In this post we are going to cover the role that your mindset and attitude play in your life, and why they’re so important.
Here you will learn ways to improve your mindset each day in order to create a healthy and positive attitude.
If you’re ready to see the impact improving your mindset and attitude can have in your life, this post is for you!
Let’s get started..
Why is attitude and mindset important?
Most of us understand the crucial roles that our mindset and attitude play in how we perceive, react, and respond to various circumstances in life.
If we take a look at the definition of each word, as well as provide a mindset and attitude example, we can better assess why they are important and what it means to improve them.
Mindset is defined as a way of thinking, a mental inclination. It is a habitual mental state that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.
Attitude, on the other hand, is a manner of thinking, feeling, or behaving that reflects a state of mind. It is a disposition, or way of carrying oneself.
By getting clear on the definition of each word, we gain a better understanding of how we might answer the question: How does mindset affect attitude?
We can also more accurately address: Why is mindset so important?
Your habitual way of thinking (mindset) is directly influencing the way you carry yourself or behave throughout your day (attitude).
With that, it becomes clear that if we make an effort to improve our habitual thinking patterns, we will see improvement in how we respond to and engage with our life overall.
So here you might be wondering, How can I improve my mindset?
Resilience VS Positivity
When making an effort to improve our mindset, it’s important to focus on resilience over positivity.
Resilience is defined as being capable of returning to an original shape or form, such as after compression. Being able to recover, leap back, rebound.
Put another way, it is the tendency to recover from or adjust easily to adversity, unforeseen events or change.
A resilient mindset goes hand in hand with the well known concept of a growth mindset.
Growth is about expanding and improving upon our skills, knowledge & abilities.
With a growth mindset, we view change as an opportunity to learn and gain insight. Hardships are viewed as challenges to overcome, as a way to test our abilities.
One of my favorite mindset and attitude quotes highlights this point well:
Being challenged in life is inevitable, being defeated is optional.
When we face adversity with openness, curiosity, and seek the lesson within the experience, we become stronger, wiser and more capable moving forward.
This approach directly leads to the creation of a resilient mind. One that is able to rebound and recover in trying times.
You might be wondering how to change mindset and behavior in a way that aligns with growth and resilience?
Or how to shift your attitude toward one of confidence and self determination?
How do I change my mindset and attitude?
To create lasting and meaningful change we have found it is best to dig deeper and get to the root, or core, of the issue.
Most of us have read posts offering great tips and practices for us to implement in order to cultivate a positive mindset and attitude.
Practices such as meditation, affirmations, positive self talk, gratitude journaling and so on, just to name a few.
While these habits do help us, and offer many benefits, there is a major step that should be considered first.
This step being for us to first build a foundation, or system, to ‘plug’ a set amount of these practices into.
Consider how much more effective these habits can be when we first determine how we are going to build them into consistent daily disciplines.
Another key point that is often overlooked is how much our mindset and attitude are impacted by the state of our physical health.
If we improve how we treat and fuel our bodies, our mindset and attitude will be affected as well.
When we take an indirect approach, it becomes less about How can I control my mindset? And more about how can I control the factors that influence and contribute to a healthy mindset and attitude?
How do you create a positive mindset and attitude in life?
There are 3 key habits that will have the greatest impact in creating a positive, resilient and growth focused mindset and attitude in life.
Again, these key points are meant to be more than just helpful tips. The purpose here is to lay the foundation and build a framework for effective and lasting change.
The 3 Impactful Ways to improve your mindset and attitude are: Establishing Routines (AM/PM), Prioritizing Health, and Reflecting & Adjusting.
1. Establish Routines (AM/PM)
Routines are our anchor.
They give us a time and place to reset, refocus, and re-calibrate.
By establishing consistent, uplifting & nourishing morning and evening routines we can set up for, and reflect upon, each and every day.
Doing so allows you to start and end each day on a positive note, and helps you shift your mindset and attitude in a clear, intentional direction.
This is a great place to add in some of those tips and practices we covered earlier.
When considering what to include in your morning routine, a few popular (and effective) practices are listed below:
- Write out and get clear on your goals & intentions for the day
- Journal (brain dump, gratitude, or prompts are all great options)
- Move your body (walk, jog, hit the gym or use an app)
- Hydrate with mineral water (replenish electrolytes)
Your evening routine might look something like this:
- Power down tech (and consider blue blocking glasses)
- Make a cup of herbal tea (add adaptogens to encourage sleep)
- Do some deep stretches (or a calming yoga sequence)
- Journal and reflect upon your day
- Prep for deep sleep (temperature, sleep mask, earplugs)
Starting a morning and evening routine was one of the best things I’ve done for my mindset and attitude.
This is honestly where I’ve had the most noticeable impact in how I think, view, react and respond to events throughout my day.
2. Prioritize Health
The state of your health is a reflection of how well you are treating yourself, as a whole.
Prioritizing your health is about taking intentional action toward improving the quality of your sleeping habits, your nutrition intake, as well as your physical fitness.
When you make an effort to improve your health (in all areas), you will notice a direct impact on your energy levels, vitality, the clarity of your mind, and your overall self confidence.
The best course of action to achieve this is by simply building healthy habits into your daily routines.
You might start with a few of the habits listed below, and build upon them from there:
- Basic Supplementation: Daily (high quality) multi-vitamin
- Track what you eat with apps like Cronometer or Daily Dozen
- Daily walk and/or exercise routine (20-30 minutes)
- Make 8 hours of deep, restorative sleep a priority
Like mentioned above, your physical health is going to play a major part in how you feel about yourself, and thus affect your attitude and mindset in life.
I know for me personally, when I fuel my body with the right foods as well as give my body the rest, movement and recovery it needs to thrive, my mindset and attitude see a significant improvement.
3. Reflect and Adjust
Think of this step as a monthly review.
We are simply checking in with how we are feeling, looking for feedback, and making adjustments as needed.
By taking the time to reflect and review, you have more insight into what habits are working for you, which are not, as well as what areas could use some modifications.
A great way to do this is to track the progress you are making on a day to day basis, and perform an audit and revision every 30 days.
I personally like to track my habits on an app called Daylio.
Here I am able to get a clear picture of what I’ve been doing, as well as how consistent I’ve been throughout the month.
I also utilize a daily planner and journal to record, reflect and review how I’m feeling each day. It’s also a place where I explore my goals, intentions and the vision I hold of the ideal mindset I’m seeking to create.
By using these tools, I have everything I need for my monthly reflection and review.
It truly helps me maximize the progress I am making on the improvement of my mindset and attitude every single day.
Final Thoughts
Keep in mind it’s not perfection we’re after, but progress.
We’re not obsessing, stressing or rushing, but making steady strides.
More than likely, we’re not going to notice massive results from our efforts that day, the next day, or even next week.
However, the cumulative effect of our commitment will add up and multiply over time.
When we are mindful of, intentional about, and consistent with the habits we perform each day, the impact we’ll see on our mindsets and attitudes will be undeniable.
What about you?
What are some ways you've worked to improve your mindset and attitude in life?
Let us know in the comments below!
I’ve cut back on my media intake. This has removed much of the negative influence in my life and has helped me have a positive outlook in life. Really enjoyed your article, Krissy!
So glad to hear that, Lisha! Thank you 🙂