Four Simple Ways To Rethink Your Mindset So You Can Take Charge Of Midlife

Today we're talking about four simple ways to rethink your mindset so you can take charge of midlife. Midlife is often seen as a turning point. It's like a pivotal phase in our journey. We've got decades of experiences behind us, but we are not done yet. Do not count us out!

Midlife can be one of the most transformative and exciting times of your life.

As an Easy Ager, you know your brain is your best anti-aging tool. You also know midlife changes don't have to be hard, but it all begins in your mind. Your mindset establishes the tone for everything; consider it to be your midlife superpower.

Midlife gets significantly more interesting when you go through it with a growth mindset, and that's what we're talking about today. I'm going to give you a few of the attributes that people with a growth mindset have, and then I'll leave you with four simple ways you can cultivate this mindset in midlife.

People with a growth mindset believe skills, abilities and talents can be developed. They aren't limited by thinking their current abilities are as far as they're going to go. They embrace challenges as opportunities to grow and thrive.

They're persistent even when they experience a setback. When that happens, they simply regroup and get moving again. They learn from their failures, and they are not scared of failing.

They're willing to take calculated risks to achieve their goals. Overall, they are lifelong learners who let their curiosity lead them to the next adventure to learn something new.

They accept correction and criticism with grace. They actually appreciate the feedback so they can grow and improve. 

Here are four ways for you to cultivate a growth mindset:

1. Stay curious and open-minded

One of the most exhilarating aspects of midlife is the ability to continue learning and evolving. Stay curious. Stay open to new ideas, skill sets and experiences. Become a lifelong learner of anything that intrigues you or inspires you.

2. Celebrate other people's success

This is one of the best ways to cultivate a growth mindset. When someone else has a success, you don't need to feel threatened or petty. Don't be jealous. You are so much better than that, Easy Ager. Instead, pay attention. Pay attention to what they did to be successful.

For example, if someone at your office got a promotion, watch them. Ask them what they did to succeed, then figure out how you can emulate that to create your own success so you'll be the next one getting the promotion.

3. Embrace the power of yet

In midlife, you've achieved quite a bit but there's always more to explore and conquer. Shake off that limiting mindset and stop saying things like "I can't do this." Instead, add a little yet at the end: "I can't do this yet."

I know it sounds crazy, but this small shift in language can be a game changer for your mindset because these are the words you're saying to yourself. And if you say it just a little differently, your brain will start thinking, "Ah, okay, I got it. I can't do it yet, but I will do it."

At that point, your brain is going to start working with you instead of against you so you can fulfill your intentions and achieve your goals.

4. Share your wisdom

Albert Einstein said, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

When you start sharing your smarts with other people, it helps you grow too. That's because explaining a concept or an idea to someone else forces you to make sure that you have a full and complete grasp of it.

Take me for instance. Doing these podcast episodes for you over the past couple of years has forced me to do two things:

1. I make sure I fully understand what I'm saying to you. (And you're thinking, "Thank you, Michelle.")
2. I make sure I simplify it enough so you have one or two takeaways from each episode that can be applied immediately, if you like. I also make sure that each episode is short and to the point.

I love the challenge of teaching these concepts each week with these parameters around them. 

For you, I would encourage you to share your knowledge. Don't shy away from opportunities to teach. Dive into them. Your skills and experience can offer a world of knowledge to other people while you grow and learn yourself.

Bonus: The beauty of small and simple

I want to add one more thing here. This isn't one of the four ways, but I just want to make an observation. I want to tell you how small and simple fit perfectly into a growth mindset.

Some people think that because something is small and simple, it'll never work. This is not a growth mindset. It's a "grit, grind, and hustle" mindset. These are the folks who think it has to be hard. They believe you have to get it by the sweat of your brow if it's going to be effective or worthwhile or valuable.

But as an Easy Ager, you know that small and simple is effective for one key reason:

If it's small enough, you'll actually do it. You'll do it because it's so easy, because it's so tiny and so simple. You'll do it because this simplicity doesn't push you into overwhelm or discouragement like you've been in the past.

Instead, it encourages you to take a little bite-sized nugget of action today and then tomorrow, and then the next day until you've established a new habit or written your novel or lost the weight. This consistency helps you start to trust yourself again, friend.

You'll naturally gain more confidence as you keep these little promises to yourself on a daily basis. Then you'll start actively looking for new things to learn, new goals to set, new ways to do things. At that point, life becomes more interesting, more expansive, and more beautiful because you look at things differently than other midlifers.

Remember, you're never too old to cultivate a growth mindset. Midlife can be an incredible journey of transformation and fulfillment. And creating a growth mindset can open the door to a life of optimism, enthusiasm and limitless possibilities.

Grab your free copy of How To Reclaim Your Energy And Kick Midlife Blues To The Curb: A Simple Guide

Check out the Easy Aging Facebook Page