Have you ever noticed that while we can change our minds about little decisions at the flick of a switch, changing your mindset is soooooo much harder? Yet, no matter what kind of issue you're dealing with, it's a mindset shift above all else that tends to have the most long lasting and meaningful impact on your life.

I recently attended a conference called  Problogger Evolve, which is focused on helping small business owners continuously improve blogs like the one you’re reading now. It’s the second time I’ve attended, and both times I’ve come away with lots of helpful ideas to enable us to better serve all of you in our Tribe. (If you run a small business yourself, you should totally check it out for next year, and make sure to visit their website too, because it’s packed with helpful info).

I’m mentioning the conference because in his opening talk, Problogger founder Darren Rowse shared something that was a real lightbulb moment for me. He was talking about the many different things he’d done during the 17-year history of his business in order to get where he is today, and showed us a timeline to illustrate his point. It was peppered with significant events and initiatives, ranging from simple things like starting a Facebook page right through to big decisions like hiring his first staff member.

Most of the audience quickly got busy taking notes about his many ideas so that we could replicate his success, but he stopped us in our tracks by announcing that out of all the dozens of initiatives on the screen, a single one had been responsible for more of his success than all of the others put together.

Darren then showed us a slide illustrating the sales of his business from 2000 to the present day, and pointed to a particular spot on the graph saying, “That was the day I changed my mindset, and EVERYTHING changed.”

As Darren told the story, he was trundling along, not really making a dent in his business goals, until one day he and his wife decided that it was time to get serious, and committed to doing exactly that.

From that day on everything shifted, and, as you can see in my rough sketch above (which should in no way be assumed to be a realistic representation), the results for them have been stratospheric.

A new mindset opens the door to infinite possibilities

Watching Darren's talk, it occurred to me that exactly the same thing can be said for almost every significant growth spurt or healing that we undergo in our lives: we can take all the action we like, but it’s not until we align our mindset that everything turns a corner.

Whether you’re wanting to create a shift in your business, your health, your relationships, your finances, your spiritual connection or any other aspect of your wellbeing, lasting change ALWAYS starts with you setting an intention and committing to following through on it, to the extent that no other outcome is possible.

What is mindset anyway?

Like a Sara Lee strudel, your mindset is an accumulation of layer upon layer of beliefs, attitudes and assumptions based on your personal experiences, family and cultural influences and heaven only knows what other factors – the possibilities are infinite!

Add them all together, and your mindset is a powerful force that dictates the way you respond to the world around you and the people in it, shaping your decisions, habits, expectations, emotions and dreams.

While it may sometimes seem to conspire against you moving forward with your goals, the truth is, your mindset is actually a force for good.

Be grateful for the mindset that got you here

Start by recognising that the mindset you’re working with now has developed in an attempt to keep you safe and comfortable, and has done an admirable job of achieving those aims.

That means that there’s no reason to beat yourself up about any supposed failings on your part (actually, there’s NEVER a reason to do that). Instead, congratulate yourself and your mindset on a job well done.

(TIP: If this is something you struggle with, consider working with our  Up, Up & Away™ flower essence and flower essence mist for a while – they’re on a mission to remind you to love and approve of yourself wholeheartedly).

Set yourself up for success

Regardless of where your focus lies, deciding to change your mindset means making a conscious decision to rewire your default tendencies, and to instead tread unknown paths and lay down new habits and patterns.

Setting yourself up for success may involve enlisting expert help, whether that takes the form of consulting a health professional, talking to a counsellor or embarking on a course of self-education.

But it’s important to realise that none of the experts who have something to say on the matter can make you see things differently from this day forward.

Only you can do that, and in my experience, regardless of whether they develop gradually or occur in a flash like a lightbulb going on over your head, those epiphanies are often the result of you laying the foundations for your own success.

FLOWER ESSENCES TO SUPPORT YOUR MINDSET SHIFT

Here are a few instances of what I’m talking about, plus some flower essences you might like to explore if these examples resonate with you:

Fallen into a pattern of seeing the world through eyes of doom and gloom?

Get into the habit of consciously looking out for uplifting moments in your day, and in time you might just notice yourself becoming more optimistic. If this is your goal, consider our Lighten Up, Buttercup™ flower essence and mist to support your intentions.

Trying to implement new habits?

If you’ve been telling yourself that you hate exercise since you were a kid (like I used to), you’ll probably need to commit to doing it regularly for a while – pushing through pain if necessary – before you discover that it’s fun, and you actually love it. The same applies to lots of other healthy habits too. Our flower essence Dragon Slayer™ might be beneficial here; the ritual of working with it is intended to support you in digging deep and persisting with stuff even if it seems hard to do so

Thinking about your work?

Do you daydream about taking your career to the next level or see your life purpose as making a difference in the world, but doubt whether you’re the right person to do it? If so, consider the working with Tribe of the Tree’s Destiny Calls™ flower essence.

Scott and I can testify that it was the ritual of working with this flower essence that helped us to step out of the mindset that we might launch a flower essence range one day, and becoming people who were initially taking active steps towards doing it, and now living that dream every day. (The essences  Connection Creator™ and Treasure Hunter™ were also integral in this shift for us – find all three of them together in our On Purpose™ Kit)

When it comes to changing your mindset, it’s never too soon or too late to get started. You never know, one day you might just look back on today and say, “That was the day I changed my mindset, and EVERYTHING changed.”