When we were kids, we had an above ground pool in the backyard. One of the things we loved to do was create a whirlpool effect, where the water flowed around the pool in one direction and we could float along with it. But to get that point it needed as many of us as possible to walk around and around the inside of the pool in the same direction. Man that was soooo boring and hard. Static water can be hard to shift! But with perseverance, the water would flow in one direction, and we would hop on our boogie boards and float around in it, like a water park.
Changing your mindset so it sticks is like that. Maybe you want to be more confident. Act decisively. Love again. Go for that promotion. What you might notice when you choose a more empowering mindset is resistance.
This is because even with a new mindset, all your ways of operating and moving in the world was calibrated to your old assumptions and beliefs. Embodying your new mindset takes practice and perseverance. It can’t just be done once or half heartedly.
I love Steven Pressfield’s idea about how resistance works. In his book The War of Art he writes “The more important a call or action to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel toward pursuing it.” Resistance only rears its head when we want to elevate our life in some way. To grow or achieve more. Pressfield again: “Most of us have two lives: the life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.”
If you are trying to develop your mindsets and yet finding yourself still mired in the old ones –don’t worry. That just means you are doing something worthwhile and attracting Resistance’s notice! Keep going!
When you start to challenge your limiting mindsets, and choose ones that are more empowering and conscious, you are moving forward in your life and your growth. When you fallback into old habits like procrastination or blame – and you will – you can start the Mindset Process again.
Notice what your mindset is – your old stories, beliefs, identities that feel true but are holding you back. Question them. And then choose how you want to show up, despite the difficulties of your situation, or despite the leanings of your own personality.
Every day and every moment is a chance to choose. This is the power we have as humans. Showing up to do the work, and taking the action correlated by your new mindset – that’s leadership.
