“Whatever we are waiting for – peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance – it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart.” ~Sarah Ban Breathnach

A mind shift is a change of focus and perception. It can have extraordinary power to make relationships more positive and healthy; to improve your focus and rate of success; and to build self-esteem and overall happiness. A mind shift is an “ah ha” moment on steroids. It’s the movement of the tectonic plates in your psyche, opening your mind to entirely new ways of thinking and acting.

Author, speaker, and coach extraordinaire, Steve Chandler, writes about mind shifting in his book Shift your Mind: Shift the World . He suggests that by tweaking your way of thinking, you can turn your life around completely. He knows because it happened to him. He went from being an alcoholic life-reactor to being a creator of his own life.

Here’s what Steve has to say about shifting your mind: ‘When the mind is open, it will shift. When that happens all of life becomes, momentarily, light as a feather. Light as a breeze. Beautiful! You go up to the next level of consciousness, and creativity, energy, vibration ó whatever you want, you’ve got it.’

So what are these incredible, life-altering shifts, and how do you open your mind to make them happen? In my humble opinion, it takes two factors to open the mind: awareness and timing.

Awareness can happen because we want it or because it is forced upon us.

There are some people (like Steve Chandler) who are always trolling for ways to grow and improve their lives. They want to be aware and strive to keep their minds open. Sometimes, however, awareness hits us on the head like a brick, and our minds have to be cracked open. Big life events like a death, job loss, or a relationship break-up, can shock us into awareness and cause a mind shift.

Timing plays a role too. Sometimes the circumstances in our lives temporarily prevent us from making a shift. Or they make it possible.



For example, maybe we know we’re in the wrong job, but we need to bide our time while finishing an important project. It’s not the right time for a shift. But occasionally the timing is so absolutely ripe for a shift that it’s virtually inevitable. It descends on us like grace. All things are in alignment for the pieces to fall into place.

If you are in a state of willing awareness right now, then think about these ten mind shifts and whether the timing is right to embrace them in your life.

1. A Gratitude Mind Shift

Move away from the feeling and mindset that you don’t have enough. Instead, shift your focus to every blessing and all of the goodness you have right now. Shift to a gratitude-oriented frame of mind.

2. A Self-Creation Mind Shift

Rather than allowing problems to erupt with unexpected frequency, create your life to minimize the possibility of problems. When problems do arise, seek the gift or opportunity in the situation rather than fixating on the pain or difficulty. See all events as opportunities for self-creation.

3. A Life Reserve Mind Shift

Instead of just getting by, accepting less, or living with the status quo, shift your mind to embrace that you deserve more. Create a healthy reserve of time, love, money, and space.

4. A Personal Responsibility Mind Shift

Accept that you had a lot to do with the problems and disturbances in your life rather than resisting or denying them. Acknowledge that your choices, actions, or lack of action resulted in most of these situations. Acceptance of this fact is the first and most difficult step to resolving these situations.

5. A Self-Trust Mind Shift

Shift away from looking to others to have the answers for you. Shift from doubting yourself and your judgments to trusting your intelligence, inklings, intuition, and wisdom.

6. A Life Engagement Mind Shift

Choose to be fully alive and engaged in life. Let go of passive complacency and push past the fear of change. Embrace change as the path to a better life. It is the only way to make your life better.

7. A Self First Mind Shift

Become healthfully selfish about your life rather than always putting others first. Make sure your needs are met so you have the energy to give back.

8. An Initiative-Taking Mind Shift

Don’t wait for someone or something to push you forward. Take the initiative. Be the creator, the fire starter. Actively, joyfully create what you want in life.

9. An Action-Oriented Mind Shift

Stop reading and talking about change, personal growth, happiness, and a better life. You have the tools. You know what to do. Take action every day and live a better life.

10. A Present Moment Mind Shift

Drop the story about yourself that holds you back. Pretend that you have no memory of past failures or hurts. Recreate yourself every day. Just be the person you want to be without the yoke of the past.

Accept for just a moment that your current perceptions may not be accurate — that you might be wrong about yourself and the world. Today, pick one of these mind shifts that most resonates with you. Gently place it into your psyche and swish it around. Let it sink in. Give it a try.

These concepts may not be new to you, but acting on them might be. Pick one and begin living it. See if your open mind will embrace it so that you can shift to a new level of consciousness, inner peace, and happiness.

Barrie Davenport is a personal and career coach and the founder of Live Bold and Bloom, a blog about bold and fearless living. She is also the creator of the upcoming Habit Course with Leo Babauta and Katie Tallo.











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