Create Positive Thoughts to Change Your Mindset

How to Change Your Mindset

In my previous blog, I focused on the notion of growth mindset and explored some of its many benefits. In this post, I address different ways for you to change your mindset, an important item in your toolbox for dealing with adversity. By learning how to transform a fixed into a growth mindset, you can achieve a stronger mental muscle to help you through life’s challenges.

I’ll start by introducing you to Jay Shetty, a leading author, public speaker and life coach who writes and teaches about how to train one’s mindset.

Learning from a Hindu Monk

An author, former Hindu monk, and life coach , Shetty draws on his experience as a monk to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Combining ancient wisdom with his years of experience living in an ashram, his debut book Think Like a Monk: Train your mind for peace and purpose every day (link), suggests ways to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. Shetty translates abstract lessons into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve relationships, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can—and should—think like a monk. 

The “Spot, Stop, Swap” Challenge

This concept is based on the notion that people tend to focus on the negative rather than the positive. Negativity often pervades our hearts and minds, and dictates how we express ourselves, and can therefore often control our lives. Letting a negative thought go unchecked can cause a downward spiral of negativity.

Shetty’s “Spot, Stop, Swap” challenge is a great exercise in breaking the chain of negativity. Always remember that you need a positive attitude to deal with adversity.

Spot: Become more aware of your tendency to have negative thoughts and to complain, compare and criticize. Recognize the negative thought as soon as it appears, which you can accomplish by developing awareness.

Stop: Address the problem by silencing your negativity to make room for thoughts that add to your life, rather than take away from it. Figuring out what cues trigger those thoughts can help you through this process.

Swap: Now you’re ready to swap the negative thought for a positive one, one that is empowering and uplifting.