Let’s learn how YOU can change your mindset for success.
Ohhh, man, this is gonna be a big one.
I decided that this week I wanted to be vulnerable and share some insights into my life from the past two-ish years. They’ve been crazy and wild and everything in between, but I think by writing what I’ve learned, I’ll be able to reflect while also being able to share it with a beautiful audience.
The main goal of this post is to share with you how I COMPLETELY changed my mindset and how it set me up for success.
I’m a young woman in a crazy world with high expectations, and every day I am constantly surrounded by people telling me what I’m doing isn’t the right thing. Here’s how I got swept up & here’s how I began to turn it around.
Notice the word BEGAN. This is an ongoing process, but I’m so grateful that I’m now on the right track. With that being said…let’s get started! This is how YOU can change your mindset. But let’s start with the beginning.
The Beginning
I don’t think that I need to begin at the VERY beginning, because moral of the story, I was a 16-year-old girl that was insecure…like every other 16-year-old girl to exist in the history of EVER. I’m going to begin at the beginning of quarantine. I was content for a while, but it went downhill very quickly.
I was stressed about school, about cheer tryouts, and to top it all off, the boy that I thought was the love of my life broke my heart in two. Stress and heartbreak do not mesh well together.
I turned to what you would think are positive things. My workout routine was more consistent, and I was losing weight fast. I was more confident?
No, I wasn’t. But I thought losing weight meant confidence, which is a common mindset.
I cried about 5 times every day, and when I wasn’t crying I had a deep pit in my stomach, feeling like nothing could make it go away. I felt lost, unmotivated, and like everything I had been doing was for nothing. Nothing mattered.
I ate under 1300 calories a day and told my mom that I was eating enough. The job I had at the time was AWFUl, and I spent all the money I made on impulse purchases. Getting out of bed in the morning was HARD
By the end of the summer, I was gaining weight quickly because my body was realizing that 1300 calories a day is NOT sustainable. I quickly gained the weight back, making me sad once more. My skin started breaking out. My senior year was not the way I wanted and imagined it to be. It was really hard for me.
There was an idea stuck in my brain that I had to be perfect. I had to be motivated, definitely had to be beautiful, I had to get this scholarship, I had to dress nice, always had to be the perky cheerleader people expected me to be. I couldn’t post on TikTok, it’s too embarrassing. Can’t post too much on Instagram either…people will think I’m begging for attention! Will my ex think that I’m annoying…should I text him?
Shifting My Mindset
There are rules laid out in front of us that are impossible to follow. Somehow, someway, I began to decide that I no longer cared for these rules. I feel so grateful that something clicked inside of my mind…
You’re doing it for yourself, not for them.
How did this mindset change my life?
MINDSET AND HABIT CHANGES FOR HEALTH
Food & Diet Mindset
The first thing that I realized through my health journey is you need to fuel yourself. I began to eat foods that made me FEEL good. Vegetables and fruit became my main food group, I cut out dairy completely, and overall my body began to thank me.
I’m not saying you need to go plant-based (although it’s what worked for me), but find food that makes your body thank you. Eat to be nourished, and learn how to intuitively eat. I still enjoy chocolate every night, and I do that while LEANING out. It’s truly all about learning about moderation.
It’s also good to not think about eating “less food” at all. Think about it like this. You’re not eating less food, you’re just eating more fruit and more vegetables. This mindset is a GAME-CHANGER!
Stop weighing yourself every day
This is such a crucial habit for me. There have been so many phases in my life when I was weighing myself every morning, making sure I did it AFTER my workout so I would feel better. No weighing myself at night because it would make me sad.
I think it’s important to realize that weight doesn’t really matter. I know that sounds so cliche, but let me expand on that.
You can have 5 people that each weigh 150 pounds. None of them will have the same body type, the same muscle mass. They’ll all look completely different. On the other hand, weight fluctuates SO much. One day you may weigh 3 pounds more than you did before, but the next day it’ll be down again. That’s just how it is.
If you want to measure your progress with your eating habits and working out, I would recommend using clothing fit and pictures. That way you’ll be SEEING your progress…not just a number on the scale.
Anxious? Try meditating.
Is it too dramatic to say that meditation changed my entire life? Because I don’t think it is, just saying. Take it from a girl who has dealt with anxiety for quite a while. It helps.
Nothing is going to completely cure you of your anxiety if it’s truly a disorder that you are dealing with, but I truly believe that meditation is one of the best ways to alleviate the feelings.
Some days, I feel like I can’t get ANY work done because I’m replaying every possible scenario in my head which then turns into me thinking about the purpose of life and if it’s even worth it to put in the work. Yeah, it sounds crazy. IT IS. But it’s also normal. Meditation has helped me to combat this issue.
I take 5 minutes most days for meditation. That’s literally 300 seconds dedicated to breathing with my eyes closed. It’s SO easy, yet it has made such a tremendous difference in my life. It calms me down, helps me be more productive, and also helps me think more logically. It’s amazing…that’s all I can say!
Meditation will help you shift your mindset and motivate you to achieve your goals. Try it out.
Do workouts you actually ENJOY doing
Some of these suggestions make me laugh because, in theory, they should be easy. However, there are so many posts and people on social media telling us we have to be going to the gym 5 days a week and heavy lifting while also squeezing in cardio, and make sure we do yoga after. Nooooooo!
Fitness and health are about doing what feels good for your body, nobody else’s.
For example, today I planned that I was going to do this crazy hard workout and burn 500 calories. I got home from work and realized I was tired, so I did 15 minutes of yoga and decided that was good for the day. Sometimes it’s a walk, sometimes it’s gonna be swimming, sometimes it’s going to be nothing at all. Remember that rest is one of the most productive things that you can do for yourself.
Listen to your body and find activities that make moving your body exciting! It’ll make amazing changes to your life.
Make fitness goals about strength, not your weight
Holy cow, was this a mindset shift for me! Working out has always been about aesthetics and being skinny for me. I had always told myself I wanted to get stronger, but deep down I knew that was a lie.
Once my mindset changed, so did my body. I’ve been able to consistently hit PRs that I never thought I could. I got into running, and have been upping my mileage SO much, and it’s so much more rewarding than a small number on my scale.
Not only am I getting stronger, but my body has slowly become leaner and I’ve become more confident.
It all comes full circle!
MINDSET AND HABIT CHANGES FOR WORK & SCHOOL
I believe that changing your mindset is a journey that is constant throughout our whole lives. We learn and we grow and we become better. My mindset changes for work and school have been recent, but effective.
My productivity system is SO much better than it was 6 months ago, and I feel like I’m making LEAPS towards my goals, which is the best feeling ever! Here are the changes I made.
You don’t need motivation, you need discipline for SUCCESS
Something that I’ve finally realized is that motivation is temporary, discipline is constant.
There are going to be days when you feel like getting ALL of your sh*t together, and there are days where Vampire Diaries sounds EXTRA appealing. You should definitely ride out your waves of motivation, but don’t depend on it.
Discipline is a trait that is learned, not one that appears every 2-3 days. Discipline is teaching yourself to work through boredom and stress and find systems that work for you. It’s about giving some love and attention to your future self, not your present self.
I think one thought that constantly keeps me going is asking myself, “do you want to be in the same place a year from now?” If the answer is no, keep working, keep showing up for yourself each day, even if you don’t have the motivation.
It’s as simple as that. Get through the boredom.
To-do lists & the Pomodoro technique
Not everyone is going to understand this, but to-do lists make me feel a certain way. I love them so much. There is nothing quite like knowing everything you need to do in a day, and being able to know you accomplished all you need to by the end.
To-do lists are, in my opinion, the single most important thing you can do to increase your productivity throughout your day. They are life-changing. I personally use TeuxDeux, and I love the minimalistic platform.
If you don’t know what the Pomodoro technique is then LISTEN UP. This is something I’ve incorporated into my life for the past few months and I was so mad that I never used it sooner!
Basically, I set a timer of 25 minutes where I am intensely focused on the task at hand, whether that’s studying or cleaning. After 25 minutes, I receive a 5-minute break to let my mind rest. After the 5 minutes, back to work! It’s an extremely efficient method of increasing productivity, and I would definitely recommend looking further into it.
Here’s a great article my Todoist on this technique: https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/pomodoro-technique
Know your limits, give yourself breaks
Everyone is going to have limits. You can’t work every day, morning to night, and expect yourself to not have any burnout. It’s inevitable. What’s important is to try to overall avoid this burnout.
Don’t overschedule yourself or rack up your to-do list with things that are going to push you over the edge, simple as that.
REST IS PRODUCTIVE. Knowing your limits is SO important to increasing productivity while also maintaining a sound mind. Schedule self-care and social needs into your schedule. A sound mind makes your work better and more meaningful. Time to start now!
Positive attitudes and affirmations will shift your mindset COMPLETELY
Did that sound corny? Yeah, probably.
On the other hand, it is a life-changer. Having a positive attitude and practicing gratitude each day will overall make you happier and more productive. Saying what you are grateful for each day will allow space for more abundance to be present in your life!
Be grateful for what you have now, and believe it’s enough. That’s when you will be given more.
Affirmations are also such a beautiful way to shift your mindset. Personally, I’ve been dealing with quite a bit of anxiety the past couple of weeks. It’s been hard to ease it, but I have learned that I just need to talk to myself for a second to sort out my thoughts.
I tell myself, “with every breath, I am calm, strong, and more confident.” I probably repeat this affirmation 1,000 times a day. And it helps! Small things like these make the BIGGEST difference in your life.
I hope that I could have given you some perspective today on what you can do to improve your life QUICKLY.
All of these suggestions have made me change for the better, and I am in such a good headspace in my life today. I am so grateful.
Make sure to read my latest post about a Sunday Reset Routine!
Here’s the link: https://xojacilynn.com/sunday-reset/
I’m sending so much love to all of you this week. If you want to chat with me, reach out to me on Instagram @xojacilynn
Until next week!
xo,
jaci lynn
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