And why it all starts with YOU...
Let's Establish Some Context...
What is Personal Mindset?
It's not complicated!
"Mindset" is the way a person views the world around them.
If you're thinking:
"This is HUGE! It impacts everything..."
What each individual sees is dependent on our own unique perspective!
You're absolutely right!
And right there is the answer to why it's so important!
- It's important to get a handle on our own beliefs about what we can accomplish...
- It's important to assess any pre-conceived notions about privilege or entitlement
- It critical to understanding if we are creating our own "false obstacles"
- It's fundamental to seeing how we interpret "events"
- Do they happen to us?
- Are we "victims" of fate?
Beliefs are "tricky!"
Here's the thing about beliefs...
They are NOT reality!
They are what you personally believe to be true about reality!
I know this may be a "hard sell" to convince you... But consider these points:
Take "gravity" for example..
Gravity's effects on us — and the world around us — can be tested, and we can personally confirm that if you drop some object, it will certainly fall...unless you're on the ISS where the effects of gravity are close to zero. Then it will just float away, under the influence of it's beginning inertia. Consider this single example: if you showed someone without knowledge of the ISS videos of this occurring (or some time traveler from the 16th Century), they'd either think it was a trick or "magic..."
Perspective is everything!
Temperature and atmospheric pressure are another couple of things that are fairly concrete: they can be measured with instruments...
But mindset is something individual and personal...
It can't be measured with any instruments.
That's why it's so important to be absolutely clear on your own mindset...
This is also tricky, because:
- It changes over time
(You're not the person at 45 that you were at 16, even if it's 'only' due to life experiences and "experience" in general) - It often drastically changes with higher education (Consider core courses like Logic & Critical Thinking)
- Beliefs are often transparent...
- It's often hard to see our own beliefs (largely because we consider them to be "fact")
- Most people have never been challenged to consider their own beliefs
- As an Anthropology major, in my University training I was taught to consider — and document — my own research bias (pre-conceived expectations) before starting any project. It was truly eye-opening, and it greatly improved the quality of my entire project and paper!
- Consider political, religious, and cultural beliefs...
- These are often "ingrained" or taught to us at a very early age... (and, it was sacrilege to even think of questioning their validity)
- Our "teachers" — family elders, school teachers (following an 'official' curriculum), local or national 'figureheads' — naturally teach us their own beliefs
This, BTW, is the very process by which harmful and destructive biases (think: gender, religious, racial, ethnic) form...unless we — as introspective & critically-thinking adults — begin to challenge those pre-conceived notions
The 'Web' We Weave
I've written elsewhere -- here & here -- about the importance of personal mindset for solopreneurs, and anyone who has experienced obstacles to personal growth.
- Issues about money:
- asking for it or deserving more of it... directly affecting your "sales" and approaches to selling anything
- being 'poor' is more spiritual
- being 'rich' is evil: money is neutral; it's what the owner of the money does with it...and this is a value judgement and completely subjective!
- Beliefs about our own value:
- poor self-esteem or unworthiness
- not having anything to contribute
- the need to be "perfect" (that's a myth and unattainable)
- Imposter syndrome, in all of it's various guises
- Productivity & work:
- "Work is a 4-letter word" so it must be hard & distasteful
- Fear -- of success or failure -- often masquerading as procrastination
- Stubbornness: not adhering to deadlines, even the ones you set for yourself
- Avoidance...for any number of reasons. It's often totally perplexing when we want to do something, but keep doing something else instead! (This is often how habits like mindlessly scrolling through social media become the "quick fix" to avoiding "work" -- and contributing to making us feel even worse about ourselves for wasting so much time!
A crucially important question to consider is...
Whose beliefs are forming your direct reality?
What this really means — in practice — is how do you frame your reality?
- Do things 'randomly' happen to you?
- Or do you take responsibility — at least in part — for them?
- Is your life typically chaotic...or chaos-free?
- Do you enjoy the adrenalin rush of "disasters" or 'emergencies?' (This could be a clue to what you are creating...
)
It's About Being Mindful...
I realize a lot of the concepts above appear "critical" in nature... That's not my intent at all!
Beating ourselves up is NOT helpful in any way. It only serves to further undermine self-esteem.
A much more beneficial approach is simply being mindful of what goes on in our minds...
As the saying goes...
"It's all between the ears!"
There's a reason I've spent so much time here explaining common obstacles affecting solopreneurs, & including examples: this type of introspective thinking is often never discussed in Western society...(although it IS becoming more common recently).
Realistically, you can't change anything if you don't know it exists. So first you need to think through and observe...
- Your own Habits, both productive & unproductive
- Self-talk, especially the negative stuff we "automatically" tell ourselves
- Environment mindset you live in or frequently visit... Home, school, work, friends...
Caution: These can be silently setting the tone for your day - When you feel tension or stress in your body: tight shoulders, headaches, back pain. These can be physical clues to external stressors you may not have noticed!
The Structures We Build...
Hopefully by now you understand my approach to Mindset...and why it's so important to consider.
In the examples and points above, I'm specifically talking about "personal Mindset" because — at the root of everything that follows — we are individuals first.
Each individual who becomes part of anything larger than themselves — a family, neighborhood, business, or local government — brings their own unique mindset along with them.
This applies to values, ethics, expectations, and even outlook for the overall success of any such group.
That partially explains why there can be so much disconnect and discord in groups of any type and size.
This is especially relevant for solopreneurs...
We are necessarily part of other communities: out local neighborhood, our town or city, perhaps local business organizations, local Chambers of Commerce, etc.
These form the structures of our lives, but are largely unexamined for their own underlying values and world views...
As these views relate to business, it's important to be examine the foundational values of the communities of which you are a part. Hopefully they support and reflect your own values; if not, you might be like a salmon swimming against the current. Not the best circumstances to gain success as a business!
Strategies
If you are part of any community that does support your own values, take a moment to be grateful for it! That's fantastic!
If not, try starting your own community...
This can be rather easy if you are in a larger Metro area, since there are so many potential members... Some local community-based organizations or the local City or town government might have resources for you to look into.
- If you're in a smaller town or rural community, consider starting an online or virtual community.
- If there are any co-working facilities in your area, these would be great places to start! These are usually populated by like-minded solopreneurs, who need a quiet place to work. They might even have a small group already in place...
- check out your local business-related Meetup (if there is one relatively close)or...
- Look into other types of community platforms already established online; this is easier because they've already established the technical infrastructure essential to virtual meetings... Facebook Groups is popular, because so many people are already on the Facebook platform...
The point is to understand your own values, your own World View, and make sure the communities of which you are a part share those values...or at least don't have opposed values.
Over to You...
What Mindset questions or obstacles do you have? What have you learned about your own personal values?
Please post in the Comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
