Programming. I've learned how to ... Carol Dweck's book is also a great resource for anyone who has a fixed mindset and
LAUNCH & CONQUER SHOW NOTES Podcast Topic: Mindset for Success
Episode #: 2
In today’s episode we’ll discuss something no entrepreneur can or should ignore and that’s mindset. Yeah, I know you’ve probably heard about mindset from a gazillion other people, but there is a good reason for that. With success being 80% mindset and 20% everything else there is no way anyone in their right can act as if it doesn’t exist. Ladies, in order for us to succeed in just about any area of our life and/or business, we must have your minds right. Whether you like it or not, you either fall into one of two mindset categories; positive or negative. It might not even be something you’re aware of, but your mindset not only determines your entire outlook on life and how you handle situations but it also heavily impacts the success of your business or the lack thereof. So what is mindset? Our mindset is made up of our thoughts, our attitudes, and our opinions. There several different types of mindsets referenced online. Today we will explore the Positive Mindset vs the Negative Mindset and the Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset. Negative Mindset vs Positive Mindset A person with a negative mindset sees just about every situation as a glass half empty. They have self-defeating thoughts and will frequently speak against what they really want which pretty much kills their motivation. When presented with setbacks and/or obstacles they are more likely to give up. A person with a positive mindset is optimistic, they have positive thoughts and self-talk. They are confident in their skill sets and abilities. They see the glass as half-full and even though hardships may present themselves, they are motivated to succeed regardless. The thing is as humans so many of us have a negative mindset because it comes easy and natural. Positive thinking really takes some effort. We actually have to teach our brain to think positive. We have somewhere between 25,000 to 70,000 thoughts going through our minds every day, it’s up to us to use our thoughts properly. As entrepreneurs, negative self-talk and/or limiting beliefs can make a huge impact on our ability to be successful and limit our full potential. If you believe you’re going to fail you will. Remember, what we give the most attention is what we’ll create in our businesses and our lives. When we allow ourselves to think negatively and/or
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hide behind limiting beliefs we are not operating from our higher selves. To make matters worst, we get so caught up in the negativity and fear that we cannot even see that there is a way out. Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset Carol Dweck a Stanford University psychologist discovered in decades of research on achievement and success that there are two types of mindsets: Growth Mindset and Fixed Mindset. The Growth Mindset - A person with a growth mindset believes that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work, brains and talent are just starting points for them. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great achievement.
The Fixed Mindset - A person with a fixed mindset believes their basic qualities like their intelligence or talents are simply fixed traits and can not be improved or expanded upon. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success without effort. Carol Dweck research suggests by teaching a growth mindset it creates motivation and productivity in the worlds of business, education, and sports. I highly recommend her book “Mindset The New Psychology of Success” she digs deep on how we can learn to fulfill our potential. As an entrepreneur, it is my belief that we need both a positive mindset and a growth mindset. It is vital that we train our brains to have more positive than negative thoughts, but to also enhance our basic skills and abilities. I am so excited to share with you 5 steps you can take to development your mindset for success. I pride myself on having a positive mindset, but I admit there are times when even I have negative thoughts and those thoughts are based on my fears. With the help of an awesome mindset coach and through my NLP Certification, NLP stands for Neuro Linguistic Programming. I’ve learned how to quickly shift and/or reframe any and all limiting thoughts and beliefs.
Here’s the method I used to shift my negative thoughts and limiting beliefs. Step One: Know Your Mindset. Do you have a Growth Mindset or a Fixed Mindset? Remember, based on Carol Dweck’s research a person with a growth mindset believes that their most basic abilities can be developed and a person with a fixed mindset believes their The Launch & Conquer Podcast with Lakisha Sarbah
basic qualities like their intelligence or talents are simply fixed traits and can not be improved or expanded upon. In order to develop a mindset for success, it is important to know what type of mindset you have going in. The best way to do this is to take a mindset quiz. There is a free one online at http://mindsetonline.com. I’ve also provided the link in the show notes. If you find that your results are that of a fixed mindset there is an exercise on that same website as to how you can begin to recognize your fixed mindset voice and take growth mindset actions. Carol Dweck’s book is also a great resource for anyone who has a fixed mindset and would like to change it to a growth mindset. Step Two: Positive Mindset or Negative Mindset. How are your thoughts affecting you? Do you have mostly positive thoughts or negative thoughts? The best way to gage your thoughts is to do a simple exercise. Grab a pen and paper after listening to this podcast and for 5 mins allow your mind to just go wild. When you have a thought that doesn’t positively support you and/or goes against what you want most write a number 1 on the paper. It’s very important not to judge yourself here, just let it flow. The first thought you have may be that this exercise is stupid and it won’t work. That my friend is a negative thought. Review your results. If find that you have more negative thoughts than positive ones. Don't be hard on yourself. It’s just the way you have trained your brain over the years. The great thing is you can reprogram your those thoughts by replacing them with positive ones. Step Three: Observe Your Thoughts. Make a conscious effort to become more present and aware of your thoughts and self-talk. In one of my favorite books “The Four Agreements Don Miguel Ruiz explains, we have what he calls an inner judge who is more critical than anybody you have ever met, she/he is unforgiving and lethal to your self-confidence and success. The voice of our inner judge can say some not so nice things to us and about us. I remember when I was starting my second business my inner judge was pretty brutal. My inner judge said: “No one will want what I have to offer.” “It will never work, just give up.” “I am too fat.” And just last year when I first entertained going into podcasting it was: “I can’t make it in podcasting.” The Launch & Conquer Podcast with Lakisha Sarbah
“What if no one shows up to listen to my podcast?” When your inner judge makes negative statements first understand that most times the statements are coming from a place of fear. Next, take a moment to write the negative statement or thought down. When I was going through this process, I found it very helpful to keep a small notebook with me at all times. Step Four: Replacing Your Negative Thoughts. For every negative thought or harsh judgment, I rewrote it into a positive statement each of them. For sample: Negative Thought: No one will want what I have to offer. Positive Statement: I provide amazing value to women. Women want and need what I have to offer. Negative Thought: It will never work, just give up. Positive Statement Everything is working out for my greatest good right now! Negative Thought: I can’t make it in podcasting. Positive Statement: I can do anything I put my mind to. I’m am a great podcaster. You see where I’m going with this? After you write them down strategically put them out in the open where you can see them often. I also wrote my positive statements on sticky notes and put them everywhere I could see them, like my bathroom mirror, my refrigerator, on my desk, on my night stand and on the back of my cell phone. YES, I kept them in plain view and said them out loud to myself every day. Now I’ll be honest, at first, it will felt like a bunch of BS. I felt so uncomfortable saying my positive statements. You know that uneasiness you get when you tell a lie? That is the feeling I had. From my NLP Certification course, I learned that our habits of thinking and acting are stored in our subconscious mind. It has memorized all of our comfort zones and it works damn hard to keep us in them. The main job of our subconscious mind is to store and retrieve data. It is responsible for helping us respond the way we are programmed. So whenever we go to that program or how it is used The Launch & Conquer Podcast with Lakisha Sarbah
to us behaving or responding it creates friction which in return causes us to feel that uneasiness. Our subconscious minds make sure everything we do and say fits a pattern consistent with our “master program”. Which explains why we have such a hard time overcoming or moving past our fears. Our subconscious mind doesn’t think or reason by itself it obeys the commands it receives from our conscious mind. Our conscious mind is the gardener, planting seeds and our subconscious mind is the garden in which the seeds are grown. Our conscious mind tells our subconscious mind what to do and it obeys. Simply put, we have the power to reprogram those unwanted patterns of fear, negative thoughts and limiting beliefs. By repeating the positive statements it helps to reprogram and eventual cancel out the negative thought and replace it with the positive statement. I like to think of this as removing ugly weeds from my garden and planting beautiful flowers it's placed. Step Five: Rinse & Repeat. Mindset work is consistent, it’s not once and done. We have stored a lifetime of limiting thoughts, emotions, and feelings in our subconscious mind. The mind is meant to be cared for just like we care for our bodies. We eat for nourishment, we exercise to stay healthy and we bathe to stay clean. In order to develop and keep mindset for the success, we have to continue to feed our minds positive things consistently. Stay vigilant of your thoughts. When thoughts and/or you inner judge presents something that does not support you, your goals or your desires do the work to program them. (steps 2 - 4). I also find it helps to surround yourself with positive people. You can’t develop a mindset of success if you’re hanging around a negative Nancy. You know that person who tells you what you can’t or shouldn’t do and all the things they wouldn’t do if they were you. Well, guess what, they are not you! And thank goodness for that. Surround yourself with people who feed your mind and spirit with positivity. This entrepreneurial journey is hard enough, we don’t need anything or anyone making it even harder. I know we went pretty deep for the first episode, but it is so very important that you know how to combat those negative thoughts and fears that surface. Thank you so much for listening. If you found this podcast episode helpful, please give it a review and share it with al your friends! If you have any questions on this or any other episode feel free to email your questions to
[email protected] and I will answer your questions during an episode of the show. I would like to thank today’s sponsor Ahsaki Kai Intuitive Alchemist. Be sure to checkout the links to her special offer for you in the show notes. The Launch & Conquer Podcast with Lakisha Sarbah
Motivational Minute: Nothing will slow your progress like a negative mindset. Once your mindset changes everything else changes. Remember, the difference between who you are and who you want to become is what you do. I believe in you. Keep pushing forward. You got this! Music Credit: Bensound Sponsor: Uniquely Coordinated Virtual Assistants
S ponsor Offer: http://bit.ly/UCVATRIAL
References: Carol Dweck - Mindset The New Psychology of Success Mindset Test - http://mindsetonline.com/testyourmindset/step1.php Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) - What is NLP The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz
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