How To Use Mindfulness to Cultivate a Growth Mindset
“To reach that upper level,
Your mind, body and soul must be one
It’s a sacrifice, it takes hard work
It’s a way of lifeeee”
Victoria Monét did a thing with this song! It helps to bring me out of a funk and the lyrics are just chef’s kiss. Getting into a mindset to show up in this life as your best, authentic self will absolutely require sacrifices and hard work. But once you adopt a growth mindset, your world can begin to change.
Everything you do in life begins with your mindset. How you feel about yourself greatly influences the way that you live your life. The actions you take stem from your thoughts and beliefs. If you want to make a shift or change in your life, you must first tend to your mindset. Think of it as a beautiful garden. The soil needs consistent care and nourishment in order to thrive and so does your mind.
Let’s say you want to become a healthier person. Or a person who lets more joy into their life. You must first believe that you are worthy and capable of it. Because then and only then you can take intentional action. And you can use the beautiful practice of mindfulness to guide you throughout the process.
What Mindfulness Truly Means
Mindfulness is simply observation without judgment. When you practice mindfulness, you can observe your thoughts and behaviors objectively without deeming them as either good or bad. This allows for clarity to be received as well as the cultivation of self-compassion. Being mindful of our internal “stuff” can incite meaningful action towards the change or goal we are seeking.
Benefits of Mindfulness Practice
Mindfulness is a beautiful practice to ignite change in a positive direction by enhancing self-awareness. This allows you to channel any ways of being that don’t align with your ultimate goal of personal wellbeing in a new direction.
It’s critical to be mindful of your thoughts, feelings, experiences and behaviors without judging them. As mentioned before, mindfulness is observation without judgment. When you observe objectively, you can approach your thoughts with self-compassion and self-forgiveness rather than with judgment, guilt and shame.
Limiting Beliefs
“I don’t deserve to rest until I achieve something because feel incomplete.” “I have to keep achieving things and prove myself because I feel like I am lacking.”
These are examples of limiting beliefs.
They arise from 5 different messengers which are: “I am lacking or flawed. I am time bound. I am disconnected. I am incomplete. I am limited.” One or more of these messengers arise every time that we buy into a limiting belief. Because mindfulness can enhance self-awareness, it can help you to come to a higher state of self-realization. When we do this, we can discover the limiting beliefs that hold us back and do the work to release them.
Releasing Limiting Beliefs
What we believe, we receive. Our belief systems sculpt what we invite into our inner world. These belief systems create an alluring field of energy that draws experiences into our path based on the beliefs that we hold. Mindfulness practices give us the power to notice limiting beliefs as they arise, approach with curiosity and compassion, and then release them. When we let go of the limiting thoughts that don’t serve us, we create room for more positive thoughts that align us with behaviors that will ultimately lead to the changes we want to see.
How to Infuse Mindfulness Into Your Life
Okay, this all sounds good but how do I actually implement this? When you want to make a change, write it down. Make it visual and so that you see it often. Get incredibly specific. Say it aloud. Determine what you think is stopping you from making this change. What feelings or thoughts arise? Work through these limiting beliefs by lending self-compassion and not judging what arises as good or bad. Just notice the thoughts as they are. And then affirm to yourself that you already have everything you need right now to make any change you desire.
Remember, mindfulness is something that you practice consistently. It’s simple but it can seem difficult or intimidating. But like anything else, with practice it will come easier. It is simply about being aware and observing without judgment. When we can apply objectivity to our thoughts and goals, we can see where judgments of ourselves prevent us from living our authentic truth and then release them. This is how to use the power of mindfulness to make lasting changes.
References
My Vinyasa Practice training
Mrazek, A.J., Mrazek, M.D., Calcagnotto, L.A. et al. Familiarity, Attitudes, and Self-Regulatory Challenges Related to Mindfulness. Mindfulness 11, 1218–1225 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01332-7