What if I am the only thing holding myself back? I learned the hard way that we cannot outperform our mindset and that our thinking pattern determines how we feel, experience life and if we achieve success.
I am an executive with more than 10 years of leadership experience at two top companies — The Walt Disney Company and Procter & Gamble. Over the past few years I have learned a big lesson… about the power of our minds. Our minds can be our biggest allies or our worst enemies.
I wasn’t really aware of it but my mind had been completely running unchecked!
More often than not the inner narrator, the little voice inside my head, was a total jerk… it was ruthlessly mean to myself, completely unfocused and incredibly melodramatic… being Brazilian I can say that there were many dramatic novelas being created in my mind. I realized that most of the troubles I thought I was facing weren’t really real. I had made them up in my mind, in my own primetime novela.
But the great news is that I also learned how to take charge of my own mind!
I became aware of the non-stop mind chatter and learned how to quiet my mind. I also learned how to unleash the power of my own mind — to develop a Super Mindset. It has been the secret sauce behind the recent acceleration of my career growth but most importantly it has helped me find peace and happiness within.
I recently took a big step and started sharing the story of how I discovered the power of my mind with my team and co-workers in hopes that I could help them in small ways. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and deeply touching so I realized that many people today, especially in Corporate America, are very hungry to talk about topics like mindset, mindfulness and overall mental health.
These topics are typically taboos in big companies but as I made myself vulnerable and opened up about my story, the ups and downs I have faced, the books I have read and the tools that have helped me, it was clear that the time is now and that I need to share more.
Let me share my first big ah-ha about the power of my mind…
About 9 years ago I went down a dark and negative spiral… I was working at P&G and learning a lot from the best in the industry… this company had a very competitive and somewhat grueling up or out culture… work defined my entire life and my self-worth.
I was pushing myself so hard, working late hours and so hungry for validation.
But a few things didn’t go the way I wanted, I didn’t get the performance evaluation I wanted and thought I deserved, I didn’t get assigned the bigger projects that I thought would give me the exposure I needed, so I started to doubt myself, to feel anger and I found a few close friends to constantly complain about it. The complaining made me feel temporarily better because I thought I wasn’t the only one facing these issues so my negativity and anger felt justified.
But little did I know that I had been spiraling down quickly in a pattern of anger, fear and negativity that was eating me alive.
I actually had no idea how bad it was until my Director at the time and dear mentor, pulled me aside into his office and he asked me “What is going on?”. I said “what do you mean?”. His next words would open my heart and my mind. He said “you have not been yourself… I haven’t heard you laugh in months and normally I can hear your laugh down the hallway!”. He was right and I just burst into tears right there in front of him — my first time crying at work in front of a leader which was terrifying. But there I was, completely in shock and feeling ashamed that I had allowed myself to spiral down so far that it had physically changed me and the worst part, I wasn’t even aware!
He then asked me “Have you heard of Riding the Blue Train?”. Of course I hadn’t and he was sounding crazy but I was desperate so I was open to anything. He said I should read this book that explained we have two thought patterns to choose from…
You can “ride the blue” train of empowerment, enthusiasm, and creativity — when amazing results follow. Or you can “ride the red train” of defensiveness, negativity and anger — when you feel stuck.
I started crying desperately again and explained “Oh no I have been stuck on the red train!” As a wise Jedi-mentor, he calmly said that it was OK, the important lesson is to become self-aware so you could catch yourself when you got into the red train so that you could intentionally change your thought pattern and get into the blue train.
I felt instantly relieved and deeply excited about the idea that I could better manage my thoughts, emotions and as a result take control of my life. And the first step is to become more self-aware, to notice when you are “off” sooner so that you can get back in the blue train.
This started my journey in learning how to unleash the power of my mind and develop a Super Mindset. To learn more check out my Super Mindset Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/SuperMindsetCoach
