The Mindset Shifts That Changed My Life
Mindsets have power. They can help us become more successful or stop us and keep us from repeating our mistakes.
A mindset is a belief, a view you adopt for yourself. It guides how you interpret events that happen to you and how you react to them.
If you want to start living life on a new level, then you will need to make some crucial mindset shifts.
The quality of our relationships, business success, and happiness, among many other things, come down to our mindset.
I spent my whole life worrying about things that never happened, feeling unworthy, and insecure. Always chasing love, validation, and acceptance and obsessing over work and my looks.
The real problem was inside of me. Inside my mind and the way I interpret things.
Here are several mindset shifts that changed my life for good in my forties:
1st Mindset Shift: Live with the end in mind
It is incredibly easy to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to realize that it’s leaning against the wrong wall.
Stephen covey
The idea of “the end in mind” is taken from the book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey and it stuck with me ever since I read that book.
Death is what keeps us grounded. It strips away all superficial values in life.
When we face death, we don’t think about money, status, or popularity. We think about love, connection, and meaning.
The main idea in the book is that we need a life plan. If we don’t make a conscious effort to visualize who we are and what we want in life, then other people and circumstances shape us instead.
The biggest mindset shift is to go from just aimless living to identifying clearly who I want to be, and where I want to go. It means defining the personal, moral, and ethical guidelines that we want to live by.
When you get a clear plan and vision of the future in your mind, it is easy to make decisions that are aligned with that.
2nd Mindset Shift: True freedom is when external things do not get to you anymore
This mindset shift slowly happened as I turned 40. I suddenly started caring less and less about what other people thought, and that was extremely liberating.
You start embracing yourself, as you are. The aging body, the lines on your face, the greys in your hair. It no longer bothers you, you feel grateful that you are here.
You also start caring much more about learning, about meeting new people, and about connecting with others. You focus on real values and drop the superficial ones.
You step out of the race for money, beauty, or approval. You no longer need validation.
This mindset shift will influence your daily actions greatly. You will no longer do things because of others, you will no longer be afraid to say what you think in order not to be judged. This mindset shift will give you courage just to be yourself and follow your own path.
3rd Mindset Shift: Practice gratitude daily
Until I started gratitude journaling, I wasn’t aware of just how much my negative mindset affected my life.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing only what’s wrong, and to get stuck in a cycle of frustration and resentment.
But what about the good?
The people you love. The friends who make you laugh. The small, quiet moments you have throughout the day. A coffee with your coworker, the walk to the bakery, the sunlight touching your face as you step onto the balcony.
Life isn’t just the big things. It’s also the little joys that are always there, waiting to be noticed.
Make a conscious effort to turn your mind to positive thoughts.
Stop thinking about your daily chores in a negative light. Change your attitude from “I have to” to “I get to” and observe how that small shift in perspective influences your daily life.
You get to exercise today, someone else cannot do that. You get to prepare healthy food for your family, you get to spend time creating a home for your kids, and you get to take care of yourself.
4th Mindset Shift: Accept yourself as you are today
We all tell ourselves, I’ll be happy when… When I look better. When I have more money. When I find a partner, when I’m slimmer, when I work out more, then I’ll be confident. Then I’ll be the person I want to be.
But the truth is, even when you get there, nothing really changes. You’ll just replace those desires with new ones, always chasing something just out of reach.
The real mindset shift is realizing that you’re okay as you are. Not tomorrow. Not after some achievement. Right now.
What you’re really seeking is a feeling—acceptance and confidence. And the truth is, the only place where true change is possible is Now. You don’t have to wait.
5th Mindset Shift: Time is the most valuable asset you have
If we lived with this thought in mind, we’d organize our days differently. We would think about what is truly important to us, and we would not waste our time.
When I was younger, work was the most important aspect of my life. I was always trying to earn more money, find new clients, and achieve more.
But as I got older, I realized suddenly that while I was chasing all those achievements, I lost something much more important.
I lost time.
The next day is not guaranteed. We have no idea how much time we have left. So we need to treat time as the most precious thing we have.
What do you truly love doing? Would you rather spend time with your kids or friends? Step outside for a walk in the park? Read a book?
Or would you stay on the couch, binge-watching Netflix, endlessly scrolling your phone?
6th Mindset Shift: Stop worrying about the future, live in the present
I was born a worrier. Even as a small kid, I used to spend sleepless nights worrying about school, tests, and my future.
I continued to do that all my life, always seeing the worst-case scenarios in my head.
When I read the Power of Now, my mindset changed. The main premise of the book is that we need to make Now the main focus of our lives. And stop living in the past or future.
Worrying is just wasting time. It serves no purpose at all. The majority of our worries never turn out to be true, yet we spend sleepless nights thinking about problems that we do not have.
I now stop myself as soon as I start spiraling into the negative thought pattern. As soon as I catch myself worrying about something in the future.
I tell myself: Stop, that has not happened, and might never happen. Interrupt your mind immediately.
7th Mindset Shift: The journey is the destination
This mindset shift changed my life more than anything else. Realizing that it’s not about the goals themselves, but about the journey to reach them.
You might exercise to look better, but the real value isn’t in achieving that perfect body—it’s in the process. Even when you get there, you’ll find new flaws, new goals, and new reasons to be dissatisfied.
The real power is in building habits, learning, and getting stronger and more resilient.
The same goes for this blog. I might set the goal of reaching 10,000 visitors a month, but that number isn’t what truly matters. What matters is the process—writing, learning, failing, discovering.
The goal is just a direction. The real transformation happens on the way there.
So think about your goals. And more importantly, think about how you can enjoy the journey of achieving them.
Final Thoughts
Life experience and age made these mindset shifts possible. It would be a lie to say I never go back to old habits and old thought patterns.
I still struggle sometimes and have to fight my mind. But with every season that passes by, the fight is easier and the path clearer.
Related posts
The power of walking: The ultimate exercise for mind and body
