going to be a hard day,” or “I know this isn’t going to work,” The mind starts working to make it harder than it needs to be. You are better off saying today will be easy or easier than yesterday.
Spiritual law says that our words become flesh and dwell among us. If you don’t want what you say to become reality, then don’t say it.
Your thoughts and words have been mainly creating your life up to this point. If you don’t like what you see, it’s up to you to fix it. You have the power; start using it.
