Changing Your Mindset To Change Your Situation

As a business leader there will be times when things are not going the way that you want. And in those moments, it’s easy to beat yourself up. It’s easy to fall into the wrong mindset, making a bad experience even worse. It’s also our experience that many small business leaders often place the blame on themselves first, making these low times feel personal. Our clients often ask us what they can do to get out of these low points and refocus or reset their mindset. 

Here are a few of our suggestions:

Listen/Read/Do something uplifting. Your first thought might be something like, “I don’t have time…” but consider this an investment in yourself. Taking between a few minutes to an hour to reset your mindset when things don’t seem to be going right can lead to you being more productive and effective. How do you reset your mindset?

• Listen to a song that is uplifting.
• Try a podcast focused on something that inspires you.
• Keep a file of quotes that you enjoy.
• When you hit a major goal, record a message for yourself about how your hard work has paid off.
• Try a meditation or mindfulness exercise to help you refocus.
• Go for a walk, or another activity that helps you clear your mind (yes, the golf course can count)

Understand how you want to show up. Creating a positive mindset is about understanding how you want to show up in certain situations. There’s a formula we like to use which is simply, “Be + Do = Have.”

• Have is the goal you want to accomplish.
• Do is the work that you need to reach that goal.
• And Be is how you show up.
• We encourage our clients to write their “Be” in a 2-3 sentence statement that they use to refocus themselves. This statement is created by putting together a list of qualities of how you want to show up in your work. Having this statement can help you refocus when you’re not displaying those qualities.

Have someone in your corner. Have someone that can help you challenge your mindset. This can be an accountability partner, a mentor or a BBG business coach. Having someone to bounce ideas off can ensure that you’re not getting stuck in a bad mindset. Just be aware that having another employee or your manager fill this role can be difficult as you might feel that you have to filter what you say or not say too much. A neutral party can really help you see different points of view and challenge you in ways you don’t even realize you need.

Give yourself permission to vent. We want to be clear, venting should be brief, but sometimes you have to express your frustration or anger before you can make the changes that you need. It’s not good to spend days or even hours in the venting stage, but you might need to let it out before you reset your mindset. If you have someone in your corner, they can help ensure you don’t spend too much time venting; but if you don’t give yourself permission to let it all out, that might just be what’s holding you back.