Mindset
27th October 2020
Romans 8:5-8 ESV For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Do you realise that your Mindset determine how you treat your Body and whether you will listen to your Soul (intuition)?
What is Mindset?
J.D. Meier. In his article 'What is Mindset'? States that 'your mindset is your collection of thoughts and beliefs that shape your thought habits. And your thought habits affect how you think, what you feel, and what you do. Your mind-set impacts how you make sense of the world, and how you make sense of you'
“[...] mindset is a set of assumptions methods”, according to Wikipedia “or notations held by one or more people or groups of people that is so established that it creates a powerful incentive within these people or groups to continue to adopt or accept prior behaviours, choices, or tools.”
The Oxford Dictionary calls mindset attitude, and states that “An attitude is a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, typically one that is reflected in a person’s behaviour.
In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential, Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D. describes two different mindsets: A Fixed-Mindset and a Growth Mindset. Dr. Dweck coined the terms fixed mindset and growth mindset to describe the underlying beliefs people have about learning and intelligence.
She divides students into two types, based on the student's own theory about their own ability. Fixed : These students believe that their ability is fixed, probably at birth, and there is very little if anything they can do to improve it.
Growth: These students believe that ability and success are due to learning, and learning requires time and effort. In the case of difficulty one must try harder, try another approach, or seek help etc.
In Mind, Body and Soul Care (part one) We spoke about 'Right View' and introduced you to Harry, a person who Dr. Carol Dweck would say, has a fixed mindset. We witnessed his thoughts and views of being late for work. Harry felt that he would be severely reprimanded by his Boss. I can only image what his thoughts would contain, if he had a more serious situation to deal with! This chapter showed the importance of one's view or mindset. Buddhist teaching, emphases the fact that our actions and beliefs have consequences. I would like to pose the notion that it is our view and beliefs of life or the situation that dictates the action we take. The chapter also discussed 'Intention' showing that with a positive view of the world, ones intentions may be more honourable, leading to more considered actions and deeds.
I believe that one has a Closed or Open mindset, and their lives follow that trend. Individuals who portray a closed mindset, tend to attach themselves to a religion and or organisation and attempt to live their lives and tackle most situations by the teachings or guidance of that institution. Think of someone you know, who is a devout Christian, Muslim, Catholic or any deeply religious person, can you picture that person outside that religion? Can you picture that person without the cloak of that faith or organisation to follow? The individual attempts to embody that religion or way of life. In most life situation that person will reach for their teachings in-order to react. This is supported by the Wikipedia definition “[...] mindset is a set of assumptions methods, or notations held by one or more people or groups of people that is so established that it creates a powerful incentive within these people or groups to continue to adopt or accept prior behaviours, choices, or tools.”
An individual with an Open mindset, may also follow a religion or organisation with its for life teachings, but can be seen taking other avenues than the rigid teachings they claim to belong to. An Open minded Individual is more accepting to the views others, their lives may be filled with spontaneous acts. They are willing to try new things and are open to a chance to experience something different. The way they deal with situations are also 'open', they tend to deal with the situations at face value and do not reach for a particular institution for a solution.
Bear in mind that one can be Open minded, with a Closed mind, when certain situations appear in their lives! And a Closed minded person will become very open minded when certain situations arise in their lives. Body imagine springs to mind.
What are your thoughts about your body? Are you Open or Closed minded? That girl who decided that her lips should look like a certain celebrity, was open minded enough to accept that that is what she should look like, and became closed minded to consider any other look or to remain 'natural'. Do you consider your parts of your body 'too' fat, large, slim, small etc? Are you closed or open minded about your body imagine? I feel that I could weight less, and very open to how, I could lose the weight. I am also open to staying the weight I am, whilst being somewhat mindful of what I eat, to ensure I am not consuming too much 'unhealthy' foods. We are aware that our bodies are important and should be looked after. I would class myself as open minded, but working 18 hour days, or working two jobs back to back, wasn't an act of a open minded, health or body conscious person. My two jobs started at 7.45pm and ended at 8am, the other started at 8.30am and ended at 2pm. I would sleep for 4 hours and start my night shift again, followed by the day shift! I displayed a very closed mind in regards to my health and body. Again I would consider myself as open minded, but during my closed minded work-fest, I was able to go days with a tooth abscess large enough to swell one half of my face. I hadn't noticed the swelling, but knew the left side of my mouth didn't feel normal. I only checked the inside of my mouth, when one of my children asked me, what was wrong with my face. After opening my mouth and pressing on what appeared to be a lump. I realised that I had a dental issue. I was an open minded person with a closed mind regarding my work ethics to the detriment of my health!
What do you feel you are open or closed minded about? We all can change our mind or mindset about what we originally believed, but we sometimes need to give ourselves permission to change our mind. For me, I had to realise that working as many hours I was offered or could get away with, was in fact, running my body into the ground (literally, if I carried on the way I going).
A closed mind to ones detriment is often an addiction. Any addiction in which you harm your body, be it food, drugs, alcohol or physical self harm, remains an addiction when ones mind is closed. When the mind becomes open to change, the addiction can be addressed and concurred. You will begin to hear what your body is telling you. Opening your mind will also allow the voice of your intuition (Soul) to be heard.
I hope we can agree that our mindset determine how we act, react or live our lives. Our mindset may determine if we listen to our bodies and our intuition. Our Soul or intuition remains constant, whether you are Open or Closed minded. Our Soul will still try to get through to us, sending us messages, via the way we feel.
Being Open minded allows your intuition to speak in-order to, advise and guide you in the direction you should go. Being closed minded, leave you not trusting your intuition, not trusting that small voice inside you. But reaching for what has been tried, tested or taught.
Are you open minded enough to acknowledge any uneasy feelings you may experience, about a situation, place or person to mean something is wrong? Are you open minded enough to act on what your intuition is telling you, although your current situation would suggest otherwise?
Are closed minded? How do you explain that small voice within you that tries to get through and direct you? Should you hear that internal voice do you, believe it, scrutinize it, or brush it aside?
Regardless of the description I propose of a closed or open minded person, my advise can only be...Listen to your body, acknowledge what it is trying to tell you in any given situation or interaction you may have. Reach only for your intuition to guide you.
Once you acknowledge your beliefs (your mindset) and begin to set those beliefs in stone in your life, they become habits or tools that you reach for in most situation you encounter.
Mindset as a habit.
Lets take something as simple a buying a certain brand of Washing Liquid. You have decided that it does what you need it to do, it is at a price that you feel comfortable paying and after all, you have always bought that brand. Then a friend tells you about a new brand, that she feels it much better than what is on the market at the moment... Do you try it? hmmmm Maybe you do, but with some scepticism, as you have been happy with the brand that you have always purchased. This new brand appears better value for the money and seems to do a better job. Do you change to the new brand? Or do you allow doubt to creep in? Doubt says “I bet the price of this new brand will go up in a few weeks” perhaps you decide that your family will have an allergic reaction to this brand, as they always seem to break out in a rash, when you change washing liquid, then you will have to revert back to the old brand, so why bother? On the other hand you may be the type of person who is happy to try the new brand, you may be the type to be open to trying new things in general.
Having a set, fixed or closed mindset causes anguish, when there is a decision to be made that is outside the 'norm' for you. An open mindest allows you to experience the world a little different from the closed minded individual.
In changing your mindest, one goes through stages I have coined 'The Liminal Stage' in my book Lena Body. (Lena Body (2019) Angela Scott Lena Body, Amazon Chapter 12, Ahead) It is the point between, I want change and changing.
It's a time of the unknown, you've never been there before, you have never been in that particular situation, dealing with that particular problem .....If you had, you wouldn't be going through my 'Liminal stage'.
This is a stage of growing, you know that you can not go back, because you have outgrown the situation and want change. In any life changing situation, our mindset will shift.
Take for example moving house. A person who has lived in a house for 30 years has had to change their mindset in order to leave that house, and perhaps that neighbourhood. A person in an abusive relationship has had to change their mindset from 'my partner will change, when they get a better job, more money or when I stop upsetting them' to ' I cannot live like this any-more'. A person who has been in a job for 20 years now wants to leave to pursue their hobby, has had a mindset change of 'I have to make this move, it's a gamble, but I have to do it'
The decisions made above, have one thing in common, that is, 'I have to do something different, the way I felt about the way I was living has to change. I have changed my mind'
Please note, that the knowing something has to change and dong something about it, can take years. The homeowner, lived in that house for 30 years, but knew she wanted to move house 10 years ago. The Survivor of abuse knew that being physically and verbally abused was not what they had signed up for, when the abuse began 12 months into their 12 year 3 children later, relationship, and the employee never wanted to study accountancy in the first place, but as it was a family 'thing' to go to university, study accountancy and go into the family business. So they stayed. They stayed at University, they stayed on to do a Masters degree, they stayed in the same seat, around the same desk for 20 years, knowing that their passion is baking.
After the waiting, enduring and staying, these three begin my 'Liminal stage'. There are four stages: Awareness, Stalemate - Sad mate, Seeking help - Chrysalis Stage and Emergence.
This chapter goes on to explain the four stages and how our three participants, the Home owner the Abuse Survivor and our Employee navigate through the Liminal stages. Full chapters in my new book due December 2020
Conclusion
This chapter discussed Mindset and introduced a definition from J.D. Meier who stated that your mindset is your collection of thoughts and beliefs that shape your thought habits. Dr Carol Dweck described two different mindsets: A Fixed-Mindset, she claimed that students believed that their ability is fixed, as it was probably fixed at birth and a Growth-Mindset in which students believe, that ability and success are due to having an open mind. We see that having the 'Right View' of life, facilitates a less stressful life, and situations like being late for work, will not be the end of the world! Our intention is also important as it leads to a more considered action and deeds.
I believe that one has a Closed or Open mindset, and their lives follow that trend. Individuals who portray a closed mindset, tend live their lives following a particular ethos, such as a religion and or organisation, and attempt to live their lives and tackle most situations by the teachings or guidance of that institution.
An individual with an Open mindset, may also follow a religion or organisation, but can be seen taking other avenues than the rigid teachings they claim to belong to. An Open minded Individual is more accepting to the views others, they are willing to try new things and are open to a chance to experience something different.
I reminded you that one can be Open minded, with a Closed mind, when certain situations appear in their lives! And a Closed minded person may become very open minded when certain situations arise in their lives. Thoughts of body imagine was used as an example, in that a person would have been open minded in-order to decide that a body part should look like that of a celebrity, but closed when suggestions are made that that person should remain 'natural'. I gave an example from my own life as an open minded person who once worked worked (two jobs) 18 hours per day five days a week for months. Showing that as I claimed to be open minded I was very closed minded regarding earning money and disregarding the wear on my body. Any addiction is an act of a closed minded individual which only opens to change when they feel ready and enter my 'Liminal Stage' of change. Which would lead one from the awareness of an issue through to the emergence or solution of the problem, the whole process changes the person, enabling them to drastically change their lives.
Open, fixed, growth or closed minded is a matter of option, you are what you are and labels do not define you. However this chapter may give you pause for thought and allow you the time it takes to read it, to think about your own life and whether you can hear what your Mind, Body and Soul (intuition) is saying to you, about you!
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