If you Google intentional mindset – you will find an overwhelming number of search results. There are many different definitions of intentional mindset. There are also many different people who either are or who claim to be experts at it. For simplicity’s sake, we will define an intentional mindset as a way of thinking that is habitual, purposeful and committed with the overall goal of having a positive impact on your life, and the lives of others.
People often think of meditation when it comes to building an intentional mindset, and that can be a tool. Val Desjardins of PUMP Fitness MTL already talked us through simple ways of incorporating meditation into your daily life. Now she is sharing her tips on how to build an intentional mindset, once again, taking the complication out of it.
Start Your Day With Intention and Gratitude
For Val, building an intentional mindset starts in the morning. She believes that you have to have a ritual of practice in the morning because a lot of people open their eyes, and right away get flooded with a list of tasks. This may include what errands you need to run to what your kids are going to eat. We have to fix that. There has to some time in the morning, when you start the day with some time to focus on you. She’ll go into her office, light a candle and list three things that she’s grateful for. Gratitude may be as simple as the fact that your parents are healthy, that you had a good night’s sleep or that you have a work interview that you are excited about.
Naming three things that she is grateful for is the minimum that Val requires to be intentional. It creates a mindset by sending a message of something positive to yourself and sets your energy for the day. It establishes that you are someone that stops in their tracks, takes a moment, looks around and is grateful. Don’t think that it needs to be complicated or a big ordeal. Find small ways to infuse your daily routine with a bit more intention whether it’s through mindful breathing, lighting a candle or naming the three things that you are grateful for. Then get ready to tackle your day.
Make An Intentional Mindset A Habit
It takes approximately 21 days to make something simple a habit. Val tells her clients that what you do most of the time matters – what you do occasionally does not. It’s the same thing from nutrition or exercise or anything else that you are trying to make a habit. It doesn’t matter if you didn’t write down what your are grateful for one morning, for example, as long as most of the time you do. For Val, it’s getting people to feel more relaxed about intentional mindset versus the rigidity that has been imposed in the past from follow this diet to you must meditate for 20 minutes. Just relax – it’s not about perfection. People have other things going on in their lives.
Be More Realistic
Each person has to customize a specific, individual approach. What works for you is what is important. If lighting a candle just is not going to happen, then look for something that is doable for you. It can be something simple like when you are driving, just try for one-minute sit in your car before going to work or running those errands. Play a special song and just stop and do your gratitude. Some clients need it to be written in their notes on their phone or as a reminder in their calendar to do their gratitude. Have an environment that supports and keeps you accountable for your own routine instead of relying on having the will-power to do your best everyday – because it’s not that easy.
The goal of an intentional mindset is not to create additional stress in your life – it’s to add something positive into it.
