5 Mindset Traps that Kill Motivation
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You may think mindset has nothing to do with motivation but I’m here to lay it out that it sure the heck does.
Whether your mission is weight loss, changing your career, healing a relationship exercising, or learning a new hobby, it’s vital to have your head in the right place.
You can have the best plans, the right habits, and the top resources, but if your mindset is all wrong, it’s easy to lose motivation.
What is Mindset?
Your mindset is your collection of thoughts and beliefs that shape your habits. And your habits affect how you think, what you feel, and what you do. Your mindset impacts how you make sense of the world, and how you make sense of you.
Your mindset is a big deal.
Because they are related to mindset, it also helps to understand attitude and beliefs. Crappy attitude equals crappy mindset and vice versa.
Why Mindset Matters
Your mindset plays a critical role in how you cope with life’s challenges. A positive mindset can lead to greater achievement and increased effort. When facing a problem such as trying to find a new job, people with positive mindsets show greater resilience. They are more likely to push through any setbacks while those with negative mindsets are more liable to give up.
When people with a positive mindset try and fail, they tend not to view it as a failure or disappointment. Instead, it is a learning experience that can lead to growth and change. they don’t give up as easy!
You’re Not Alone
If you think you may have fallen into a few mindset traps that have held you back, you’re not alone.
I see it quite often with my clients and have been there a few times myself. It’s all a matter of whether or not you can turn that mindset around. What often happens with my coaching clients they come to work with me frustrated that they’re not quite living their best life and they don’t know where to begin.
They’ve tried so many different things, but nothing’s worked. And they’re desperate for change.
They lay out a detailed list of all the things they’ve tried convinced that they’ve missed out on the one key strategy that’s holding them back. But when we dig into it a little more, what often surfaces isn’t a lack of motivation and it’s often a mindset issue.
5 Mindset Traps That’ll Kill Your Motivation
- FOCUSING ON WHAT YOU CAN NOT DO
This is probably the complete opposite of how you should be looking at things in life. If you’re always focusing on what you CAN’T DO, you’re missing out on all that you CAN DO!
The problem is, focusing too much on the “not” creates stress, because you’re constantly afraid of messing up. Add to that the issue that your subconscious mind doesn’t understand concepts like “don’t” and “no.”
Instead, look at what you CAN do, no matter what it is. Whatever your goal is focus on the positive actions you CAN take to get you there,
- GIVING IN TO FEAR
Fear can be a powerful force. It has the power to literally kill your ambitions, goals, and dreams. It can create excuses that seem legitimate enough so that you’ll stop taking action and go back to your comfort zone.
- fear of failure
- fear of success
- fear of being ridiculed
If we give in to these fears, we’ll stay stuck right where we are. Crush the fears and move forward. Everyone has fears, you’re not alone. Taking action will kill that fear so go ahead and step out of your comfort zone. It’ll be an exciting learning experience.
- WE COMPARE TOO MUCH
All too often we compare ourselves to others only to feel disappointed in who we are or what we’re doing. Teddy Roosevelt famously said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” The only person you should be comparing yourself to is YOURSELF!
This mindset trap is quite insidious. Believing that everyone else is ahead of or better than you bring fear back into the equation.
The grass might look greener on the other side, but I promise, it’s greener where you water it!
- BELIEVING THE STORIES YOU KEEP TELLING YOURSELF
The stories you tell yourself will determine your success. So if you’re constantly telling yourself stories of how you’re not good enough or you’ll never be able to do this or that, that’s what will happen. If you change the limiting stories about yourself, you can change your life.
“Change your thoughts and you change your world.” ~Norman Vincent Peale
- FOCUSING TOO MUCH ON PERFECTION NOT PROGRESS
Focusing too much on being perfect will not get you very far. If we are always looking for perfection, we’ll miss out on ALL the progress we’re making. It’s not about how well you do, I believe it’s about all you learn on the way there and who you become.
No one is ever going to be perfect so take a deep breath and do your best and forget the rest. One step at a time, one foot in front of the other, you’ll get there and the journey will be amazing. Progress, over time, will get you the results you’re looking for. We’re all human and we make mistakes. The important part is that you learn from them and keep pushing forward.
Final Thoughts:
If you’re looking to stay motivated, leave the traps behind and focus on the positive.
Have fun!
One way to remain motivated is to consistently have fun. Taking things too seriously can be a downer and life is too short to always achieve, achieve, achieve. We all feel lazy and unmotivated sometimes. If you do ever really get stuck in a period of feeling unmotivated, you may need to take a proper break.
Don’t feel bad – you are only human!
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