Introduction
Welcome to Episode 9 of the Coaching Hive Podcast! I am your host, Dr. Moira and today we take our mindset focus and think about how to apply the concept to our limiting beliefs for a mindset refresh.
This month has been packed with information on mindset, great wisdom from Brianna, a look at one of my favorite books, She Means Business, and a review of the scientific research on mindset. It seems to be a natural conclusion to our month to take time and reflect.
Mindset is especially key because here at the Coaching Hive, we want to be effective, efficient, and have fun so that work becomes a joy, and you have dedicated time for the important things in life like your family, friends, and hobbies. Go ahead and play this family friendly podcast through your speakers and let’s get started.
The Topic
Mindset takes attention, it takes practice, it takes patience, and it takes persistence. Mindset requires us to create habits, a concept we are covering inside the Coaching Hive in our April MasterClass because it is so important.
Before we talk more about shifting our mindset, I hope you will allow me to digress for a moment and share an experience I once had with the concept of mindfulness. Now to be clear, mindset and mindfulness are two different things, but the heart of the story applies to mindset as well.
I once had the distinct pleasure to learn from Gena Adams-Riley. She is a mindfulness guru and I loved the way that she approaches mindfulness. She told the group that we all start from a place of practice and to be kind and gentle with ourselves. What she meant is that mindfulness takes time. It takes intentional practice. Gena encouraged participants to develop a mindfulness practice and to practice everyday mindfulness.
If the concept of mindfulness is new to you, lets pause here for just a quick overview. Mindfulness is about being aware of our thinking and how that can shape an experience. According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of mindfulness, “Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way; On purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally”.
What did Gena offer to the group as a way to become more mindful? Well, the bare essentials of it come to the fact that she encouraged the group members to sit and just “be” each day. If you noticed your mind wandering, she said, maybe to the grocery list, to the to do list, or anything else, simply notice it and then continue on with your mindfulness meditation. This mindfulness practice allows a person to grow their everyday mindfulness, which happens in the moment. When actions are taking place, you allow yourself to notice what you are thinking and feeling and how that is impacting the experience. By combining mindfulness meditation with everyday mindfulness, you become more in tune with your relationships with others and yourself. Mindfulness takes time, practice, patience, and persistence. It also requires a gentleness with yourself as you learn something new.
So, what does this have to do with mindset? I already told you mindset and mindfulness are two different things. Just like being more mindful requires time, practice, patience, and persistence, shifting your mindset also requires those same things. Mindset, your belief about yourself and your potential can become deeply engrained in your thought processes and it takes time to change those beliefs and ultimately to shift your mindset.
The Mindset Refresh
Given the fact that coaches are leaders, business owners, support systems, teachers, guides, and so much more, having a positive mindset about your potential is critical to success. After all, your mindset impacts your behavior, your outlook, and your mental attitude.
As coaches, because we are human, we often come to the field with a set of beliefs. Some are positive and really help us to grow and seek out opportunities and others are what we might consider limiting beliefs. These are the beliefs that can create roadblocks to success and achieving our goals and dreams.
The challenge is that limiting beliefs often creep in without us recognizing them. For example, have you ever said to yourself that you need to learn more before you get started coaching? Chances are you have probably said this at least once. Now, what if your friend said that same thing to you? How might you respond, especially if you knew they had completed a reputable training program? Would you say, “You know what, you are right. There is no way you should start coaching. You need more training first!”? Probably not. In fact, what you might say to this friend are words of encouragement, “You are ready to coach. I have seen how hard you worked throughout your training program. Even if you don’t know all of the answers yet, you have a community of coaches to help you and I’m always here as your friend to support you however I can.” So why, if you would encourage the friend to have a positive belief about their ability to coach effectively, why wouldn’t you do the same for yourself?
It’s tricky. What do you think would happen if you decided to say to yourself, “I am ready to coach. I’ll start small and grow as I gain more confidence.” By shifting your thoughts, your behaviors begin to change. You start to look for coaching partnerships, you seek out opportunities to share your services, and you openly accept the questions from others as they ask how to improve their health and wellness.
We all hold limiting beliefs, this is something we work on inside the Coaching Hive with our MasterClasses, our Discussion Calls, and our Mentoring Calls. But just because it is common doesn’t mean that it is required, necessary, or permanent. You do not need to hold onto those limiting beliefs. In fact, you can shed them and choose new beliefs that allow for the growth and success that you desire.
Limiting beliefs creep in all the time. I’ll give you another example. I was talking with a coach one time who said that she was nervous about putting her services out there and really promoting herself. She hadn’t been as bold as she wanted in sharing her coaching gifts with others. I asked her why? What kept her from offering her services. And you know what the answer was? Fear. Fear that the person would say no. Fear is a powerful driver and helps to cement these beliefs. But here’s the neat thing. The next question I asked was “What happens if the person you share your services with isn’t interested?” And I bet you already know the answer. She said, nothing would happen. She would just simply move on. Her own limiting beliefs were getting in the way of sharing the opportunity for others to start their journey to improved health and wellness.
We can all see ourselves in these examples. We have ALL done and said this at some point and chances are that you may still have some of these limiting beliefs hanging out in the background that you’d like to transform into possibilities.
Are you ready to tackle those limiting beliefs and transform them into beliefs full of possibilities that allow for growth and success? Are you ready to adopt beliefs that encourage you to guide others on their health and wellness journey?
This month’s workbook is for you. This month’s workbook and challenge is all about creating a Mindset Refresh. This workbook will encourage you to identify beliefs that you currently hold and begin to transform them into beliefs that you desire. As with any change, we need action steps to help us make that change a reality. Each reflection page includes a place to identify action steps, why the change is important, and who can support you on this journey.
Be honest with yourself, notice some of the beliefs that pop up, especially for you as a coach. See if you can begin shifting your mindset to that of a poised, focused, and confident coach.
What if you begin to shift those beliefs and choose beliefs that allow you to learn, grow, and make the most of your knowledge, skills, and abilities? How would your life change? Would you be actively pursuing a career you love?
Once you have time to reflect about your own beliefs and what beliefs you might want to hold, take some time to use the pages in the workbook to identify the top three beliefs that you would like to shift over time. Think about what you’d like that new belief to be, why you want to shift your belief, ways to make a change, and identify who can support you in this mindset shift.
This is an activity and refresh that can be done at any time and as many times as you would like in your journey. The key is to remain aware of your mindset, approach your mindset not as something bad, but with a non-judgmental awareness.
As we wrap up, I’ll leave you with one of the quotes in the workbook from Audrey Hepburn, “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!”. Remember that a shift in mindset takes time and patience, but the work is worth the investment.
If you are ready to get started with your mindset refresh, head on over to hivechallenge.com/mindsetrefresh to get your copy of the Mindset Refresh workbook today.
If the concept of mindfulness sounds intriguing, I encourage you to check out Gena’s website. She offers online mindfulness sessions for adults, teens, and families. She is truly a pleasure to work with and has a peace about her that just washes over you when you talk with Gena.
If you enjoyed this podcast and know someone who might benefit from hearing this message about mindset, please share it and tag Be Healthy, LLC on Facebook and Coaching Hive on Instagram. When you check out our new coachinghive.com website, you will notice that the Coaching Hive Hexagonal Approach incorporates 6 components for a unique approach to inspiring coaches to take action and explore the possibilities for creating and growing a business they love and feel confident in sharing. Our 6-sided approach to coaching growth includes a designing and dreaming your business vision, creating a community, benefiting from mentoring, focused learning, and a freedom to take action and explore. If you are ready to move your coaching business forward with our Coaching Hive Hexagonal Approach be sure to check out coachinghive.com for more details.
I hope to see you in the Hive soon and back here next week for another episode of the Coaching Hive podcast.
