There are few exercises that immediately bring an “aha!” A couple of years ago, I had such an experience as I did a 5-day “transformation” course. Most transformation courses I’ve taken are about transforming your body, or your diet. This was intriguing because it was really about transforming mindset.
Why Mindset?
Mindset is one of those things that pretty much exists in the background. Not many people think about it, yet, it is the controller or governor of a lot of decision-making, particularly risktaking. In her book Mindset (2015), Dr. Carol Dweck suggests that having either a growth mindset or a fixed mindset is the major difference between successful people and those who experience less success.
But changing your mindset is like changing your cadence if you are a runner. It takes a lot of hard work to change the patterns of movement embedded deep in your brain. And, the change may garner a minor improvement in performance, rather than the monumental result you want. So why bother?
Here’s why. An incremental change of just 1% each month will compound over time to produce massive changes. So really all that is necessary is a small change to your mindset to begin a transformation in what you believe is possible, and by extension, what you see in results.
A Simple Exercise to Start a Mindset Shift
According to Coach Dov Gordon of Alchemist Entrepreneur, when asked what we want to accomplish, we temper our response with what we secretly believe is the maximum of what we can accomplish. In other words, we unconsciously reinforce a limiting or negative belief. To counteract this and intentionally build a growth mindset, he suggests the following exercise:
1. Make a list of those things that you think you can’t have, can’t accomplish, or can’t be.
Don’t think about it very deeply, just write a list of those things you really think are not going to happen for you in your business, personal or other, aspect of your life. Now, review your list—does it seem familiar to you? Spoiler alert! Embedded in that list will be the things you have said that you DO want. That list reflects your mindset about your dreams and desires.
The second part of this exercise will intentionally facilitate the incremental change of mindset. Ready?
2. As you review your list, begin to plant seeds of doubt about the things you have listed.
For example, if you wrote that you don’t believe you can reach your ideal weight – a seed of doubt may be to recall past success and rewrite it to reflect an incremental change. The “I can’t lose the weight” limiting belief is reframed to “with good eating habits, daily exercise, and accountability, I can reach my goal weight.” There may be several reframing statements that come to mind, write them down.
You have taken the negative inner thought, applied doubt to that negative thought and in so doing you have shifted your thinking – you have articulated the possibility. This is an important reframe. By articulating the possibility, you increase the probability.
You can Change Your Mindset
I encourage you to take the time to go through your entire list of limiting beliefs and apply doubt to those negative thoughts. From “I can’t build a successful business that exceeds my current income” to “I have a plan and by executing it I am well able to double my current income.” In the 3 or 4 minutes, it took for me to write my list of “can’ts,” 11 negative beliefs stuck out. By changing my mindset about them – they can become 11 big audacious goals.
Don’t talk yourself out of it by focusing on the simplicity of this exercise or by doubting the effectiveness of a mindset shift. Carol Dweck says that those with a growth mindset, “value what they’re doing regardless of the outcome. They’re tackling problems, charting new courses, working on important issues. Maybe they haven’t found the cure for cancer, but the search was deeply meaningful.” (Dweck, 2015).
Do you need a mindset adjustment? Try this exercise and let me know how you have reframed your negative beliefs in the comments below.