The Great Mental Reset:
3 Common Mistakes to Avoid to Shift from the Old World to the New One
Once every so often, an unprecedented event causes a great reset in the world, like this pandemic. We now face increasingly unpredictable and uncharted territories.
Like all changes, the “great reset” causes angst among most people. They remain unsure about how to navigate the “new world.” Do you cling to what you knew, or do you shed everything and start afresh? And it’s not just individuals. Governments, businesses and organizations must find new ways of dealing with emerging situations.
The news, for example, is full of resets in many sectors, including financial, social, political structures and health care. To stay relevant and thrive in the “new world,” you must shed the old ways of thinking. That starts by doing some “mental” resets first. Here are 3 common mistakes to avoid when shifting from an old world view to a new one.
What is a “Mental Reset”?
A mental reset is a form of mind-opening, which then opens the emotions, the body, and spirit to great transformation. You have to start at the mind because it’s what often blocks successful change.
Barriers to successful mental resets
1. Focusing on what you don’t want
Most people know what they don’t want but are never clear on what they want instead. For example, leaders find that people come to them with a problem, and they just want to stay stuck on it. So they go into vast details about the issue and why it’s so hard to solve.
Now, of course, it does help to thoroughly explore the problem to help find a solution, but many people in a leadership role find that when they want to steer the conversation toward a solution, employees just don’t want to go there.
They have more things they need to complain about, and then time runs out, and they still haven’t solved the problem.
So how do you start focusing on what you want and help your team to do so too? Simple, ask this question: “What result do you want to create?”
This question forces you to focus on solutions instead of getting stuck on the obstacles. It also works on all levels beyond business. For instance, what changes do you want to see in the world? More abundance and equality? Social justice and a cleaner, sustainable environment?
As the world goes through significant structural changes, creative self-starters must start developing solutions instead of sitting around complaining and waiting until someone else comes up with the answers.
2. A limiting view on possibilities
The phrase “think out of the box” gets thrown around a lot. However, for most people, it’s just that, an aspirational phrase.
Many of us have been schooled to stop thinking outside the proverbial box. Our options seem limited to what we think possible instead of exploring the whole breadth of possibilities.
As the world enters an unprecedented time in history, looking to the past for solutions might not help you move forward. You need to retrain your brain to start seeing the possibilities.
So how do you start doing that?
Here’s one simple way: Think of something you’ve always dreamed of creating. Good. Now, create a long list of all the ways you could make it happen. Any answer goes here, even those seemingly silly, impractical, strange, mundane, and downright awful ideas.
You have to get all those ideas out of the way before you start thinking in new ways.
It also helps to get other people with different perspectives helping during the brainstorm. Do not edit any of the ideas until you finish the brainstorming session because it kills creativity.
Once finished, reread the list and see what pops out as a possibility.
If you still don’t know what to contribute to the world or how best to focus your energy on “new world” solutions, check out the Explore Your Passion worksheet on mindstoryacademy.com/free
It helps you discover the best way to serve given your unique skills, experiences, and expertise. It’s a fun, creative process to find or further clarify a focus for your vision. During the Explore Your Passion process, you brainstorm to discover your passion and find the sweet spot among your unique qualities, primary skills and what most excites you.
By the end, you create your Expertise Mission Statement. The process only takes about 20–30 minutes and has been entirely life-changing for people.
3. Unwillingness to accept that what got you here won’t get you to the next level
The world as we knew it is gone. What we once relied on may no longer work. Given the new reality, what roles, structures, relationships, situations do you find yourself in now, that were hard-won, but that really aren’t right moving forward?
The sooner you ask this question and accept the difficult answers, the faster you can start finding your way. There is no security in holding onto something that isn’t right for you; the natural laws of entropy will pull it away from you anyway.
Take proactive steps now to start building your dream life — the life you truly want instead of merely working hard to avoid things you don’t want.
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Check out the Explore Your Passion worksheet here:
