Written by: Heather Madden, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Belief is a singular necessity of mindset practice and essential action for maximising change and personal growth. Belief is personal faith you bring to life, a quiet wisdom of knowing, evolving and learning. There is much to see, learn and do simply by working with your code of belief, principally the ability to define clear next steps time and time again through intentional behaviours interrupting routine and stress overload.
The singularity of belief is driven from within and is mapped in our way of being. Gains from belief necessitate a hard boundary for intention. Most people are far too good at self-coaching to ‘keep going’ in a paradigm of stress tolerance, with poor habits underpinning inner narrative leading to turmoil and burnout. By interrupting your ingrained coping narrative through regular perspective shifts and resets your mind learns to release tension and regain time on your terms, a needed break from the life bubbles we juggle and all that lies within. Intention needs to shift into more nuanced self-care to confront the realities of emotions, cumulative trauma and uncertainty.
Belief is relief and more. When sought consistently it allows for the most amazing sense of trust in who you are and the ability to make incremental, steady choices in the absence of certainty, leading to breakthroughs despite the ever-present demands of change. As you build steady actions, more impact, transformation and mastery shine through. You will become more creative, serene and confident by working with a focus on belief, it is palpable and kind; it is where to turn when you have hit the wall of your mindset development.
So, how do you generate belief? More importantly, how do you sustain it?
The Human Performance Limit, something I discuss as part of Live Life Limitless training, is the reliance on a dominant performance mindset for success. This dependency exacerbates the sense of Groundhog Day as analytical tools to rationalise stress, realise goal attainment and measure success take preference to mental health, emotional wellbeing and core values alignment. It is not possible to over-emphasise a mindset for choices and flow. Rather than linear, performance thinking, a mindset built on intention and mental agility creates time and space, respite from stress and harnesses belief.
Here are some consistent steps which will help you transition through the Human Performance Limit into a mindset for choices and sustained belief:
1. Mental health is number one. The job of your day.
Have you ever done a great workout and wondered why you are still empty? Do you lie awake at night despite that podcast on how to live your best life?
Mental health is number one. MASSIVE belief is generated by bringing this mantra into continual repetition every day. When you start to instruct your mind mental health matters, awareness for what has been missing all along thumps through. Boundaries, letting go, moral injustice, toxicity, saps on time and far more.
There is much to be gained by understanding the power of mental health to not only fuel your health, but to enable potential. You matter and your ideas contribute: the narrative must be intentional and shift away from emotional suppression, stress tolerance and over-functioning, so that you can experience release and be open to trusting, learning and understanding.
Mental health is the final frontier to your greatness.
2. Interrupt stress as often as necessary all day long: continuously regain perspective and composure
No stress is good stress without meaningful respite.
Remember that stress is stress even when it feels like you’ve kicked a goal. The impact on your body and mind is tallying up all the stress of your day and too much stress damages health.
Belief is not given from a supplement or physical fitness program, rather these are components of a routine for mental fitness. The discipline of self-care and wellbeing are solid forms of respite when you have consistency of stress interrupts, such as a look up, breathe work, stretching, stepping outside and stillness.
Each action allows for a throw to belief as a reframe and way back to positive mental elevation.
3. AFFIRM ON RISING: “Today I step into the zone of love, compassion, gratitude and non-judgement”
Take 30 seconds every morning for this. Note your planned steps for self-care and make sure you have an emergency self-care plan.
Love is what matters and the more you see love as a place of constancy in life, the more you will receive. Love is not solely a romantic or family relationship, it is your light and reflects compassion for others to be seen where they are right now.
Step back and offer love in the settings of business ownership, leadership, fitness, health, learning and family through quiet respect, listening and understanding.
Belief is an ask from daily gratitude. It ensures you avoid victim mentality and cynicism leaving ego at the door.
4. Values-based change: The problem is, you don’t know what the problem is
Forces of external change leave us with a crackle of uncertainty at every turn. A critical look stretches far beyond the Pandemic as the catalyst for necessary questions.
Over-functioning; too little transparency; loss of identity; the toll of trauma in everyday life. Our collective pain and grief is raw against many norms. Psychological safety is paramount, compassion is critical and diverse perspective leads to outcomes, provided we stop and make time for it.
We don’t know what we don’t know, and the impetus is on individuals to hold their values and transform these into a lifestyle of belief, one that is a safe place and compassionate to our private rollercoaster every day.
Repetition leads to success and this mantra is your number one go to for leadership and life. It immediately switches gears away from guaranteed outcomes and places urgency on seeking more diverse input to the way you are approaching a problem or outcome.
5. Define and map your emotional narrative, the application of personal growth
Do you like party bunting? A great way to envisage emotional narrative is a stretch of bunting, with each shape representing named key emotions across a day.
This emotional bunting may start with a negative, such as fear or anger, and by intentionally naming other emotions you recall from your day on the string, a sequence is drawn. This simple expansion will lead to healthier awareness and a more compassionate place.
Emotional homework reduces anxiety and overwhelm. Emotions enable learning and breakthrough limits; powerful and essential for limitless, mentally agile functionality.
Recognition and response to emotional spirals is part of the high performing, limitless mindset. High performance is not linear, it is fluid. To achieve potential, transformation is an ongoing process, as opposed to one final endpoint.
There is no second-guessing strength of belief. It is a lifelong learning skill to not only lead yourself through change and growth but inspire others to do so through unspoken faith. Simply focusing on the ask for more belief is a safe space for you to be open to uncertainty and observe overwhelm, whilst shifting into recognition of self and personal power to steady anxiety and grieve for what is lost.
Once you mastered a clear vision for your code of belief, you add another layer of solace and truth. I have prayed more for belief during the past two years as a direct call to action. Actions range from sitting in quiet space, walking and resting, to intentionally iterating goals and outcomes, removing damaging connections and operating in single-task focus. By slowing down the pace and carving hard boundaries for emotional wellbeing, psychological safety has become a base and life has stepped up gears on every level.
Seeing what needs to be seen is a commitment to not knowing, not having all the facts and asking yourself to keep solidly aligned to your core values. Belief expands these grips on mindset transformation and amps up your gains, with incredible results. Intention leads to repeated breakthrough: give yourself permission and lean into the depth of all you are, including emotional currency. It will make your world a safer, stronger and happier path.
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Heather Madden, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Heather Madden is a leader in mindset transformation and personal development. By challenging coping modality and building a lifelong commitment to managing stress, Heather helps others to break through barriers and achieve limitless life transformation, emotional core wellness, and values alignment. Heather founded the Live Life Limitless movement following her self-managed recovery from burnout and breakdown, triggered as a result of stress addiction, over-functioning, and multiple health setbacks including a chronic, sight-threatening eye disease and life-changing preventative surgeries following diagnosis of the BRCA1 genetic mutation. She hosts "The Interrupt Series: Stress, Overwhelm and Emotional Wellbeing", Interrupt Stress for Life live events, and regular Limitless Leaders and Live Life Limitless meetups. Her mission: Live Life Limitless: Choose, positive, make the choice. Mental Health is Number One.
