Your mindset may break or make you during tough seasons of life.
When life becomes messy, when things don’t go according to the plan, when you cannot control or change the external factors, mindset is the only thing that will save you.
The mindsets I have mentioned here are what I learned by going through hard phases of life. These mindsets changed the way I act, think, make decisions, and live my life.
These mindsets will help you gain clarity, make you feel less guilty, and more calm.
These mindsets have changed my life in quiet ways. I hope at least one changes your life too.
1. Gratitude for the Smallest Things
Your life might be a mess. You might not be living the life you had imagined.
Maybe your dreams are hanging by a thread.
Even worse, you might be in survival mode. Just existing.
You could still be grateful for something — the small things.
For the blooming flowers, the sunlight warming your skin, the cool breeze. The smartphone that connects you to anyone, the internet which gives you instant access to anything.
The simple things to be grateful for in our life are someone else’s dream.
Regular practice of gratitude helps to shift your focus from what you don’t have to what you have.
It doesn’t mean that you are ignoring the harsh realities of life.
Gratitude helps you enjoy and find happiness in small things even in the middle of chaos, confusion, and struggle.
When the weight of responsibilities burdens your shoulders, when the chaos of the world makes your chest feel heavy, when everything goes wrong even after giving your best, being grateful for small things helps ease off the weight, the heaviness, the suffocation.
It gives you that small burst of happiness, the little nudge that is needed to push you to the next day.
Practicing gratitude doesn’t mean you will be super positive or roam around with a smile all the time. But it will soothe you and make you less miserable.
Related Posts:
➡️Want to make gratitude practice a routine? Start with this 30 Day Gratitude Challenge to Become Positive and Happy
➡️Here are 30 Gratitude Journal Prompts to Discover the Power of Gratitude. Simple and easy, perfect for beginners.
2. Rest First, Work Later
Rest is your superpower. Rest is productive.
I will be honest. It still feels weird for me to write this down.
I run a blog. So, I always thought that I should write my blog posts, make pins for Pinterest. After I am done with all this, I will take rest.
Maybe read a book, or watch a series or whatever. Only after completing the things to do.
I used to come home exhausted and drained after my 9 to 5 job. Instead of taking some time to truly relax, I used to start working.
When I actually took some time to unwind, I couldn’t relax properly.
The tiny but loud voice in my mind said that I would not be able to complete my to-do list. You should be resting after doing the work.
Resting felt like a crime against being productive.
Could do a few days. I was burned out after that.
Rest is productive. I learned this the hard way.
Rest isn’t something you earn, it’s something you deserve.
Take some time to rest, check in with yourself, and relax before you even think of doing something.
Rest is the foundation for high quality work.
Related Post:
➡️Here are 60 Simple Self Care Ideas for Your Overall Well Being that will help you to relax and recharge.
➡️Give yourself the rest you need by taking a 30 Day Self Care Challenge to Reduce Stress and Recharge
➡️Here’s How to Finally Build a Self Care Routine That Feels Like You so that self care doesn’t feel like another thing in to-do-list
➡️Low on time? Do The 4 Week Self Care Reset You Can Actually Stick To. One Sunday (or any day) ritual each week for a relaxed you.
3. Listen to Your Energy
Your body is giving you a lot of signs. You can only hear it if you listen to it.
Ignoring it and trying to move forward is a mistake all of us make.
It’s because of the mindset: work, work, work; do, do, do.
To-do list is to be completed, dishes need to be washed, project needs to be completed. The list is just endless.
In between all this, we completely ignore our energy levels.
Every day is not the same.
There are good days, bad days, awesome days, worst days, optimal days.
You cannot and should not be doing the same amount of things on different kinds of days.
It is like setting yourself up for failure and burnout.
Listen to your body. Understand your energy level.
Plan things for an optimal day but do things according to the energy level.
Planned for an optimal day but if your energy levels are soaring, do more than what you decided.
But if it’s the opposite, either reduce the number of things to do or do the bare minimum so that you don’t become stagnant.
Your energy levels will fluctuate due to various reasons. You can be sick, take care of a sick family member, or maybe be in a bad phase of life.
During these days, try to work with your energy level. Not against it.
You may become slow. But that’s better than settling for zero by going against yourself.
4. Good Enough is Powerful
Opposite to good enough is perfectionism.
Perfectionism is the enemy of creativity, progress, and satisfaction.
Why do you try to be perfect?
So that whatever you do, it should be amazing.
But the outcome is usually the opposite.
Because you cannot accept anything that is a bar below perfect, things remain unfinished.
Even worse, you don’t even start.
To be honest, there is nothing wrong with trying to be perfect.
But that cannot be your first step. It could be your ultimate goal.
But messy starts and imperfect progress are the steps toward perfection.
You cannot run without walking first. You cannot walk without crawling first.
That’s the order.
So good enough is powerful. Because it’s the stepping stone to perfectionism.
When your mind tries to convince you that good enough is as good as failing, tell yourself that good enough is powerful in its own way.
5. Progress is Better Than All or Nothing
This is closely related to the mindset “good enough is powerful.”
Because good enough lies between the all-or-nothing spectrum.
Good enough is progress.
Starting. Trying. Failing. Starting again. Trying. Failing. Starting again… This is the order of the world.
It’s for a reason.
This cycle is what makes the end goal, the success, worth it.
Didn’t you feel extremely happy when Thanos was defeated at the end? That felt so good because the AVENGERS failed the first time and came back stronger. Learned from their mistakes. That’s progress.
If they had got it done in the first attempt, where is the fun?
Progress is fun. Give it a try.
It’s actually good to see your progress. Let that be the dopamine hit you need.
Fall in love with progress and suddenly you will be so much closer to your goals, dreams, and becoming successful.
Let progress be the fuel that feeds perfectionism.
Related Post:
➡️Struggling to overcome perfectionism? Read this: How to Overcome Perfectionism To Be Successful and Happy in Life
➡️Can journaling help you overcome perfectionism? Here are 43 Deep Journal Prompts to Overcome Perfectionism
➡️The One Day Perfectionism Detox That Will Set You Free will convince your mind that by letting go you can be free and achieve more.
6. Slow is Fast
Sometimes the fastest way to success is slowing down.
Slow but consistent. Slow but progressing. Slow but moving forward.
This is better than trying to be fast and giving up because you can’t catch up with yourself.
Slow is the solution to days when you need rest, when your energy levels are low.
You will feel like you aren’t doing enough, wasting time. You are being lazy.
That isn’t true.
Compounding works like magic.
All your efforts will become fruitful one day. Even on days when you slow down and put in the bare minimum.
So when you feel that you need to slow down, relax, and catch your breath, remember slow is fast.
7. Self Compassion Instead of Self Criticism
What will you tell your best friend who is overwhelmed, exhausted, forcing herself to be productive and get things done?
Will you shame her for slowing down? Or will you encourage her to take it easy?
You would be compassionate. Try to make her see that she isn’t failing because she has slowed down, right? You wouldn’t criticize her for relaxing.
Then why would you do this to yourself?
You deserve compassion too. From yourself.
Pause for a minute and reflect on how far you have come.
All the mess, heartbreaks, failures have shaped you into who you are. Maybe this isn’t what you wanted. But this isn’t what you expected.
You navigated through all this. Maybe in the messiest way.
That’s okay too. Everyone messes up.
This is what you should be telling yourself.
You can review your failures and take lessons from them only and only when you learn to be self-compassionate.
Self-compassion helps you forgive yourself and move on.
Otherwise, you will drown in self criticism and will not be able to take even one step forward.
Self-criticism will pull you back, but self compassion is like an armor that will protect you from yourself.
Conclusion
Mindsets shift gradually. It’s not something that happens overnight.
You need to put in effort to internalize these mindsets.
When your mind keeps repeating the old patterns, you need to notice it and replace them with the new things you have learned from here.
The first step is hard. It becomes easier with repetition.
Even if you adopt one of the 7 mindsets from here, it will still have a huge effect on your life.
I hope these mindsets help you in whatever season of life you are in.
You might also like:
➡️How to Discover Your Personal Values and Principles
➡️10 Powerful Life Lessons I Learned Through Tough Seasons
➡️How to Create a Clear, Honest Life Vision in 4 Simple Steps
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