The Failure Mindset
We all experience successes and failures during the course of normal creative activity, they are natural indicators of results. But the idea of failure can get out of control and become a complete mindset that begins to feed and perpetuate itself in ways that create limiting conditions on our consciousness, and thereby shut down many of the unlimited possibilities that are a natural consequence to our creative power. Once we determine that we are under the influence of such a mindset, is there anything that we can do about it? Or will it continue to hold us back and drag us down forever denying us the creative success that is our birthright?
The failure mindset is usually established in our early years due to social and physical environmental influences. However, in some cases it can be established by a consecuitive series of unusual negative events that we are little prepared for by strength and character. A short article doesn't allow for a thorough examination of the origins of the failure mindset, but I will provide a link to a good resource on this at the end of this article. Instead, it is much more important to take a look at what the failure mindset is and how it works and possibly some ways to counter it.
We Are What We Believe
If we were to distill success and failure down to their simplest basics we could say something like 'if we believe we are successful, then we will be successful, and if we believe we are failures, then we will be failures'. While this is actually true, it doesn't give us any clue to what kind of challenges we are up against or how to go about meeting those challenges. The most powerful concept to be aware of here is that of conditioning. Virtually all our thinking and behavior patterns are established through this powerful behavior modification technique. And its power is in its simplicity. That which we are exposed to repeatedly over time, will become a habitual pattern in us.
The failure mindset is created and maintained by the negative limiting thought patterns that we have allowed to be established in our conscious and subconscious mind, and once we have bought into them we then become the caretakers of these negative failure and defeat oriented thinking habits, and in this way we ourselves help to perpetuate them. That we have allowed them to exist, and maintain them with the thoughts of our own mind is proof that we have the creative power to do something about those thinking patterns.
Creative Power
Though creative power is natural to the human species, it doesn't come fully developed as standard equipment. We have become a mentally lazy species and it is not too difficult to understand why. Our mind and spirit is not the easiest landscape to be exploring, especially since it requires the development of self awareness and self discipline, two of the least popular objectives on everyone's to do list. But if we truly want to affect changes in our lives, we need to bite the bullet and resign ourselves to some hard work.
Developing self awareness and self discipline isn't likely to reach epidemic proportions in today's superficially orientated civilization where the gratification of self serving adolescent desires is the primary driving force and agenda. Which only makes our objectives that much harder to achieve, there will not be a long line of those wishing to help and support you in your effort. So, be prepared for a tough and often lonely journey. Developing the character traits of self awareness and self discipline are part of the larger journey of developing our greatest capability which is our unlimited creative power, and there are some tools available to help us get there.
Tools And Equipment
The task of changing out long established negative thinking and behavior patterns with shiny new positive and constructive ones is much like a journey, and this journey may require that we take little mini jou
eys on the way. Don't worry, you can do it, many others have traveled this path successfully and so can you. But you will need some tools and equipment to not only help get you there, but get you over the occasional bumps as well. Meditation is going to be your Swiss Army Knife and most important tool. Now, don't throw up your hands in despair at this. Most people don't have any idea of just how useful this tool can be. But you have to get past all those traditional images of monks in the Himalayas and start thinking skill saws, hammers and levels.
Though our tools may be spiritual, they can be used for practical activities as well. I personally use meditation techniques for achieving both spiritual and material world objectives with great success. Please, have some faith here. So, your tools will be meditation, visualization, affirmations, self suggestion and self talk. Your equipment will be patience, will, determination, commitment, belief and faith in yourself. Again, I am not able to get deeply into these in a short article, but the link below will take you to the best resource available on all these subjects.
Get exposed to the full array of Human power revealed in the e-book Success Failure and the
Secrets of Unlimited Power.