Mindset Magic

People. I just had a revelation. I'm going through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition's Advanced Business Course, and a recent lesson was about identity shifting. The lesson's guest instructor, Rob Scott, explained a little something about the subconscious mind that set off a series of lightbulbs in the old bean here. And here it is:

Your subconscious mind doesn't care. It doesn't care if you're happy or thriving; your subconscious mind is only trying to protect you and keep you alive. You touch a hot pan and your body reacts quickly to protect the hand by subconsciously pulling it away from the pan, before your conscious mind has the time to work it out: "Ouch! That's hot! I should probably put it down." Your body has already done it. Self-preservation. Your subconscious mind is why it is hard to change habits and make different choices. For example, you had a banner day yesterday for unhealthy eating. Doughnuts for breakfast, 6 cups of coffee, drive through for lunch complete with milkshake & onion rings, and pizza & wine for dinner. Your subconscious mind actually believes that, since it didn't kill you yesterday, this is actually an ok way to eat. It's no wonder that willpower is so elusive. You wake up in the morning declaring: "TODAY IS THE DAY! I am winning at life. I'm going to choose only healthy foods and I'm going to the gym." And then by midday, your subconscious has dropped your hand 4x into the office candy dish and you've ordered the Hoagie of Death to eat at your desk. Willpower is only effective once you analyze your limiting beliefs and normalize a new identity. (This idea of Willpower leads me to another magical mindset moment that I had on the subject of Surrender. Stay tuned, because this one is also a doozie. Well, it was for me. Maybe it'll speak to you, too.)

So what was my revelation? I have always seen myself as aspiring, whether as an opera singer or as an entrepreneur. Not an actual opera singer or health coach, even though I've been paid as both. Aspiring. Let me say that for most opera singers, not just for me, it's actually quite difficult to make your entire living as a musician. With the exception of a very brief period in my early 30s, I was always doing some other kind of work, either part- or full-time, to help pay the bills. I felt that as long as I was unable to pay the bills as a musician, I was still only aspiring. Which led me to believe that I was still a student. Which led me to believe that I didn't know enough or have the right skills to make it. Or, if I saw another singer getting the jobs that I wanted, this led me to believe that I was lacking in some other way. I wasn't [young, thin, talented] enough. I wasn't enough. And when your subconscious tells you that you are not enough, you don't bother changing, because it won't make any difference anyway. You are not enough. Sound familiar?

This mindset issue is pervasive, and it's pretty deeply engrained. I never felt like I had much of a mind for business. I was good at the creative stuff, but early on decided that I was not good at business, that I was irresponsible with money, that I couldn't see what kind of future I wanted, and that's because I've always felt like my success relied on other people (i.e., the opera companies who hired me). I've never considered myself the CEO of my own business, or of my own life. Now, on a spiritual level, Great Spirit is the CEO of my life. But in this earthly reality, I think that one of the things that has most held me back in art and in business (and in life!) is the limiting belief that my livelihood (and therewith my happiness and my confidence in my abilities) is (are) in the hands of others. I gave away all my power.

Which is precisely why I'm called as a health coach and as a voice teacher to empower my clients. Through empowering you, and watching you grow, I am empowered. Your progress emboldens me to stay the course. If you are plagued by limiting beliefs (i.e., I'm lazy, I'm a loser, I'm not [good] enough), I would love to work with you to shift your mindset, change your self-talk and your inner monologue so that you become the person you want to be. The person or artist you know you are MEANT TO BE but somehow struggle to connect with. I've learned some new methods for changing your mindset and embracing your new identity, and I would LOVE to share them with you.

I'd love to hear from you in the comments below, and if you're inspired to change your life but need some guidance, I would love to schedule a FREE 30-minute consultation. Please click HERE, then enter your name & email address above and click on the "Sign me up!" link to receive a free cleanse cheat sheet and to sign up to follow my blog. Or, even better, fill out a "Women's Health" or "Men's Health" link (whichever is appropriate for you) and submit the health consultation questionnaire. I'll be in touch soon to schedule your FREE consultation! As I build my business, I'm offering a special Friends & Family Discount for all coaching services commenced on or before July 31st -- so I'd be ever grateful if you would share my blog with your bestie, cubicle-mate or neighbor, and the best part is that you both stand to enjoy a 20% discount on my coaching services. Let's create some MINDSET MAGIC together! Also, please holler in the comments below if you'd like to schedule a MINDSET MAGIC workshop in your church or community group.

Have a MAGICAL MONDAY!