Happy new year...happy new mindset!

There’s been numerous posts around about 2018 being the year for many things. How about we make 2018 the year when we think about how we think? You know…that meta-thinking or meta-cognition process very few of us take time out to do? Which takes us to a conversation about mindset.

There’s the growth mindset, the learning mindset, the agile mindset…to name just a few. Overall, the ‘mindset’ we’re hearing about is mostly about being open to new ideas and being adaptive in a fast paced, changing world.

It’s the mindset we need for relentless and continuous change. And, thanks to the field of neuroscience, we are finding out more about how to optimise our mental agility for our professional and personal lives. But how do we nudge our mindset, and hack it to prime ourselves for change?

Start with the power of now

One way to hack our mindset is to be in the moment, by being mindful. Mindfulness is described as a form of meditation that also changes the brain. In the chaotic busy-ness of our lives we’re accessible around the clock, so we rarely pause in our waking moments. By focussing awareness on the present moment, our breath, our thoughts and surroundings, we can tap into the power of now.

When we hear about mindfulness, we often think of meditation. It’s too easy to think - well I’m too busy to do that! But you don’t need to meditate to be mindful.

Being mindful is also about pausing to think about:

what we’ve accomplished
how we perceive the world around us
what we have the potential to achieve

2018 is the year to ‘ponderfy’

In my work with executive teams, change leaders and change practitioners, I’ve made two key ‘mindset’ observations:

Many people want to work on their mindset, and help their team members, but don’t know where to start.
Very few people are tapping into the power of now

In workshops, I wanted to find a way to nudge their thinking, both during and post-workshops, with a focus on new ways of working and a learning, growth mindset.

I designed a set of question cards to encourage mindful thought in two ways -

to on achievements, past thought processes and actions taken
to ponder action and possibilities

As more clients requested the cards, I realised that I needed to produce them, in decks, as a tactile, mindfulness tool for busy people. And so ponderfy was born…

Ponderfy, as a word, doesn’t appear in any dictionary, but may soon. I’ve defined it as:

(v) To induce a ponder-like state for meaningful and reflective thought.

Ponderfy is a set of 52 cards that can be used by facilitators, team leaders, coaches, teachers, counsellors, friends, family members and individuals to:

Nudge the mindset
Prompt mindful thought and reflection
Open meaningful conversations

The case for mindfulness

Being mindful has many known benefits. It can calm our minds, reduce stress and anxiety, resulting in a positive physiological effect on the brain.

What often holds us back is not opportunity or luck, but our own mindset. For all of us, a better understanding of our brain function is empowering and helps us improve our performance at individual, team and community or organisational levels.

So ponderfy this: