Exploring how to choose action over mindset and use them together to smash your goals
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I am always hearing about how mindset is everything. Even though I know that the mind can be powerful, is it really everything? Mindset can contribute to many factors in life but what other elements do you need to reach your goals and success? One important element for me is action.
Since being introduced to the world of self-discovery and self-help, I have been trying to improve myself. This journey is not easy and it is ongoing. However, I know that I would’ve made more progress early on if I understood my personal responsibility to take action.
Being completely drawn in by the ideas presented in mindset books and especially, into The Secret. One thing was missing… my proactivity and responsibility. Although I was reading about how to make a change in my life, it wasn’t happening and I continued to look outside of myself for the answer.
I’m diving how you can start being the change you want in your life and how you can create an action mindset to do this.
What is Mindset?
Mindset is defined as “the set of established attitudes held by someone”. It is a way of thinking, a frame of mind and is beliefs that shape your thoughts and life. This is because your attitudes are a determined way of thinking, informed by beliefs and experiences, that is often reflected in your behaviours.
Your mindset can dictate the things you do, the way you think and why. This is why mindset is an extremely part of life and a huge part of changing your life.
Beliefs are an especially important part of your attitude and mindset. Beliefs are ideas, personal to each one of us, that we are absolutely certain of. These ideas are learned through childhood in what we see and experience as well as throughout life. Thankfully, we have the power to change limiting beliefs and therefore, have the power to change our mindset.
Different types of mindset you can hold
There are two main mindsets you can hold, a fixed mindset and a growth mindset, outlined by Carol Dweck and her research.
A fixed mindset focuses on your limitations. Believing that you are limited by your natural talent and unable to learn or hone skills that you are inexperienced. As well as taking failure and criticism in a negative way and often giving up. Keeping you in one place and stuck in the same self-sabotaging patterns and negative thoughts.
Research showed that those with a negative outlook, lower self-esteem and low optimism were less likely to achieve their goals. They framed their goals and in negative ways and used limiting language such as, “I just need to survive this”.
A growth mindset instead focuses on the belief that you are able to grow and learn, past natural talent and new skills. In addition, this mindset sees failure as opportunities to grow, try again and change your approach. Empowering you to accept opportunities and overcome challenges in positive ways.
Naturally, a growth mindset seems preferable and has a more positive outlook on yourself and the world around you. Positive, growth beliefs can help change your life but, what I believe is that action is even more important.
Should you choose action over mindset?
Your mindset does contribute a massive part in achieving your goals and obtaining the success you desire. Helping you to overcome challenges, realise your goals and create resilience on your journey. As your mindset informs your behaviours, it even plays a part in your actions.
But mindset it more important than taking action?
Action is physical, it is the steps that you take to make a change and achieve your goals. The action you take also positions you as a creator in your life. Taking proactive action in your life moves the needle towards your goals. You can’t reach them by sitting and waiting for your goals to materialise.
However, your mindset can be the directing force behind the decisions and action you take. Such as holding a positive belief about yourself and a growth mindset can encourage you to try again when you fail.
Therefore, action and mindset work hand in hand, both contributing to your success.
How to build an action mindset for success
There are also ways to get both mindset and action to work more effectively together by building a mindset on the side of action and proactivity. Here are 6 tips to creating and solidifying an action mindset:
1. Accountability
I mentioned at the beginning of this article that I began looking outside of myself when I wasn’t seeing the change I desired. In truth, I should have been looking inside of myself. Only I am responsible for creating change in both my life and my mindset. This realisation changed the way I lived as I began to see my accountability in it.
Accountability means you are willingly accepting responsibility for your actions and the consequences. Holding yourself responsible for the things you do, say, think, and participate in.
No one can make you do anything or even make you feel certain ways. Other’s actions and consequences can provoke negative feelings but you are the one feeling them. Becoming aware of sentences like, “she/he/they/that action made me feel angry/sad/hurt…” to recognise times when you are not taking responsibility.
Your thoughts, emotions and reaction are your responsibility.
One way to take more responsibility for your thoughts and emotions is to explain in the statement, “I experience…”. For example, “I experience anger as a result of the negative feedback that I received at work”. Rather than argue with your colleagues, you can choose to act in a more proactive and responsible way asking for more feedback and applying it for the next meeting.
Accountability is also important in order to take action towards your goals. So often we can live reactively, in response to someone else’s choice and consequences. Whereas, accountability positions you in charge of your actions and you can more selective about what you choose to do. As well as seek out the right opportunities and challenges that will help you take steps in the right direction. Therefore, contributing to a mindset of action.
2. Visualisation
Visualisation is a mental tool you can use to build an action mindset. Visualising both your end goal as well as how your day to day life could pan out.
Firstly, start by spending a few minutes visualising the exact moment you achieve your goal. What are you doing at that moment? How does it feel in your whole body when you’ve achieved your goal? Who is with you there? What does the future you look like, act like, and think like?
The more specific you are about knowing when you achieve your goal, the easier it is to answer those questions and create a compelling visualisation. This exercise can motivate and direct you to the place of achieving your goal, therefore, promoting you to take more action.
Another way to use visualisation is to envision your day and the action you intend to take that day. Perhaps you have a big meeting coming up at work, you can imagine exactly how you want it to go. Or perhaps you have a date, you can choose to visualise how you want to show up, what you might do and how it feels on the date. Helping you to push aside any fear or limiting beliefs with ease and start seeing things with a positive outlook. Asking yourself what is the best that could happen, not the worst?
Even though is a mental tool, it can encourage you to step into the right frame of mind and realise the action you need to take in order to reach your goals.
3. Create a plan
The visualisations you create provide a place for you to start creating a plan of action. Having dreams and goals is inspiring and motivating, however, not knowing how to get there can be confusing and disorientating. Leaving you struggling to take the right action and the desired actions for your goals.
Therefore, creating and writing down a plan of action will direct your energy, thoughts and action to the right places for you.
Start by laying out your biggest dreams and goals. Work backwards from there and lay out the details of where you need to be right before achieving the goals. Break real this down further into more individual steps, creating a sort of ladder, each rung being the previous mini-goal.
For example, if the big goal is to work for yourself, the previous step could be selling X amount in order to quit your current job. Before you can sell your products it has to be created and marketed and you might even need to learn a whole new skill to do it etc.
As you break down the steps you can begin to realise the most immediate action you desire to take. Focusing our time and energy on these smaller goals and knowing you are continually making progress.
I’d also like to add to this that your mindset will need you to be flexible. Unfortunately, not everything can go to plan but with a growth mindset, you can choose to learn from every experience. As well as choosing to adjust your plan or action whenever you need to or come up with new ways of achieving your goal.
4. Realise its not all about motivation
Motivation is just an emotion. One that can fluctuate significantly and come and go whenever it feels like it. Unfortunately, this makes motivation a very unreliable source to fuel your action. Therefore, you need to create a mindset that is disciplined and take action at any time, with or without motivation and inspiration.
Thankfully, your mindset is an asset in times where motivation is lacking. Encouraging you to keep going, building resilience and strengthening your resolve to continue to take action. Consistency is a key component to making change and even the smallest of progress each day adds up to compound effort.
5. Develop the habit
Thankfully, consistency can also contribute to developing new and positive habits. When your actions become a habit, you support yourself and your growth on autopilot. Therefore, you no longer rely on motivation and inspiration. Instead, positive habits allow you to take charge of your life.
We all negative habits, I know that I watch too much TV and when I do, I realise that it is my comfort zone. A place for me to easily make excuses and not take the action I desire. This is one habit that I have to proactively break so that I can use the time for improved habits that push me towards my goal such as writing more.
What bad habits do you indulge in? What new habit would you like to replace them with?
Replacing bad habits requires both your mindset and your action. It is a process to change your automatic, comfortable and safe habits, I recommend reading Atomic Habits by James Clear to start doing this right away.
6. Be forgiving
The final tip to create an action mindset is to be forgiving of yourself. Sometimes things don’t go to plan, sometimes you do need a break (and should take breaks to protect your health), and sometimes you might be reactive. All of this is normal and okay.
We are our harshest critics and participating in negative self-talk will be extremely detrimental to your mindset, confidence, esteem and action. Therefore, forgive yourself for the times when you think you are not doing enough and build yourself up. Take a moment to see how far you’ve come, what you’ve learned and appreciate yourself.
Action and mindset are better together
Building an action mindset is not as difficult as you might have first thought. Perhaps mindset isn’t everything like you once thought either, and I feel the same. However, now, I feel empowered to take action and use my mindset to support me through it.
Ensuring you know your responsibility, have a visual and have created a tangible plan are key steps to building a solid action mindset. Allowing you to develop positive habits, push through a lack of motivation and forgive yourself for harder times. Action and mindset go hand in hand to move the needle and help you be the best version of yourself for that action too.
What is the first action you’re going to take to reach your goals?
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