“The search is what anyone would undertake if he were not sunk in the everydayness of his own life…To become aware of the possibility of the search is to be onto something. Not to be onto something is to be in despair…What do you seek?”  –Binx Bolling, in Walker Percy's The Moviegoer

Your mindset is simply your way of thinking, and your way of thinking determines how open you are to change.  Clarifying your mindset really says a great deal about the adjustments you’ll be inviting into your life, especially since you are fully responsible for the changes taking place.  

If you are stuck in the muck and mire of your own life, you “can’t see the forest for the trees” so to speak.  You don’t even know the direction to go, or that there are even is a direction!  And if you know there is a direction, and you at least see a light at the end of the tunnel of the life you don’t want, then you are aware of the possibility of the life that awaits you.

Ahh, the sweet scent of power!

Your mindset is formed in early childhood – you are the product of other’s habitual way of thinking.  As a powerful adult now, you have full authority and means to shift your mindset.  And in doing so you can create the life you want, and that is rightfully already yours.

Although there are two ways to describe your mindset – scarce or abundant – your mindset is on a continuum.  Knowing where your mind is right now, will largely determine how challenging your journey is going to be. 

Scarcity and Abundance

Scarcity means you perceive yourself to have an extreme lack of resources or knowledge of how to gain resources that are needed when the going gets rough.  In a state of extreme lack, there breeds disappointment, pain, lack of control, lack of knowledge, and lack of fulfillment.

Abundance is the opposite of scarcity.   It is the reality of overflowing resources where the fish in the water has more than an adequate supply of what is needed.  To have abundant resources in life is having overflowing fulfillment of life’s needs.  Abundance may show up in your life like this:

Where is your mind?

On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being on the lowest level of the continuum (scarce) and 10 being on the highest level of the continuum (abundant), how does your current state of mind rate?  In other words, what is your life like at this moment?

36 Ways to Change Your Mindset

Changing your mindset is easy; you just have to make the decision to do it!  And to make it easy, I have 36 things you can do starting now. 

1. Meditate
2. Think positive
3. Use affirmations
4. Call and old friend
5. Watch a funny movie
6. Read a spiritual book
7. Write in your gratitude journal
8. Pray
9. Eat a chocolate chip cookie (or oatmeal raisin – your pick)
10. Journal
11. Take a walk
12. Have sex
13. Do jumping jacks
14. Sneak some grapes from the produce aisle
15. Go on a date with your spouse
16. Swing with your kids at the park
17. Visit an amusement park
18. Go ahead, zone out for 1 hour while watching Oprah (or any other zone-out show you choose)
19. Wrestle with your dog and let him give you dog-kisses
20. Daydream
21. Tickle your kids ‘till they’re silly
22. Read a book to your kids
23. Take a candlelit bath
24. Listen to a motivational speaker
25. Watch an episode of “Chelsea Lately”
26. Volunteer
27. Dance like no one’s watching
28. Actually use your dusty yoga tapes
29. Go for a scenic drive
30. Listen to music that inspires you
31. Read the Sunday comics
32. Have coffee with a close friend
33. Attend a local story time, even if you don’t have kids
34. Pull weeds and plant flowers
35. Take a nap
36. Join the Naked Truth Alliance (www.NakedTruthAlliance.com)

There is no secret about it… when you change your mindset you’re well on your way to transforming your life in a way that will STICK. 

© 2007 I Choose Change