Healthy Mindset and Wellness

What Is Mindset?  Why Is It Important to Wellness?

Having a healthy mindset is an important aspect of wellness that I overlooked for years.  Let me tell you what mindset is and why it is important to wellness. I’ll also let you know what tools you need to add to your wellness basket to help you on your wellness journey.

What Is Mindset?

There’s actually a number of definitions out there but to sum them all up, mindset is the way we see or perceive the world around us, which could be clouded with our own prejudices or experiences clouding the bigger picture.  Our mindset, or set of beliefs we have about the world, influences how we think, feel and behave in certain situations.   A healthy mindset would be one that could see the world as it is without judgment or prejudice. Not an easy task.

Why Is Mindset Important to Wellness?

A healthy mindset helps you focus on the present and keep a positive outlook on the future rather than focusing on mistakes and struggles. It allows you to focus on positives and form healthy habits. A healthy mindset allows you to grow and move forward, staying on track with goals and believing in your own ability to achieve great things! A healthy mindset keeps you aware that better things are always on the horizon. It’s also important to remember that ANYTHING to do with the mind is part of wellness.  Our mind and body work together!

Mental blockages and limitations are often quite literally in your head.  With a positive mindset your mind is more at peace, and you are able to handle stress more easily and find ways to improve the not so pleasant situations that arise in life. 

Fixed Vs. Growth Mindsets

Stanford psychologists, Carol Dweck, says there are two basic mindsets:  fixed and growth.  A person with a fixed mindset believes their abilities are fixed traits and can not be changed. A person with a growth mindset believes their talents and abilities can be developed/changed over time and that effort and persistence makes a difference.  Do you tend to have a fixed or a growth mindset?  I think I have both- depending on what the subject is.  But I’m working on developing a healthier mindset and I’ll tell you what’s in my wellness basket to help me with this!

5 Things a Person with a Healthy Mindset Does

Start With a Purpose – People with a healthy mindset find a purpose or meaningful ways to guide what they do in life.  They usually have plans and goals and generally follow those plans.

Focus on the Positive – Practice gratitude and look for that silver lining.  People with a healthy mindset tend to find the good things even amongst dark dreary clouds.  This is what motivates them to push forward, learn from mistakes, and make positives out of negatives.

Surround Themselves with Positive People – Everyone has toxic people in their lives and sometimes you can’t really escape them but you can make sure that you have others in your life that you lean on for positivity, support and inspiration.

Pay Attention to Words and Thoughts – People with a positive growth mindset pay attention to the words they speak and hear in their minds and make the effort to replace any negative thoughts with positive ones.

Start The Day with Positive Affirmations – A lot of people who are actively working on developing a positive mindset (like myself) like to start (or end) their day with positive affirmations.  I love this tool!  Furthermore, there are SO many options out there to help you get started to.  Taking time on repeating positive affirmations at the beginning of the day can help you focus on the positive. It can completely change the way you think about things.  Saying them at night helps you focus on the positive and help you settle down for a good night’s rest.

What Should I Put in My Wellness Basket?

A list of positive affirmations.  There’s a ton of affirmation lists out there.  I really like to listen to the Anxiety Guy on YouTube.  He has a number of videos in which he speaks affirmations.  Incidentally, they are great to listen to when in the car, the tub or as you are waking or falling asleep.  I used some of his affirmations to develop my own list that I personalized more to suit me.

A video of a Comedian you Love – Seriously.  Laughter really is the best medicine.  When people laugh, they have not only a better sense of humor, but often a more positive mindset- at least temporarily.  Temporary is still progress and moves to more permanent frames of mind.

Books on Positive Mindset/Thinking – I recommend The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale.  Most bookstores will have this. Just in case: here’s an Amazon Link for easy shopping( and may help me save up for my next book on positive thinking for myself – thank you!).

What Kind of Mindset do you currently have?  What is something you plan on putting into your wellness basket to help develop your positive mindset?  Tell me in the comments below!