6 Ways to Enhance Your Mindset So You Can Take on Life's Challenges Take charge of your mind. Grow and protect it with everything you have. All achievements, riches and happiness start in the mind.
By Matt Mayberry Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
One of the most rewarding things that I have ever done was create a daily mindset enhancement program for myself. This program has one goal and one goal only: to constantly feed my mind with uplifting and positive material that will help to keep me performing at a high level day in and day out, regardless of what's going on.
Failure, toxic people and the everyday challenges of life have the potential to completely shatter our dreams, hopes and desires to do anything worthwhile in this world. Don't be like everyone else and take a major hit to the quality of their thoughts and thinking when something bad happens in their lives.
Take charge of your mind. Grow and protect it with everything you have. All achievements, riches and happiness start in the mind.
Related: Perhaps It's Time to Adjust Your 'Internal Soundtrack'
There are going to be times where you wake up in the morning and don't feel like going to work on your mind. However, failing to do so provides you with a lot more challenges and problems than to actually take the 20 to 30 minutes out of your day to sit down and do it.
Here are the steps of my daily mindset enhancement program that you can use as a starting point to help get you started.
1. Rise early.
Wake up at least two hours before you have to be somewhere. If you have to be at the office at 8, then wake up at 6. Waking up two hours before you have to be anywhere is very important because one of the main reasons why most people don't have very good morning routines is because they rush. From the time they get up until the time they run out the door, everything is just a constant blur for them. They have no time to spend on themselves before they enter the real world.
2. Enter the classroom of silence.
In this day and age with all of the technoglogy, gadgets and obligations that we have, we hardly ever spend time in solitude. There is no better time to tune out the rest of the world and get in touch with your inner-self than early in the morning. All you need is roughly 10 to 15 minutes to sit in solitude and capture the essence of all of the beauty in your life.
I visualize how I want my day to go to every exact detail, from the moment I walk out the door, to the facial expressions of clients after meetings, to eating healthy meals all day long. My vision for the day ahead is as positive and successful as possible.
3. Keep a gratitude journal.
The best attitude to have is an attitude of gratitude, and keeping a gratitude journal is an excellent way to incorporate gratitude into your daily routines. When we are going through a rough time or have a million things on our mind, the last thing we are thinking about most of the time is what we are grateful for.
Related: So You Think You Have Something to Prove?
Taking the time to actually write down at least three to five things you are grateful for in the morning sets you up for a happy and amazing day. Regardless of what setback or challenge you may be currently facing, gratitude is one of your best weapons against unhappiness and feeling sorry for yourself.
4. Read an uplifting and positive book.
Reading to the brain is what exercise is to the body. By reading a motivational and uplifting book you are providing yourself with the mental fuel to have a positive state of mind all day long. What we read and watch first thing in the morning is said to have the biggest effect on how the rest of our day goes.
5. Utilize the tremendous power of audiobooks.
Instead of driving to work and listening to music, put on a good audiobook or some type of audio program that is going to motivate, inspire or teach you something.
Work out in the morning? Get your sweat on while feeding your mind at the same time.
We spend so much time every day in cars, trains and airplanes that one of the best ways to utilize that commute time is to grow with audiobooks.
6. Engage in conversations that stimulate your mind.
Think about all of the conversations that you have on a daily basis. How many of them stimulate your mind with positive energy that gets you extremely excited about life in general?
There will always be negative people around us, including some of our closest friends and family members, but start to get real serious about the daily conversations that you engage in every day. Our moods, lives and mindsets are greatly affected by the conversations that we engage in. Make sure yours are building you up, not tearing you down.
Creating a mindset enhancement program and going to work on your mind every single day can dramatically change the direction of your life and business in an instant.
Related: 7 Strategies for Dealing With Negative People