We are living in an unprecedented situation. We are constantly dealing with change and uncertainty, but we are also facing new opportunities every day. Are you ready to reimagine the world?

Reimagining the world

Crisis and tough circumstances tend to have an empowering effect on people, careers, and even countries. Some of the biggest companies were created or found their identity during their crisis. 

It is what inspires our creativity and makes us think outside the box. Being uncomfortable and outside our comfort zone can help us grow. 

“You need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable”.

Reality and facts are common to everyone, the only difference is how you perceive and react to them. 

Choosing to be proactive and look at the opportunity is entirely up to you. 

You can evolve and help create the new reality or you can sit back and wait to go back to the old ways and become obsolete by the end of the year. 

A growth mindset and Resilience

“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” (Dweck, 2015)

“Psychologists define resilience as the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources of stress—such as family and relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressors. As much as resilience involves “bouncing back” from these difficult experiences, it can also involve profound personal growth.” (American Psychological Association)

These are, under our current circumstances, the most essential aspects of a leader. 

You are now given the opportunity to create new systems, new ways of working, be more creative, and think differently. Even more important, there are no wrong answers because the truth is we have never been in this situation before. So there are no previous responses, we can come up with our own creative solutions to the problems we are facing. 

Having a growth mindset and being resilient will help you see the opportunities of the future instead of being stuck in the problems of the past. 

How to cultivate a growth mindset

We must stress, this change in mindset is not something that is achieved in a day. It is rather something you need to work on every day, but the results will be with you forever. 

Pay attention to your thoughts. Since a mindset is just a belief, changing your thoughts should be the first step towards a growth mindset. Thoughts create feelings, that become emotions, and these influence your behaviour. This is how important thoughts are but unfortunately, we still don’t give them enough credit.

Focus on the process rather than the outcome, this way you can appreciate all you have done instead of worrying about how much you still need to do. 

Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know, because you have the possibility to learn. Accept that you will need to put time and effort into it but that you are capable of evolving. 

Change doesn’t happen outside, it happens inside. This transformation influences and inspires us to change the outside, but it only happens if you embrace the opportunity to change and improve yourself. Once this happens, great things can be achieved.

The Optimist View…

As Optimists, we believe it is our duty to reimagine the world and create a better and more efficient one. It is not an easy task, but you are not alone either, we would love to help. Are you ready to be part of the change?

At Optimist Performance, we specialise in helping individuals and teams maximise their potential, by supporting them in the rediscovery of their purpose and the realignment of their goals and values, to ensure the delivery of long-lasting behavioural change.  

Get in touch with us and learn more about how we can help you or your team with our executive coaching or leadership development programmes.

The post A Growth Mindset To Reimagine The World – By Optimist Performance appeared first on Optimist Performance.

We all make mistakes on a regular basis.

I want you to understand you can own it, redeem it, and get value from your biggest mistake!

One big mistake can define you – but it doesn’t have to.

Like I said, we all have that one big mistake. It defines some part of our life and frames our thoughts and feelings in a negative way. The advice people sometimes give to “get over it” is not only useless, it’s impossible!

It’s a mindset shift.

The post One Big Mistake… appeared first on Optimist Performance.

Apply one of these simple mindset health tips or new habits daily!

Start by picking one to work on and set a goal to improve in that area. Taking care of your mind will help you to be ready to make decisions, take action, and lead with confidence. 

1. LEARN YOUR LESSON

With every setback there is a valuable lesson. LEARN IT. What happened in the past doesn’t matter, but YOUR ATTITUDE toward what happened MATTERS. When things don’t go well, it is your chance to grow. Our Mindset health tip is to focus your thoughts on the opportunity you’ve been given to learn something new. You will be doing your mind a favor by not focusing on the loss, but rather what can be gained from the situation. It’s a growth mindset.

2. GET ENOUGH SLEEP.

The rest your body needs significantly affects your mind. So SLEEP. Average sleep needs vary based on age and other factors, but general medical consensus is that most of us don’t get enough. Do you get enough sleep? What you eat, or don’t, plus activity and exercise can help you sleep better. And improving your sleep lets your mind regenerate and last longer through the day. Mindset health tip number 2 is to SLEEP.

3. TAKE UNINTERRUPTED BREAKS

Mental fatigue can happen when you have to decipher too many messages or make many small decisions. The third mindset health tip is to TAKE FREQUENT UNINTERRUPTED BREAKS from watching news and social media, people that cause you extra stress, meetings, and answering emails.

4. ENGAGE YOUR BRAIN

Like any muscle, your brain needs exercise. ENGAGE YOUR BRAIN in remembering things, telling stories and creative activities regularly. And if you are alone, puzzles make great creative mind exercises.

5. COMPLETE SMALL TASKS

When you COMPLETE even SMALL TASKS and keep routines, like making your bed in the morning, you are finishing something. And when you complete a routine task your mind gets a positive reinforcement. You are finishing one thing to begin the next. That one simple act can help train your mind to find satisfaction in completion. So instead of getting bored or distracted, you will be more able to finish a project, and then focus on something new.

6. BE HONEST

BE HONEST with others and with yourself. It is taxing on your brain, and negative to your entire nervous system to lie. I’m not encouraging you to say mean things just because they are true! Telling the truth can always be done with kindness. Truly it is a great mindset healthy habit.

7. LET IT GO

Everyone gets hurt or offended sometimes. But for your own mind’s sake, LET IT GO. You will immediately feel relief when you forgive, or let something go that was bothering you. And the act of forgiving makes you stronger so things don’t bother you the next time. It also improves your relationships and most importantly, frees up your mind for more important things. Yes, some hurts are real, and require some sort of action or remedy, but that doesn’t mean that you need to hold onto the hurt on the inside. You can LET IT GO

8. ACKNOWLEDGE HOW YOU FEEL

Don’t ignore emotions or shame yourself for what you feel. Emotions are a valuable tool and they tell you something about your mind and body. So the mindset health tip number 8 is to ADMIT YOUR FEELINGS – at least to yourself. You don’t need to make decisions just based on how you feel, but acknowledge how you feel and learn to understand why you feel that way. Emotions are a vital and often overlooked part of clear thinking.

Those are my top 8, but there are more ways to keep your brain at peak performance! Like getting fresh air outside on a regular basis, and hopefully some sunlight at the same time, both of which can help your mind stay alert and awake.

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE MINDSET HEALTH TIPS TO KEEP YOUR MIND SHARP?

Let me know what resources would be helpful to support the mindset health of your team!

Here’s another TIP for you! If you sign up for regular updates with the form below we will make sure you get all of our free resources.

The post Ollie’s 8 Mindset Health Tips appeared first on Optimist Performance.