Establishing a Mindset for a Happier Life

Do you struggle with feeling satisfied with your work, relationships, life?

Is your mindset off? The scary aspect is where the mind goes, we go – in seeing and experiencing the world around us.

Your mindset is a collection of beliefs and attitudes that shape how people interpret and interact with the outside world. Think of mindset as the mental lens through which people view life’s events; it truly influences all our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.

The brain is blind, so it has to rely on mindset to filter all the stimuli that flood in throughout the day.

Your goal should be to cultivate a positive and adaptable mindset; a mindset that helps you to live a happier life.

The focus of this article is to show that making minor shifts in perspective can lead to major shifts in mindset.

Empowering Mindset Perspective Shifts

1. Living in the Present: Mindfulness. How much of your waking existence do you spend thinking about the past or dreaming of the future? Avoiding the present is one of the brain’s great tricks. The past holds all the people and events that have shaped our present, and if our present is not what we expected, we tend to spend hours and hours dwelling on the past, contemplating how things might have been different. Likewise, if we are unhappy with our present, we often spend hours pining and planning for a better future. When we allow our brains to get stuck in the past or the future, we are missing out on life itself, which is lived in the present moment. When we train our brains to be mindfully in the present, we can appreciate many small (and large) moments of joy and fulfillment.

2. Being Thankful: Practicing Gratitude. How many things, people, and moments do you ignore when the brain is focused on what’s missing or lacking in your life? If you have shelter, food, transportation, and love, what more is needed? There is nothing wrong about striving for better things, except when that mindset starts to erode your happiness with your present life. Establishing a gratitude practice provides a wonderful balance in rejoicing in the many things in your life that are positive, while providing you with the drive to have more success so you can have more gratitude. Shifting to a gratitude mindset immediately brings more awareness to the present and more attention to the good things in life. Try taking gratitude moments throughout your day or end the day by thinking about three good things that happened during the day. See my article, Eastablishing a Daily Practice of ThanksLIVING.

3. Embracing Change: Accepting the Inevitable. Many people are resistant to change, often digging in rather than moving forward, especially because change is inevitable. It’s about embracing change as an opportunity to challenge yourself and as a learning opportunity. It is about pushing fears aside and stepping out of your comfort zone. But remember, it’s quite normal to resist change, so making the shift in perspective to being open to new opportunities is a major shift in thinking. Start embracing change in small ways, such as substituting water for one typical drink or reading a nonfiction textbook before jumping into a college program. Learn more in my article, Embracing Healing Change: Keys to a Happy Life.

4. Showing Kindness: Paying it Forward. Believe it or not, kindness is a superpower that brings many benefits to both the giver and the recipient. It’s not surprising that many children are taught the “Golden Rule” of treating others as you would like to be treated… in other words, if you want kindness in your life, you need to give kindness to others. A great place to start this mindset is with the people closest to you, who already love and like you, but it’s important to expand this idea to the larger world, whether that’s volunteering, treating a young family to a meal, or praising a worker’s performance to their boss. For more ideas, see my article, Feel Good, Make a Difference: 20 Ways to Pay it Forward.

5. Ending Judgment: Stopping Comparison Syndrome. Comparison Syndrome existed before social media (the classic “keeping up with the Jones”), but in the last decade, this issue has exploded as one of the main drainers of happiness and a major cause of depression and frustration. You could just drop off social media, but that’s not the point; the point is building a stronger mindset that allows you to see other people succeeding and celebrate their successes without turning their success against yourself. Life may be a race to live the fullest experience possible, but it should only be a race within ourselves and not against others. Stop comparing yourself to others because it is stealing your joy.

6. Acknowledging Humaneness: Accepting Imperfections. We all make mistakes and none of us is perfect, and while we can strive to achieve the best results, we should give ourselves grace for not being perfect – just as we would do for a friend or coworker. When I was teaching, I had several 4.0 students who suffered with chronic stress, poor sleep, self-medication, and deep fears of not keeping the “perfect A” average. Besides giving yourself grace for not being perfect, the other mindset is embracing mistakes as learning and growth opportunities. Perfectionism is a prison; acknowledging your humaneness is freeing.

7. Nurturing Growth: Embracing Learning. Sometimes it may seem like you are missing something to either do your current job better or as a roadblock to finding a new job, and it can seem overwhelming and perhaps self-defeating. Changing that mindset can result in building a belief that your abilities can be developed through dedication, new learning, and hard work. To enhance your learning opportunities, seek out new training opportunities within your employer or trade, research possible certificate programs, consider an advanced degree, or dive into educational podcasts.

8. Cultivating Self-Love: Healing Past Trauma. None of these mindset practices will work as effectively and permanently if you don’t have love and respect for yourself because of past trauma wounds. When we have not dealt with past trauma (especially childhood trauma), we often have feelings of inadequacy, low self-esteem, anger, shame, fear, disappointment, and self-loathing. The good news is that with a healing journey to integrate those old wounds, people find self-love and self-respect for the first time in their adult lives, and with those changes comes the ability to accept love from others, see yourself as a wonderful but flawed human (as are we all), and move forward with a mindset for a happier life. Read my article, Heal. And Stop Living Two (or More) Lives.

Final Thoughts on Establishing a Positive Mindset

It’s time to stop living in the shadows or behind a mask or feeling like you will never live a happier life.

You can be happy. You can train your brain with the mindset perspective shifts outlined in this article.

Additional Resources for a Happier Life Mindset

• How to Embrace Change and Why It's Necessary for Growth

• 10 Ways To Accept Your Flaws And Embrace Your Imperfections

• The Power of Mindset

• 9 Ways to Embrace Change and Thrive in Uncertain Times

• The Power of Admitting Your Imperfections

• Comparison Syndrome is Slowing You Down: 5 Ways to Jump Back

• 10 Ways to Develop a Habit of Lifelong Learning: Embrace Growth at Any Age