REBEL: Expand the Mind

For a creative bunch, Global Creatives can have some narrow opinions especially around success, getting things done and time. We make up our mind on how something should be and then lock it down and throw away the key!

Our ability to hyper-focus can give us the fuel to reach a destination, but also may hinder our ability to see success if it shows up in a different way. Lack of inhibition fueled by emotional urgency will have us zoom without pausing to consider our current mindset and if it is serving us. Recent neuroscience advances and key work from Martin Seligman and Carol Dweck have revealed the advantage of a growth mindset over a fixed mindset.

REBEL - Expand the Mind is all about building a growth mindset, which is a mindfulness practice. Notice where you limit your thinking or lock down beliefs around success:

Success = X amount of money Success = A very exact picture of a dream

Or language borrowed from a 1950’s motivational speaker or language steeped in pride or discipline:

“Don’t show any weakness” “I just need self discipline and willpower”

Or defeating language like :

“What’s the point?” “She always gets her way!” “I am so unlucky!”

Gently challenge your thinking considering alternatives. Consider what you’d have to let go of to change your limited thinking - and what you might gain. Often when we really pause and consider, we realize the consequences can be quite small. Pride is something that seems to keep us doing the same stuff having the same cycle of thoughts. Sometimes, we apply discipline too widely and it shows up in how we view the world. Those of us with ADHD can be held hostage by negative and narrow thinking.

Now, we know the efficacy of mindfulness practices. I learned this first-hand in my coach training more than 10 years ago when I was considering that there just maybe another way (a better way) to view the world than from a place of suspicion and caution (honestly, that was me). We humans are quick with our assumptions and once established they are hard to change much like first impressions. ADHD is like the hardener in a resin mixer binding our mind to one way of thinking. But just a simple pause and question can weaken the hold. Neuroscience has caught up with the practice buddhists have been doing for thousands of years, expanding the mind.

So, notice those limiting beliefs. Just notice and breathe.

Read Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset, where she distinguishes the different mindsets mentioned above. You can guess which one is better, and better for you. Those with growth mindsets are more successful and lead happier and better lives. It is proven. It is also proven that you can shift a fixed mindset into a growth mindset.

I am proof, and my clients do it everyday.