Henry Ford wisely said, “If you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.” He was talking about mindset. Mindset is everything. The way we think, the way we interpret sensory information, and our ability to thrive in complex environments are all determined by our mindset. It is either helping us get where we want to go, or it is holding us back. On the Gulf Coast Challenge, there will be daily opportunities to train our mindset, including a hour-long mental skills workshop. If you’re not on the Challenge, you can follow along each day for your daily dose of morning meditation.
Monday March 5: Awareness
Awareness is the foundational building block upon which all action is built. Without awareness, we are subject to the conditions we’re exposed to. We will go where the wind blows us or where someone else directs us. It is only our awareness, which enables us to act. If someone were to toss you a tennis ball, yet you’re unaware, pending their skill the ball would either hit or pass you by. Without your awareness of it traveling toward you, you have no ability to catch it. We are only able to act once we are aware something is taking place. This is a truth in both our physical actions and our mental processes. Until we are aware there is something we wish to change or something we wish to do, we will continue the same patterns of behavior. Awareness is the spark that lights the flame of change.
Tuesday March 6, 2018: Our Thoughts
Henry Ford wisely said, “if you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right”. He was talking about our mindset. The things we think, the way we interpret our environment, and our ability to find success in challenging environments are all linked to our mindset. It grounds and guides our approach. It is either helping us get where we want to go, or it is holding us back. Using our awareness of the things we are thinking and the situations which lead to these thoughts is how we can begin to work toward getting where we want to go.
Wednesday March 7, 2018: Feelings
Feelings are a human commonality. Each one of us has them. Something takes place, or someone says something to us, which impacts our livelihood and it creates feelings within us. Sometimes we express our self. Sometimes we keep everything inside. Pending how we do either, there is an impact on us and those around us. Like a bottle, we only have so much space. When we suppress our feelings, we can only do so for so long. Eventually, we run out of space and everything pours out onto those around us. Through using our awareness, we are better able to understand how we truly feel about something and the impact it is having on us. This then puts us in a better place to act. Creating this space enables us to be more in touch with our true self.
Thursday March 8, 2018: What We Say
Words have meaning. Words are powerful. What we say and how we say it has the ability to impact those around us in ways we may never know. For someone, overhearing what we say can be inspirational. For another, our words may keep them from trying something new. We never fully know the power of our voice, nor its impact. More importantly however, what we say can hold great meaning for us and what we come to believe. If we continue to tell our self we cannot do something, we eventually come to believe it. In using our awareness of what we’re thinking and how we feel, we better understand how we come to say the things we do. Our awareness is the instrument that enables us to change our own internal dialogue.
Friday March 9, 2018: Actions
Our actions are ultimately driven by the things we tell ourselves, how those make us feel, and in turn, what that leads us to believe about our self. When we tell our self, we cannot do something over and over again, it begins to make us feel like we cannot, then we slowly begin to believe it. When the time comes to actually attempt it, we have convinced our self we cannot, and our actions will be in line with that belief. We create a self-fulfilling prophecy. Yet it does not have to be this way. Using our awareness, we are better able to understand what led us to act or respond the way we did. Our awareness allows us to understand the situation and other variables, which brought us to act in a certain way. Taking a step back, we are then able to better understand the impact of the things we are telling our self, our feelings, and our beliefs.
