As a professional Life Coach I always have the most challenging job of changing mindsets of people. Now believe me changing the mindset is not a walk in a park but an effort which according to me does need to happen from the inside as well as from the outside.
I began this journey on myself and years back I was so unfit and unhealthy I knew deep down that I had to do something drastic to change my own life. To cut the long story short I am about 25 Kgs lighter, with a lot more lean muscle and maintaining playing 5 different outdoor sports through the week.
When I do look back and go back to the year 2010, when I was a high flying corporate executive, life was more about being in the rat race and I hardly did have any time for what I am doing right now. So what changed??? Nothing much except the most important one which does matter for everyone’s’ growth. “My own mindset”
Mindset is more about changing our belief system and no one can do it for you other than yourself. Yes a professional Life Coach can facilitate the changes and help you lead in the right direction, but eventually you have to take the initative and push yourself through your comfort zone.
It’s been a decade for me as a professional coach and I have come across thousands of people who really wanted to change and turn over into a new leaf but believe me the people who really did change their life were the ones who believed in themselves and were ready to tred into uncharted terriority.
I want to share the story of my Client Ramkish with whom I have been working for the last 5 years. Yes as a professional coach the engagement at times can be for life. Now Ramkish was in his mid 30s when he reached out to me in the year 2015.He was young, living in one of the most developed countries and had a loving family.
Even though Ramkish had everything going for him deep down he was not happy with his life. He knew deep down that there was something bigger he always wanted to do and did not know as to what and when to do it.
So one fine day Ramkish reached out to me and we began talking about what was bothering him. After a few interactions I realized that Ramkish was inclined to do something which his corporate life would never allow him to do. Eventually during our coaching engagement Ramkish took the leap of faith and set up his own consultancy firm with a business partner.
Ramkish began small but in no time his passion drove him to some big success in his field and he began to expand into 3 different areas of business with his wife also joining him in one of his businesses. Ramkish hit a million dollars in a span of less than 12 months and as I am typing these words he is getting into many more multimillion dollar deals.
Last week I did have my coaching session with Ramkish and incidentally we were talking about how he always wanted to do something like what he is doing right now and said “ Satish you know I am living my dream right now” We both had a good laugh and I am so glad that Ramkish could do all this only because he was ready to change his own mindset.
When you work alone you can only see so much, however when you work with a trusted partner, then you can go as far as you want to go. This is what working with a coach can do. It can bring in some incredible changes which you would never have imagined. I am speaking this from experience as being a coach to hundreds of people and also being coached by some incredible coaches.
One of the key differentiators which a professional coach can bring to the table is Accountability. Yes, you will be surprised how far you can go when you are Accountable to someone who is non biased and non judgmental. When you know that a coach is with you for the long haul you are certain to spread your wings far and wide.
There is sheer magic when one changes the mindset and what was at one time impossible becomes possible. According to me the change of mindset will bring in a change in our belief system. When one believe deep down that he/she is capable of doing incredible things then nothing can stop the person.
Yes working to a plan is critical and I strongly believe in the inside-out approach which has worked magically for each one of my own clients. What I do mean by the inside out approach is that our habits do change when we begin to work on the inside as well as the outside.
Working on the inside is something which you work on breaking old patterns and old habits which are inhibiting you as an individual. Past experience, incidents, memory can always play a big role in influencing your present way of thinking. So I always work on the inside to begin with. Once the rewiring of the brain is done then it is that much easier to work at the external world.
Working on the outside is more about doing new things on a regular basis. Let’s say you are someone who want to be healthy both at the physical and emotional level. Then you begin to do the following as daily action steps
1. Meditate twice a day for 10-15 minutes
2. Sleep for minimum of 7-8 hours.
3. Exercise at least for 30-45 minutes every day.
4. Eat a healthy breakfast within 2 hours of waking up.
5. Drink 8-10 glass of water.
6. Maintain a good dental hygiene
Now what I have mentioned above are only a few of the things which each one of you can do to work on the outside. There are hundreds of action steps which you might want to pick and choose.
Doing these on a consistent basis will eventually help you knock on the doors of mindset change. I will be lying to you that mindset change can happen immediately. However when you keep at it with a bull dog like attitude, then anything is possible as far as you are ready to go for the long haul.
What mindset change you do now and continue to follow for at least 60-90 days will be permanent and I will guarantee you that you will not go back to your own old disempowering mindset unless you are on a Self Sabotage mode.
Just like how you never forget to brush your teeth irrespective of how late it is so does new habits will stick on as a ritual. It will be a part of your subconscious mind and you will begin to function on an Autopilot mode. This according to me is the biggest takeaway in working on your mindset change.
This amazing video does throw some insight about our brain being in Autopilot mode.
What you change from the inside out is more or less permanent and when you consciously make a decision to work on empowering things for your own life then nothing can stop you from being extremely successful both in your professional and personal life.
Now who does not want to be successful??? Yes each and every one of us wants to be successful. However only a few are ready to go the extra mile to get to their bigger version and live their dream like Ramkish.