Life is full of surprises, some of them good, some of them bad. Life can throw us some real curve balls, but one thing I have learned over time is to not categorize such events as good or bad. After all, it is our perception of the things that causes us to label them as such.

Fixed Mindset Thoughts

Do you ever say things like these to yourself:
• I will never be able to do X
• See, I told you, you’ll never be as good as they are
• Why bother? You don’t have the talent

These are all part of a Fixed Mindset, but they are also unnecessary. Now, to be fair, I think it’s safe to say we all have these thoughts at some point or another, but if we really want to reach for the stars, we need to make sure we adopt a Growth Mindset, in order to achieve the things we really want in life.

Sometimes I hear people say: “I really want to get into better shape, but this weekend we have a party, so I’ll start on Monday.” It’s often during such talk that you create an excuse for not starting now. If you really want to get into shape, the best time to start is now. It’s all about mindset.

Adopting A Growth Mindset

So, instead of talking yourself down with a Fixed Mindset, think what you could achieve if you adopted a Growth Mindset instead. Growth Mindset is all about seeing opportunities to learn, to grow as a person. It doesn’t have to be big steps, in fact, it’s probably best to start with small steps and then see your progress over time. Start thinking differently, instead of saying “I’ll never be able to write a book.” say “I don’t know much about writing, but I want to learn and write a book.”

Instead of saying “See, I told you, you’ll never be as good as they are”, just say “I’m not as good as they are yet, but I can learn and I can improve, if I keep at it.
Instead of saying “Why bother? You don’t have the talent.” say “Maybe this thing is outside of my comfort zone, but I might get really good at it.”

You see, talent is not something that is a requirement in order to learn a new skill. Everyone can do nearly everything if they put their mind to it. I mean, look at someone like Stephen Hawking, who, despite his paralysis due to ALS, was one of the world’s greatest scientists who ever lived. His life expectancy after he got his diagnosis was maybe a few years tops. He lived 50 years with it and never allowed himself to be stopped by his disease. Instead, for every thing he couldn’t do with his body, his mind grew stronger, because that was the only thing he did have left.

I hope this open letter has given you something you were looking for. A message to finally get up and do what you’ve always wanted to do. I know I’ve found my way to writing once again and I don’t plan to stop any time soon! Besides picking up old habits, I’ve also vowed to learn and do new things this year, because we’re never too old to learn, or to start. Just remember that and keep growing!

Jeffrey