I have noticed that each person has his own mindset, and you would also agree with this. This mindset could be right or wrong, positive or negative, or whatever. But, have you ever wondered why it is so? What has our brain to do with it?
More questions will arise in your mind if you think this way. Like, what is an action or a reaction? How is the brain wired to perform in any situation and why do some people act in a certain way and others do not? What makes our brain feel lethargic and what makes it active?
Yeah! somewhere all this seems connected. Isn’t it? So, let’s understand the brain, its’ cells, and how our mindset works.
So, Basically, Our Brain and Mindset Are Connected
I would say mindset is how you view the world, and what your brain perceives, and it could be negative or positive.
The brain plays into mindset it’s basically like a muscle. So, it requires effort to stay strong and you’ve to put in some work to make it grow. But you need to consistently work on it. For example, to keep our body fit and active, we do workout. Similarly, if you keep exercising your brain by using it more, it will become healthier. And, if you just let it be, laying limp it will lose its strength.
So, this is how your mind and mindset are related. When we constantly keep working on our brain activity and exercising it by giving it challenging tasks it will keep on developing. It will get better with everyday passing, and you will be creative in the long run with very effective problem-solving skills. This will also result in a strong mindset.
In an interview with the Icy Whiz team, Tara Geraghty, Founder of Hey Girl You Can, shared her thoughts on this. Here is what she said:
“Resilience simply means the ability to bounce back. Your ability to bounce back will be influenced simply by whether you think you can or can’t.
The brain’s neural pathways are like grooves for a wheelbarrow. The more you think a thought, the deeper (and easier to travel) that path becomes.
Science tells us we can create new grooves and paths at any time. A quick way you can create new pathways for your thoughts is by making a list and remembering the times you have overcome difficulties in the past.
This reminds your mind (and your neural pathways) that you are able and capable. Your mind will begin to believe if you have bounced back in the past, you can always bounce back again in the future if needed.”
Neurons Play an Important Role
Neurons are much more important than any other cell in the body, they are very complex and require a lot of energy. You can compare one neuron to 100 muscle fibers, so, they are practically very important.
Given their formation and importance let’s understand why they are so important. Neurons are communication pathways of the brain. They receive inputs, process them, and send outputs. Everything is a neuron-to-neuron communication.
The Icy Whiz team talked to Smita D Jain, Executive Coach, Personal Empowerment Life Coach, and TEDx Speaker, about maintaining a winning mindset for success. Here is what she said:
“To maintain a winning mindset, one needs to:
- Engage in daily affirmations and visualization exercises to reinforce positive beliefs and goals.
- Adopt a growth-oriented perspective, viewing challenges as opportunities for learning and development.
- Cultivate resilience and adaptability, enabling them to approach setbacks with a proactive mindset.
- Focus on maintaining a balance between persistence and flexibility in pursuing their objectives.
- Practice gratitude and mindfulness to stay grounded and appreciative of their journey.
These strategies have been instrumental in helping me and my clients overcome challenges and achieve success in various aspects of their personal and professional lives. They provide a foundation for staying motivated, focused, and resilient, even in the face of adversity.”
Our Mindset Can Be of Two Types
A mindset affects how people behave or react in a situation, how they act with other people, how they see them, and even how they visualize themselves. As I already told above different people have different mindsets. We can divide it into two categories.
If you can build a muscle, you can build a mindset.
Jay Shetty, Author
1. Fixed Mindset
People with a fixed mindset have a set of fixed traits that are unchangeable. Their view of themselves and others remains the same. They usually don’t believe in the concept of change.
This is also where ego comes into play, due to constant comparison of yourself with others and fixed ideologies which leads to superior or inferior feelings. Once the ego builds more it gets even more fragile, which adds more pressure to be perfect and an increased fear of failure.
Hence, they can not make the best decisions for themselves. They might end up in a position that is like underachieving for them, putting their brains in a kind of rest state and not helping the neural mechanism.
2. Growth Mindset
A growth mindset is the opposite of a fixed mindset and works on a belief that every experience is a learning experience. It can help in learning and improving every day.
When we keep this mindset we can develop skills very consistently. For such people success and failure, are not monumental as they understand that failure is also a part of the journey and, that success does not come overnight. Rather, it is something that comes out of everyday work and effort.
It also helps people become less competitive, as they do not compare themselves to others and focus on their journey. They focus on the problem at hand, analyze results, and understand the reason behind all achievements and losses.
Bryan Davis, a NASM Certified Nutrition Coach and Master Life Coach talked to the Icy Whiz team about setting a winning mindset for success. Here is an excerpt from the interview:
“For me, it was several things; I had a problem with alcohol. During my outpatient rehab, I learned about swapping habits.
So, when I had the urge to drink, I would walk. Walking led to lifting, which in turn led me to learn more about nutrition. I was swapping a bad habit for positive ones. This led to a more positive thought process.
Next, I started using smart goals, not only for my physical health but also for my mental health. Completing a goal had a positive effect on my mindset.
Write a goal that is just outside your reach but attainable. Writing a goal that is not attainable or relevant will have a negative impact.
You have to keep setting small, obtainable goals for yourself. Learn something new, read more, etc.”
Our Brains are Capable of Changing
No matter how old your brain is, it is capable of changing and growing every day. It is structured like that it helps you in the learning process throughout your life and this process is known as brain plasticity. It is the development of new neuronal connections also known as synapses between the neurons which creates new memories and behaviors.
Brain plasticity exists on several levels –
- Cellular Level – New neurons born in adulthood via neurogenesis migrate from their location to the frontal lobe to become a part of your cognitive network, this is when stem cells differentiate into neurons.
- Large Scale – By reorganizing itself and following its functions, the entire brain adapts based on your experiences
- Larger Scale – Stronger connections are formed when synapses fire together and help us to build memories. This usually occurs in childhood but can also continue throughout life.
We interviewed Dr. James Hook, a Wellness Professional and MD at Neurogan Health, on this. Here is what he had to say:
“There are so many beliefs and systems out there that say they are proven to assist you in achieving a winning mindset, and some of them potentially work.
The thing about a winning mindset that no one seems to talk about is the active choice, the decision you take every day to stay positive no matter what might come your way.
The best advice that I can give you around cultivating a winning mindset is active choice, being present in the moment, and self-belief. These are crucial for a winning mindset.
When you wake up you go through your morning routine and then you head off to work, that’s the normal day for most individuals. For you, the one looking for a winning mindset, you will have a couple of minutes where you make the active choice to be positive, present, and persistent.
Remember, you can’t maintain a winning mindset without taking care of yourself. So, focus on physical and mental well-being this includes getting enough sleep, following a healthy diet, and exercising regularly.
All of these external factors will have a significant impact on your mood, energy levels, and overall well-being.
Setbacks will happen, and they might be devastating but don’t just look at the negative side of things. see this as the perfect opportunity for self-improvement, analyze those mistakes, and form them into the stepping stones for improvement.”
Our mindset is a very important tool not just for the people and activities but also for ourselves.
It’s our mindset that will help us react positively or negatively in any given situation. If you have a growth mindset you will live well with failures, you will not break down with setbacks and you will believe in yourself to get over it. So, we need to train our brains to act toward a positive mindset only.
Guest Author: Saket Kumar
Last Updated on May 21, 2024 by Pragya
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I think anything is possible if you have the mindset and the will and desire to do it and put the time in. This article helped me in many ways. I like to thank you for this piece.
Let me be honest, this article is the best and I really easily understood the functions rather than my NCERT books. good information keep posting this kinds of article, because of this article i will be able to brag and showoff.
This article delves into the intriguing connection between the brain and mindset, questioning the nature of actions and reactions. Exploring how the brain is wired to function in various situations, it raises thought-provoking inquiries about why individuals exhibit specific behaviors. The analogy of the brain being akin to a muscle, requiring effort and exercise to stay strong, adds a compelling perspective to understanding mindset dynamics. The exploration of how our brain’s activity influences lethargy or alertness further enhances the depth of the discussion.
The article is good it says about the scientific aspects and the common aspects also the scientific aspects like brain , nerves and other things . One thing which seems me very good is the “line use it more and make it healther” it is too good and it will help us in the path of eliminating the lethergicness .
The article is too good and informative , it gives information about the scientific aspects like brain , nerves and also it gives information about the common aspects . “The one thing which seems me very good is the line use it more and make it healthier”. I think it helps us in the path of “eliminating lethargicness in our daily life”.
This was quite an informative and elaborative article on how the mind works. It is rightly mentioned that brain exercise is important to develop mindset otherwise it becomes rustic like any other machine.
The discussion on brain plasticity adds another layer of depth, emphasizing the incredible adaptability of our brains at various levels. The idea that our brains can change and grow throughout our lives is not only empowering but highlights the importance of nurturing our cognitive well-being. In conclusion, the article effectively shows the significance of mindset in shaping our reactions to challenges and opportunities.