It is easy to stay motivated after reading an inspiring book, talking to a coach or attending a workshop. Right after the event takes place we are on fire! We feel like we can take on daunting tasks, start great projects and keep going at them till we succeed.  

But with time, if we do nothing about it, our enthusiasm wears off.  It is inevitable, because life happens and we are not always on top of our game.  But those are the times that count the most — they can either make us or break us.  

Last month, I read Elif Shafak’s book called “Architect’s Apprentice” and the following quote resonated with me:

“The worth of one’s faith depends not on how solid and strong it is, but on how many times one would lose it and still be able to get it back”

Although the author refers to religious devotion here, I think it is also very applicable to our belief in our own power, our faith in ourselves.  

As we go through life we move from one experience to another, some give us satisfactory results and we call them “successes” but some are not quite so.  When faced with an unexpected (undesirable) outcome we often call it “a failure”, but “failure” it will be…  only if we chose to name it.

The reality is that we simply had an experience.  Positive or negative, triumph or fiasco — are the labels we choose to put on outcomes of those experiences!  However, whatever the result is, we survived, right? We are still here!  And if we survived, what does it mean? 

“Survived” comes from Latin and it comprises two parts :

– “super” in addition

– “vivere” to live

So by surviving we “lived in addition”, we added to our life experience, which means we enriched our knowledge if only by little. 

It takes courage and open-mindedness to regard a failure for what it is — an experience and a learning, because our natural response is to attache a load of analogies, judgements, feed-back loops to reenforce our limiting beliefs.  
To be able to pick ourselves up and continue going after our goals we must constantly be aware of our mindset.  

“Changing the game is a mindset.”

Robert Rodriguez

It is always about getting up and keeping going

The reality is such that when something doesn’t go our desired way we tend to mentally shrink, we start questioning and analyzing why it had happened, we limit our options by subconsciously pin-pointing something that confirms our existing belief about ourselves. This is called a confirmation bias, our brain picks up that which proves what we already know. 

We limit our options, and find reasons not to take an action in the future. 

But what is also true is that everyone who considers themselves successful – be that success as we see it in media or personal contentment and fulfillment- at a low point in life had made a decision to get up, adapt a new mindset and keep grinding. 

So, failing at something and adapting a disempowering mindset about ourselves or our circumstances will most definitely prevent us from getting up and giving it another try. 

Every progress in life is about standing up, learning a lesson, upgrading the mindset and adjusting our strategies.

Mindset is a big word but it consists of tiny decisions we are making every moment

If you are wondering what it means to change your mindset “on the go”, especially after something didn’t go exactly the way planned try these small steps:

– Change your focus.  Notice what it is that you are thinking about that is adding to your negative, disempowering outlook on the world and change the subject of your thoughts! 

– Consider upgrading the language.  What is it that your are telling yourself at any given moment of your “sad times” ? Changing your vocabulary can be challenging, but it is also one of the most powerful strategies to get yourself in a better mindset. 

– Change your physiology.  Shake yourself up: go for a run, dance to a fun song, jump on a trampoline!  Physiology has a huge potential in assisting us in getting a more hopeful outlook on life!