5 Big Mindset Shifts For a Rocking 2024

This past year has taught me a lot. Especially in the final quarter, the lessons have flown in fast and furious. 

I’ve been upgrading my skills and acquiring new ones to change the trajectory of life. 

The biggest change, however, has been in my mindset.

I’ve gotten a taste of what it will take to actually achieve my goals in the coming year and the big changes I’ll need to implement to make this vision a reality. 

Here are some of the biggest mindset shifts I’m working on to make 2024 the most productive year of my life yet.

Showing up regardless of how I feel

“Listen to your heart and you’ll know what to do.” 

“There’s a great intelligence in emotions, you just need to tap into it.“

“Just be yourself.“

While the above advice may have been given in earnest and meant for good, it completely messed me up. 

I feel emotions so strongly that I can’t make sense of them. What I’ve learned after several painful lessons is that I’m better off not acting based on emotions. 

For people of sensitive disposition and especially given to mood swings, emotions are a minefield to navigate. 

When it comes to work, it’s best to get emotions out of the way and tap into the intelligence underneath the emotions. 

So that’s what I do now. I don’t let the emotions sway me and focus firmly on the agenda for the week. Mindful inputs over outcomes even if (or especially if) I don’t “feel like it”.

I won’t crumble if I’m seen being less than ‘perfect’

This mindset shift has been downright liberating! 

Earlier, even the most innocent typo would make me want to delete an otherwise carefully crafted post. 

I’d cringe so hard… 

It’s not just about the grammar either. I’ve micro-edited myself so much that at one point I’d effectively silenced myself. It seemed like there was no point in expressing anything. 

Maybe I had nothing to say? If it isn’t coming out in the most beautiful, intuitive manner, that’s because I’m not as smart as I think? 

I write and publish as per self-imposed deadlines now, warts and all. It’s about getting work done as opposed to waiting for the next epic to be written.

My writing is well-intentioned, honest, and full of takeaways. But if someone finds it facile, useless, or poorly written, I can live with that.

Creating routines with great care because routines are POWERFUL

I spent much of 2023 feeling unproductive, restless and aimless. 

Then I realised that was because my routine was all of those things – I wasn’t consciously working on anything, I didn’t have a plan, I wasn’t disciplined in my thinking. 

So I decided to turn things around bit by bit.

• To address feeling unproductive, I started creating relevant tangible goals I could work on.
• To address feeling restless, I started meditating and walking in the evening.
• To address feeling aimless, I started honing my skills, putting myself out there in the digital world, and even bought an online course. 

Gradually, these changes began to add up and I no longer feel unmotivated and lost like I used to until a few months ago.

So the moral of the story is, 

To change the outcomes and the feelings attached with those outcomes, change the routine. 

www.hereismymind.com

To feel and be more productive, make your routine productive. 

It will involve introducing big changes but isn’t that exciting? 

Create your daily routine around your goals, likes, and natural rhythms.

Starting the day with an intention-setting meditation

Because it’s incredibly tiring battling oneself all the time. I should know – that’s what I’ve spent most of my life doing.

I find that when I set intentions, I bypass a lot of inner noise and leaks of energy (and time). 

Here’s how I do it

I set the most important intentions at the start of the day. These primarily concern how I want to show up during the day and what I want to focus on.

Then I’ll meditate for a few minutes to let those intentions sink into my mind.

With your intentions laid out clearly, you will:

• Know where to channel your energies and when
• You’ll have a plan for distractions
• You’ll have goals to accomplish through the day
• You won’t waste time answering the never ending loop of questions “What should I do now?”, “But I don’t feel like it”, “What’s the point anyway!”.

This meditation will set not just clarity but also build momentum through the day. There’s a high likelihood you’ll feel more satisfied at the end of the day. 

Optimizing the entire day 

Not just parts of the day, but the entire day.

Here’s what it looks like for me:

• No more pointless scrolling on random apps. Instead, I’ll go to Pinterest for my boards ‘Dream Life’ and ‘Content Inspo’, and soak that information in while also adding to it.  
• No more bingeing out of boredom – not food, not content, not online shopping.
• Breathing deeply as I write (for some reason this works like a charm in getting my focus on point) 

When you fill your entire day with relevant activities aligned with your overall purpose, you’ll be amazed at how much time you have. 

You’ll also be delighted to find out that you’ve got more energy than you previously thought, because you’re not wasting any on pointless struggles. 

These mindset shifts can make your next year extraordinary

So to sum up:

• Show up regardless of how you feel. Focus on what needs to be done instead of how you’re feeling.
• Do your best and then let go. It’s ok if your work isn’t perceived as “perfect”. Perfection isn’t the point, getting your message out in the world is.
• Create routines with great care because routines are powerful. Your routine is the difference between a satisfying and productive day versus a restless and unproductive day.
• Start the day with a meditation that sets the intention, tone, and direction for the next 24 hours.
• Optimize the entire day, instead of just blocks of it. Make the most of your entire day with breaks scheduled for rest and recreation.