The Power of Mindset (and 5 Tips to Help You Improve It)

Written by Claire Bennett – Mental Health Practitioner

Positive mental attitude has been banded around when talking about mindset for many, many years now. But does it still hold its value in terms of mindset? I absolutely think that it does; to quote Stephen Covey “whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve”.

However, it takes time and effort to manage our mindset to create a positive outcome. The average person has anything from 6 – 60,000 thoughts a day. Some research suggests that on average 80% of those thoughts are negative. So, focusing on not having negative thoughts would be extremely difficult and unrealistic.

The alternative is to change the ratio to have an impact on our thought patterns. It is believed that a ratio of 3:1 can help to create that positive mindset. So, for every 1 negative thought we experience, we need to find 3 positive thoughts to counteract the negative impact on our mindset. For many, this approach feels like a far more realistic habit to form.

Having a more positive outlook is one of the key ways to lower our levels of vulnerability to stress. We all have a different level of vulnerability to how much stress we can cope with before it has a detrimental impact on our overall health. What is encouraging is that we can improve our levels of vulnerability meaning increasing our resilience.

Here are 5 top tips to consider if you are looking at improving your mindset and increase your resilience:

1. Consider your surroundings, if you are completing a task, are your surroundings promoting a positive mindset? If they don’t then change them, move to a different room/desk. By changing your surroundings, you can change your perspective and how you, in turn, feel about the task you are completing.
2. Being organised – schedules and routines. Whilst some may not be a fan, they really do work. They can make you feel less pressured and more productive, with a sense of achievement when you are able to stay on top of work/home etc.
3. Choose your people wisely. If you surround yourself with negativity, it will generate negativity. Surrounding yourself with positive people and influencers can make all the difference to your mindset.
4. Put yourself first – self-care is not a selfish act. In fact, it is the most crucial activity for you and for all those you care for or who depend on you. For you to be the best for them, you need to be in a good place. Taking some time to look after yourself, whatever that looks like for you, is important. Build it into your routine so it becomes a habit.
5. Set yourself a challenge – it can be physical, mental, academic or anything, really. But it needs to be something that stretches you. Once you have achieved that challenge, the impact on your self-esteem and mindset can be huge. Doing this regularly can really help with your personal development, which is key to how we see ourselves.

Mindset is important to our overall health; spending a bit of time creating positive habits can make a huge difference to your mental, physical and social wellbeing.