Working to improve your mindset is one of the best things that you can do for yourself. There are times when you feel so stressed about everything that happens around you that it starts to have a negative impact on your overall mindset. But there are some simple changes to improve your mindset that you can try.
Bills are due. Projects are due. Everything is due. And there just isn’t enough time in the day or money in the bank.
This can lead to being even more stressed out and feeling like there is nothing that you can do. I used to feel that way too. But over the years I have learned a few things that helped to improve your mindset and to just relax a little even when it’s hard to.
I wanted to share some of my own mindset journeys in hopes that it can help others out there too. It’s not something that’s easy to do at once. But if you make some simple changes it can help a lot in the long run.
Improving My Own Mindset
Someone once asked me what I did to improve my mindset or the way I see the world. My response was that I changed the way that I thought about and viewed the world around me.
We often overlook the impact that the way that we respond to the things around us has on the way we feel in general. But that is often the first place that you should start if you are feeling like the world is out to get you.
I used to feel like the cards were always stacked against me. That no matter what I did, I couldn’t get out of the rut that I was in. I was often angry at myself, those around me and the world in general. Often feeling that no matter what I did, it was never enough to change my circumstances.
I don’t know exactly when it happened, but I realized that I was tired of feeling that way. I was tired of feeling like the world was out to get me. That no matter how hard I tried, it was never going to change.
Mindset Changes that I made
A few years ago, I stepped back and tried to examine why I felt the way I did. I did a lot of looking inward to figure out why I was feeling so stressed all the time. Often it was things that I had no control over.
That’s when it hit me hard. I thought that way because I felt that I had no control.
The reality was that I was always in control of the way that I responded to the things around me. I was allowing negative thoughts to control my reactions.
Once I started to actively change my responses to things, I started to feel like I was more in control.
There are other things that I started doing to help and in this post, I am going to let you in on some of the key habits that made a huge impact on the way that I viewed the world.
Stop letting negativity rule your thoughts
This was the biggest change that I made. Instead of seeing everything as a negative or bad thing, I started looking for the positive in each situation. Now, this does not work in all situations, but for the most part, I can see through the initial experience to what I can change for the future or what I can take away from it.
Getting into the habit of doing this can naturally improve your mindset. And allow you to shift from always feeling negative to being more positive.
Take a step back
Instead of feeling that I always had to do everything myself and be the yes person, I stepped back and let others do things for themselves. It took time to get used to it, but once I got the hang of not doing everything, and saying no when I needed to, I was able to focus on what I NEEDED to do for myself.
This is another major part of your overall mindset. The only person that you need to say yes to is yourself. Give yourself boundaries with work, friends and family. You don’t have to carry the world on your back (even if you feel like you do). Taking a step back and setting boundaries is a crucial part of self-care
Take time for yourself
This was something that I always pushed to the side as it was never that important. But over the past few years, I have made a point to do more for myself. Even if it was just reading a book or watching a movie, I took the time to do something that I really wanted to do, instead of stressing over things that I couldn’t do anything about.
By taking some time out of the day for yourself, you are taking care of yourself. This is something that a lot of us overlook because we are often so busy doing “all the things” for others. But if you want to improve how you see the world around you, you need to practice self care more.
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Related to Improving Your Mindset: What is Self-Care and How to Boost Your Confidence
Cut social media time down
I try to spend less time on various social media sites because they can often make me feel like I am not doing everything that I should be as a mom. One thing that I did was to tailor the sites that I follow to align more with the mindset that I want to develop and to keep most of my own postings light and funny.
By cutting out some of the time that you spend on social media you are giving yourself more time to be with your family. This also gives you more time to take care of yourself and do other things.
One last thing this does is stops you from comparing your life to others. When you spend too much time envying the lives that other people have, you forget to appreciate all the good things in your own life.
Read more
I think that in this digital age we spend way too much time online. Whether it’s watching T.V. or playing video games. That’s not to say that these are not valuable ways to relax and unwind, but reading a book takes mental energy. I find that reading is soothing because it helps my thoughts to unwind along with my body, creating a total relaxation feeling.
Reading is just one of the many different things you can do to practice self-care and improve your mindset. It also opens your mind to new thoughts and experiences. It doesn’t always have to be a physical book either. It could be an online publication or blog that you like to follow (hint, hint 😉 )
Don’t sweat the small stuff
I know this is old and often overused, but it’s true. I used to get so annoyed at everything that didn’t go just the way I thought it should. But when I stopped letting the little things bother me, the bigger things started to bug me less too. Most things that cause a negative thought process to start are just little things. It’s better to let it go rather than let it make you stressed or miserable.
You would be surprised at how much of what stresses you out are things that don’t matter in the long run. Most of the smaller things tend to work themselves out on their own.
Final Thoughts On Improving Your Mindset
There are countless ways that you can work to improve your mindset and lead a happier more fulfilling life. These are just a few things that have helped me to see the world in a different way and to stop feeling negative all the time.
If there are any others that you can think of, let me know in the comments!
Related reading: Life’s to Short for Matching Socks and Advice to My Younger Self