Changing careers meant changing a way of life that I had known for a very long time. You see, I was in a school, which really is a very restricted environment. I walked in at 7:15 and did not leave the classroom or my office or the hallways, or the cafeteria until the day was done. Some days this meant staying for parent meetings, Open House, Family Math Night, or whatever else was happening at the school. Unless I was called off campus for a district meeting, I was in that building. Friends in other careers would use their lunch hour to stop off and run an errand or OMG - go out with others and have lunch in a real restaurant!
When I did get a day off and met my husband or a friend for lunch, I was in awe just looking around me at people who were out and free to move around. However, I am not going to whine and moan about this. I just need to change my mindset and do something about it. Now I have become in awe at the word mindset.
As a writer, I have only me to listen to as to when my hours are, will I read, research, hand-write, type, go out to work in another environment besides my own home office, have music playing...all my decisions. For my mindset, it has to be open to listening to all ideas and choosing the ones that work for me. We all have filters on our mindsets. These are preconceived notions of how it is suppose to be or what it should look like and even how you should be thinking. To give you a visual, as soon as someone starts explaining their way of thinking that you may not agree with, you may as well just hold up a bright red STOP sign. This is based on your previous experiences you begin to censor others before you even hear their ideas through and through. I knew that I had to open up and let go of this in order to evolve.
Knowing that I was ready for a change helped me know that I had to make some personal adjustments and tweek a few old habits. One positive habit that I had already started with was to begin my day with a positive mantra. Something that would stay in my head and with me throughout the day and hopefully stick somewhere in my brain so that I can pull it out whenever I may need it. I called these my milestones. I know that these will lead me step by step, stone by stone, mile by mile to where I want to go and who I want to become.
All of us have imprints on our brain of certain situations which make us out of habit respond in the same way, time and time again. As soon as I feel a quick response rising within me, is when I know it is time for me to reject it and just allow my thoughts to delete that
impression and make way for a clearer brain. This means a form of discipline called self-awareness. Being conscious and aware can and will determine the outcome of your situation.
For me, I find meditation is the way to help clear and clean my thoughts and be ready to open up to new ideas. Starting the day with just ten minutes will set you on a new path to freedom. A quote from Oprah that I read once really did stick with me. "We can't become what we need to be by remaining what we are." This quote struck a chord within me. I am moving on and becoming what I want to become and the only way that I can do this is to work on my mindset. Such a powerful word! Would you rather have your mind opened by wonder or closed off by beliefs?
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