The Possible Mindset - Your way to Success!
- ”It’s impossible!” The doctors and physiotherapists said to me. - ”Everything is possible!” I replied. - ”We put a man on the moon 50 years ago, so please don’t tell me that I can’t keep working, or run or ski again!?”
The fifth jump was perfect, until 15 meters above ground, where I came into thermals and my parachute collapsed.
When I was 16 years I went skydiving, it was amazing! I could fly and I could see the earth underneath me. The fifth jump was perfect, until 15 meters above ground, where I came into thermals and my parachute collapsed. The last 15 meters went really fast and I hit the ground hard. That’s how I’ve got my first back injury. The doctors couldn’t help me, nor the physiotherapist in Järvsö, where I grew up.
I had to stop my career as a cross country skier and it was really hard for a 16-year old elite athlete to realize that the dream of the Olympics all of a sudden went out of sight.
If I would have listened to the doctors, I probably would have got disability support pension, but I refused that. I just wanted more out of life than to sit down and let my life just pass by.
Thanks to my knowledge about mental training I managed to fight against the pain. Since then I’ve got three more back injuries and I have lived with chronic pain for 28 years to date. Thanks to my back injuries, I got interested in the human body and our brain so I studied to massage therapist and mental coach. I wanted to help other people to handle their pain and teach them how to use the brain to set and reach their goals. My injuries gave me my dream job!
Anything is possible or nothing is impossible?
Have you heard the expression ”Nothing is impossible”. It’s not a very good sentence. Why? Because ”nothing” and ”impossible” are both negative words. Your brain will recognize these words as negative and simply don’t get the wanted positive effect. If you say: ”Everything is possible” (positive words) your brain will act to it as a positive mindset.
The brain acts differently to negative and positive words along with your actions. If you keep feeding your brain with negative statements about yourself, you will soon believe that those sentences are true, for example:
- ”I’m not good enough!” - ”I can’t do this!” - ”I will never be able to reach my goals!”
Have you ever tried to make those sentences positive? - ”I’m good enough!” - ”I can do this!”
- ”I will reach my goals because I believe in myself!” Does it feel strange to think like this about yourself?
In Sweden we have something called ”Jantelagen”. Jantelagen is a code of conduct known in Nordic countries that says you shouldn’t think that you’re better than anyone else. I see this all the time with coaching clients that I work with. They feel embarrassed and think they are egoistic if they say: -”I am good enough” or -”I am the best person at this!”. Don’t be ashamed for your skills! You have worked hard and a long time to get your skills, be proud of what you can!
So when you set your goals, make sure you use positive words and pictures to visualize your goals.
I guess you’ve heard about the half full/half empty glass. How do you see it?
Studies show that people with a positive mindset live longer and are more likely to reach their goals. Companies who sets goals are 60% more likely to reach success then the companies who don't.
It’s my possible mindset and the knowledge that it’s my choice.
Your choice
I often get the question: - ”How can you be so happy and positive? You live with chronic pain and have been through more tough stuff than most other people.” Well, it’s my possible mindset and the knowledge that it’s my choice.
I have three choices:
I could lay down, 6 feet underground. Then it’s over, the pain would stop, but also my life. So it’s not a very tempting choice... I’m far too curious about life to do that!
I could lay down on the sofa and be bitter and think about how unfair life is. Would it help the pain go away? Nope! I need movement to prevent my pain from getting worse and it still wouldn’t change the fact that I’ve got four back injuries.
I can do the best of the situation, focus on what I can do instead of focusing on what I can’t do. I have always chosen nr. 3!
Of course, like everyone else, I have bad days and just lay down on the sofa and feel sorry for myself. But hey, it doesn’t help me feeling better. So I quit with that quite fast, because I realize it doesn’t improve my life at all.
We can’t control everything that happens to us, but we can control how we handle it. You can feel sorry for yourself about a lot of things, but when you start to realize that it’s not going to help you achieve your goals and that it’s just making you sad, angry or bitter, then it’s about time to change to a possible mindset.
It’s always your choice.
Because in the end, it’s not me as a coach, it’s not your family, friends or colleagues who’s responsible of your choices. It’s only you who have that power! It’s always your choice. Take it seriously, don’t blame it on others when you don’t achieve what you want. You are the leader of yourself and when you can lead yourself, it will be easier for you to lead other people.
Which choices do you do for yourself? How does your choices improve or impair your daily life?
Possible leadership
Are you a possible leader or are you an impossible leader?
This sentence could mean a lot of things. Are you a possible leader could mean that you might be a leader, but maybe you’ve never tried it so far. If you already are a leader it could mean that you see the possibilities in your employees and in your business growth.
What about if you are an impossible leader? An impossible leader doesn’t hesitate to reject employees who comes up with new ideas and they don’t see the opportunities even when they come up on a silver tray. They see problems and difficulties in everything, except maybe their own ideas.
When you start to work with your own possible mindset, you’ll find out that you can be a possible leader. When you start to lead your employees with a possible mindset you’ll get happy and proud coworkers which leads to better productivity which leads to better economy and you can see how your business get more successful than ever!
Are you ready to start your journey with a possible mindset and become a possible leader? Remember, anything is possible, you just might have to do it in another way to suit you!
By: Cattis Olsson
Cattis Olsson is a mental coach, massage therapist and health manager. She has worked within health for about 20 years and her focus has been helping elite athletes reach their goals by mental training.
Today Cattis is helping entrepreneurs and companies work with human sustainability to prevent stress and setting sustainable goals for reaching success in a long term. She is also having lectures towards medical professions about chronic pain and how they can help their patients with a possible mindset despite chronic pain.
