As a business owner, you likely invest time on things such as marketing or social media to boost your growth. But have you ever considered how your mindset impacts your business?
Join me as I talk to Paola Hinojosa, Clinical Hypnotherapist and Rapid Transformational Therapist, about the role your mind plays in business and how to develop a positive mindset as an entrepreneur. Read on!
What is the meaning of “mindset”?
Mindset is pretty much the set of beliefs that we have within ourselves. To put it simply, it’s the collection of thoughts and beliefs that end up shaping our habits and influencing the way we act and face life.
How is someone’s mindset created?
We start “setting up” our minds since we are little. In those early stages, it is greatly influenced by the environment we live in, the input and beliefs from our parents (or whoever is raising us), teachers, family members, etc.
As we grow up we start being more aware of what we experience and, therefore, we start changing our mindset according to them.
Sometimes we don’t realise that a certain belief is no longer serving us, and that contributes to this sense (or reality!) of struggling to achieve certain goals. Most of the times it’s because we have the wrong “mind-set”, so all we have to do is “re-set” the mind and, as I tell my clients, see the path unfold.
How can someone’s mindset affect their business?
It is really easy to figure out if you have the right mindset for a certain project or not: just start by listening to your words and thoughts!
For example: let’s say you want to create a website for your business and you don’t know where to start. If you are one of those persons (like me!) who are not into technology at all, you may start entertaining thoughts like:
- Finding a web designer is going to be so hard! They’ll probably take advantage of me and charge me a bomb!
- it’s going to be so expensive. I’ll have to work extra hard to pay her/him…
- Choosing a theme and colour pattern is so difficult
- What on Earth am I supposed to write? Writing is such a waste of time
- Why am I even doing this?
And so on….
This is not precisely setting you up for success!
When your mindset is so negative, your input, energy and efforts become a constant struggle to get anything done.
If your pre-disposition is not the best from the get go, so the results probably won’t satisfy you because of the “battles” you had to go through to achieve them.
However, if you recognise your limitations, you can still play with them and even challenge them by thinking:
- Do I know any good web designers? Nope. it’s all good, I’ll ask around and see if I can get a good recommendation. Surely someone will know of someone extraordinary! My business deserves the best.
- I am going to make sure this website looks amazing and it’ll soon pay for itself with the number of customers I’m going to get.
- Let’s have a quick look and see what others have written, that will get me inspired.
- Wow! I never thought there were so many themes and colours and fonts to choose from! Let’s have some fun and get creative here.
- Things always work out for me.
See, it’s a total different mindset and therefore a total different experience. You can even feel it in your body as you listen to it!
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So as you say, you can clearly change your mindset, but how long does it take?
It takes as little as you realising the kind of talk you are having with yourself. Recognise that negative talk: “I’m so stupid, so slow, hopeless, etc.”
Then you will be able to change your thoughts, change your habits and see your reality change.
Set up your mind for success, every moment, every day, and you will see how you start taking proactive steps towards that “desired” goal.
Make it easy, fun and exciting in your mind and then your mind will become your “partner in success”.
It will just help you see things in a positive way and start making things easier for you!.
What are some tips for someone that wants to develop a more positive mindset?
Your mind does what it thinks you want it to do. So tell your mind good, positive, inspiring and encouraging words. And if you know you are not so good at something, just tell your mind a better lie!
Can you give us an example of how we could put this into practice?
Sure! Let’s say, for example, you don’t like exercising, but you know how beneficial it is for your body.
So you can start telling your mind “I loooooove exercising, it’s so good for me!”. Or “I have a lot of fun when I move my body, it really energises me” and so on.
Then your mind will say “AH! So now we love exercising! Perfect! let’s give this a positive push!” And your mind will help you find ways to enjoy it. Simple.
Also, your environment is extremely important so surround yourself with the kind of people who will get you closer to your goal. If you don’t know anyone, look for them! There’s plenty out there in the world.
Read inspiring books, Listen to happy songs and tunes. But always make sure you start with your thoughts!
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A lot of people fail to take action in business because of fear. How can someone get comfortable with taking risks?
Find out what you are really fearful of. Think back and see if you can identify when, where and how it started and how it has affected you. Once you’ve done this, you can work on changing your belief about it.
And remember: the biggest risk is not taking any action.
What are some words of encouragement for someone facing a business setback?
I’d start by saying: “failing is part of succeeding.” A set back always leaves you a teaching, or many!
You set “back” to where you started or just a few steps back, but you’ve also gained something: what you’ve learnt from this experience. This is knowledge that you didn’t have before and clearly needed to acquire.
So now that you have it you can change your mindset, capitalise on what you have learned and go for gold!
How can you stop negative self-talk?
By recognising it first. Just do an easy exercise: bring the awareness to what you say out loud and what you think. Notice if you are using positive or negative words.
For example, notice if you are being ironic all the time or if you are, perhaps, using phrases with negative connotations. Notice if you see a pattern.
Write the “negatives” down and turn them into something “positive and friendlier”. Just like I’ve done on my previous example on the thoughts you may have when creating your website.
You’ll be surprised at how much negative talk can come out in one day!
Then make a choice: “how do I want to present myself to the world?” Then it’s simple: act accordingly!
The sooner you start, the more you’ll recognise it. As soon as you recognise it, you can stop it, re-phrase it and carry on. It’s just a new habit you will need to acquire.
What is the best advice you can give to entrepreneurs?
Set your mind for success first. It all starts in the mind. The thoughts and images you feed your mind is the nourishment your business needs. And if you need some help please reach out! I’m always a click away.
About Paola
Paola Hinojosa is a Certified Hypnotherapist who uses the power of Hypnotherapy to liberate, inspire and empower people enabling them to unfold the path to the best version of themselves. She is the kind of business woman who started from scratch, by herself, and simply made it happen. She is one of those down to Earth persons who helps you put your ideas in order with a smile in her face.
Want to learn more about Paola and her work?
Check out her website or say hello on Instagram.
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Love this article. Self-development is so so important to work on and nourish constantly. Everything plays out smoothly when the mindset is in the right place.
Thanks Sabina! Totally agree. And body and mind go hand-in-hand, this is why what you do is so important. ??