Well maybe not you, exactly; but your mindset could certainly be killing your ideas, creativity, career, business, relationships, finances, and health, amongst many other things.
Sally came to me for coaching because she hated her job. Or so she thought. She wasn’t challenged enough on some days and, on others, she thought they expected her to perform as though she were two levels higher than her actual position.
One day Sally’s boss totally ignored her even though she hit it out of the park in the weekly sales meeting. Two weeks later her boss called her out in the same meeting to acknowledge her for something that came so automatically to her that Sally didn’t even realize she was doing it.
Sally told me, “This job is killing me. My boss is killing me. I’m ready to quit.”
What did we uncover during the first month she coached with me? Sally actually loved her job and her boss was, in fact, her biggest champion. It was Sally’s mindset that was killing her!
“Don’t believe everything you think!” – Solomonism # 248
Over the years, after a variety of disappointments, Sally had drawn some conclusions about her work that were both myopic and disempowering.
Having been passed over for two promotions, Sally had decided that her boss no longer believed in her. Rather than asking her boss for clarity and direction, Sally became fixated on showing the leadership team why they were wrong about not having given her this big opportunity. She would show them!
Unfortunately the only thing Sally showed them was a shortage of resilience and agility, and a surplus of stubbornness and misdirected intellect.
By the time Sally reached out to me for help, she was so dug in that her boss had begun to comment on her bad attitude. Sally had adopted a fixed mindset and the leadership team was seriously questioning her ability to move forward in her career.
... have you ever needed to change your own mind to get where you wanted to go?
Once she understood what she had done (and why she had done it), Sally literally changed her own mind about herself, her job, her boss and her impact. She and I explored the transformation from Fixed Mindset to Growth Mindset and Sally began, once again, to feel in charge of her career and, frankly, her entire life.
Sally now focuses on solutions, instead of problems. She determines where she wants to go in her life, and then creates a strategy and tactical plan to get there. No longer does she ruminate on the things that don’t work — now her eyes (and her attitude) are forward-focused on the things she intends to accomplish. And she does!
We are all, ultimately, in charge of our own mindset, the container which holds our thoughts. Consider this: Would you rather drink champagne out of a tin can or a crystal flute? The same goes for your thoughts and attitudes.
SUMMARY: We are the only ones who choose whether our mindset will kill us, or birth a whole new opportunity for success. Hmmm…. makes us powerful when we think about it that way, doesn’t it?
Where would a shift in mindset make a difference in your personal or professional life? How would that transformation impact you and the results you achieve?
Please share in the comment section below– we’d love to learn from you.
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Are you ready to make a change? Are you willing to put aside and work through your obstacles to reach your potential? Then schedule a 15-minute complimentary call with Nancy on our calendar .
Nancy D. Solomon, MA Psych is the CEO and Founder of The Leadership Incubator where she helps leaders identify, address and resolve people problems before they become profit problems so everyone can focus on what they were hired to do-- INNOVATE AND DRIVE GROWTH.
Known as The Impact Expert, she is a main stage speaker, expert trainer and veteran coach who helps leaders solve key issues related to leadership development, employee engagement, and advancing women.
Nancy has made a difference for such companies as Microsoft, Target, Acura, Westin, Nordstrom & ADP as well as with many passionate individuals.