Article 28: Mind & Set

Mindset. But, what does it mean?

I've written the meaning for this vary word, several of times throughout the course of my career. The word has also changed in each of my writings. And, you might be wondering, is it possible for a word to mean, that many things to have changed that much?

Yes. Yes, it can. Mindset. Setting your mind. Structuring the mind to focus on a particular situation. Allowing the mental energy to flow evenly, and not be disturbed by negative factors. The influence of psychological factors that can sway a person's cognitive and emotional state. A mindset can be directed by a person's belief system, notions, attitudes, or thought systems. There is no one specific definition for mindset. It is a fascinating word for many in psychology. However, it is a word that most professionals feel they know the most about.

For me, mindset is everything that I just wrote in the above paragraph. It is a system of feelings and beliefs that can sway how I feel from each moment of the day. Often, I post on social media about mental mindset (and have hashtagged being the mental mindset queen). Again, we ALL believe we know everything about it. But, we don't. Again, for me, it means, everything I listed above.

For me, it is the mental process that can be disrupted at any moment. Life situations that can hinder one's ability to stay focused or present on a specific task or moment in life. And, what it means for athletes, well, that's a big picture.

For athletes, I always encourage focusing on having a happy and healthy mindset. For student athletes, those in high school and college, mindset can take a yo-yo effect each day, especially with the academic workload and demands of sport practice. And, let us not forget that college student athletes are often struggling emotionally from being away from home and adjusting through the first two years of being away and being an independent young-adult for the first time in life! So, mindset is a BIG topic that I focus my energy and studies in.

But, what about us professionals? Even if your not in the sport sector like myself, how do you structure your mindset each day, to make sure that you stay confident, so you stay strong and able to perform your daily duties at work, at school, and as parents, and all other aspects in life?

Mindset is for EVERYONE to understand and to navigate each day in life.

For me, rest & recovery is a major process. Now, most would say that if they have heard of rest & recovery it is written as rest & recover and is a process in sports medicine that these professionals (including myself) study and implement for athletes. However, it is one of those topics that I love to implement into anyone's life! Rest and recovery for me, is the process of unwinding mentally and physically- taking myself away from stressors that impact my day to day functionality and process to perform. This means that it might be that I take a break from writing and grab a coffee or a tea and look at a gardening magazine or read a fun book. This rest & recovery process means that one must be intuitive and have self-discipline. Because, without these two major functions, a person would not know when the body is in need for rest & recovery.

Mindset is perspective. Mindset is growth. Setting your mind each day, allows for you to know how your day will turn out-even when there are bumps in the road. When you know that you are faced with challenges in your days, you will learn that your strength and ability to be productive, to be successful in your mental and daily performance, matters the most, therefore you will find a way to alter your mindset to cater to your needs to be, just that! Productive and successful!

And, I am not saying it is easy.

Mindset.

Growth, awareness, trust, and discipline are some of the most important factors in mindset. Now, I am sure you have heard of a fixed or growth mindset. Afterall, it became the new word that most EVERYONE was ranting and raving over for a while. In short, a fixed mindset is when someone is unable or chooses to not alter or shift their mental process for many reasons and a growth mindset means the opposite. But then it fell into the genre of mental health. Why? Is mindset about mental health?

The two areas link together, rather well indeed! You see, if you remember I mentioned mental mindset or just mindset can mean several things, and in those "things" it can focus on behavior, emotion, and altering one's mental state during various stressors that impact one's daily life. In this same process, mental health can become problematic for those individuals who do not understand how and when to alter their mental state when stressors do in-fact impact one's process and performance!

Remember, I mentioned self-discipline and awareness are major factors in learning how to adjust mindset!? And THIS is why they are important! Because mental health can be impacted if one's mindset continues to be off.

A quick tip or give away for you here is this- Something I teach athletes and coaches about, often! Visualization or imagery practice. Who said it has to be just for athletes performance enhancement, right! I've created it for EVERYONE's performance! That's right! If you know a little about closing your eyes, breathing for relaxation, then you can do this! If not, feel free to reach out to me so I can guide you with the proper steps to get started!

Read these steps and understand what is expected to perform at your best! Take note, anytime your brain begins to shift and you start focusing on something that is bad or not part of your positive picture, immediately work to erase your thoughts of it and start over. While doing this, you will focus 100% back onto your breathing until you get back on the right process. Please keep in mind that this is a very basic training process. I have many more that are extensive and focus on many different steps to take, depending on the need.

• If you can not move yourself to a quiet location, that is fine! At work, at home, in the car (parked and safe), sitting in a chair, close your eyes and breathe in your nose, hold for 2 seconds, then exhale out your mouth. Repeat for at least 5 times, making sure to keep your eyes closed, mind blank of any thoughts, and making sure that your belly is rising and falling (not your chest, no shallow breathing).

• Next, Once relaxed and having nothing in mind, paint your picture of what you are trying to accomplish, while continuing to breathe slowly, in your nose, out your mouth.

• If you are trying to not stress about something in particular (work, bills, relationships, sports, health) then paint only 1 picture for yourself. This picture must be a positive one. What you are trying to accomplish! Keep breathing in your nose, out your mouth.

• In this picture, consider what you are wearing. Identify your surrounding in your picture. Are there sounds in the background? Identify smells and tastes. Identify how this is making your feel- your emotions. Is your heart racing. Are you sweating. Are you shakey? Are you nervous? Keep breathing in your nose, out your mouth.

• Now, while you paint your picture in your mind, identify if you are watching yourself in your mind or viewing yourself from within. Think of it like this- are you watching yourself in a movie (where you can see your entire body, or can you see yourself through behind your eyes- like in a VR game playing a character)? Keep breathing in your nose, out your mouth.

• Now, can you envision your picture? Do you see what you need to do to perform at your best? Do you see what you need to change to adjust your mindset? If not, repeat these steps until you paint a picture that is perfect for you. This process is to alter your mindset when you are not satisfied with the way your life is currently going. Remember, you are in control of your life. You can change things in your life to work best for you! And, if you are working or need to get back to whatever it is that you are doing, that is fine! Keep painting this same picture when you have time to sit and practice this. Visualization training should be implemented everyday for at least 10 minutes to be effective in your performance!

Overall, mindset is a major part of life and how we, as humans perform each day. Whether it be for work, as a parent, or as a student and or athlete, mindset can take us very far in our productivity, and a negative mindset can take us very far away from it! I hope that my short visualization training process will guide you into the right steps towards bettering your mindset when it needs to be adjusted. Overall, this process is great for many things, even outside of adjusting mindset. It can help you focus on your goals and many other aspects in life.

Best of luck to you! You've got this!

Cheryl McCormick, M.S.S.