You may be seeing more mindset coaches on social media, or you may even be working with one yourself, you may also have no idea what a mindset coach is. 
So the question is, what is mindset work anyway? This blog will clear up some common misconceptions and will help you to understand how working with a mindset coach can benefit you. If all of your questions are not answered here you can reach out to me directly because in addition to being a holistic health and wellness coach (keyword holistic, meaning it includes the mind) I am also a mindset coach.
I launched my “Healing Your Mindset with Sarah” business in 2020 in the middle of a pandemic and I am here to tell you how and why I got to the point of wanting to heal my own mindset and helping others do the same. The simple answer to the question, “What is mindset work?”, is any work that helps you develop and shape your mindset, which is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of the world and yourself. It influences how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation.
Many of us have trauma, life situations, and experiences that shape our lens or view of the world which can affect our mindset. These thought distortions can create blocks in our mindset that subconsciously hold us back from what is meant for us. Now if this is starting to sound too “woo-woo” I assure you there is a science behind our mindsets and patterning in our brains.
Mindset Science
Carol Dweck Ph.D. is the queen of mindset. This article discusses some of her research in regards to growth and fixed mindsets (https://createhealth.com/2019/10/31/the-science-behind-mindset/). The article states: the brain can be programmed with either a fixed or a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is more primal and resistant to change, even if new experiences disprove their beliefs. These are people who are less likely to take up new hobbies, take chances or believe in their ability to perform better in various aspects of their life.
A growth mindset is more fluid and open to change. People with this mindset are less likely to define themselves, and more likely to embrace challenges from a place of optimism rather than fear. As evolution demonstrates, mankind’s ability to adapt and rise to a challenge is fundamental. Though we can be a mix of growth and fixed mindsets at any time, we believe that to drive behavior change we need to unlock a growth mindset to force a reappraisal of old habits. The good news here is with mindset work we can restructure our neural pathways, heal our past traumas and thought distortions to create a more growth mindset. There is hope!
Types of Mindset Work
As a psychologist and social worker, I have always been familiar with the concepts of growth and fixed mindsets. I came to understand the deeper work of mindset when I began working with a money mindset coach doing money mindset work. My coach Brooke Ritchie is phenomenal if you are looking for some work on how to bring more abundance into your life. I thought I was just going to learn how to not be afraid of money and how to be more strategic with my business planning, but I got so much more than that!
I learned mindset work is learning a series of tools, doing mind-body practices, therapeutic processing (not therapy), NLP practices, etc. The world of mindset is vast and there are so many options for literally changing your mind! There are other mindset coaches that focus on business, fixed and growth mindset, relationships, you name it. My focus is overall healing that allows you to be free from burnout and in my case the complex of “The Helper” or enneagram 2 (that is a whole other blog I could write, maybe I will).
Many of the clients I work with are attempting to have a more positive mindset in work so they can continue in their professions or endure until they are ready to step into what they are truly meant for. The beauty of mindset work is that it is so deep and interconnected, a client might think they are simply learning how to change their mindset at work and then they realize the mindset they have around their job is actually related to their relationship with their mother and every time something that happens at work is in relation to something that occurred with their mother the same neural pathway fires, the same feelings arise, the same response arises even if the situations are entirely different. Sound familiar?
You grow up feeling like you can never measure up, then your boss corrects a simple mistake on a task at work and you feel hot anger arise. Is this really about the correction at work, or is it about something else? Mindset work allows you to decide. It guides you to uncover your own patterns and you get to choose how you will react moving forward once you know where your mindset is coming from. Another type of mindset I have talked about in previous blogs is a mindset for weight loss. My favorite mindset weight loss program is 2B Mindset.
Growth Mindset Work
I can’t finish a blog without providing you with some meaningful tools. Growth mindset morning work is one of the essential tools for anyone trying to shift their mindset and their life. I am sure you have heard how essential it is to have a morning routine. One of my favorite books is called, “The Miracle Morning”, by Hal Elrod. There are lots of tools in the book to help you establish a desirable and doable morning routine.
A simple morning mindset trick is starting with gratitude. Waking up and first thing before anything else (ok maybe using the restroom and drinking some water) writing down all that you are thankful for while you are still a bit groggy and more in your subconscious mind.
Starting your day with gratitude truly can change the entire direction of your day. You start to see what is going well and working for you versus working against you. You may even find that something that ordinarily you would think was happening “to you” is actually happening “for you”. That is what happens when your mindset starts to change. You start to believe that “Of course” things would work out for you because why wouldn’t they. You get to start believing you deserve everything you desire and you can stop thinking thoughts like “why does it always work out for everyone else, but not me?” It will work if you do!
Growth Mindset Worksheet
I will leave you with a simple worksheet that includes 35 growth mindset journaling prompts for kids and adults. I challenge you to keep a journal for 21 days so that you can start creating a habit and making a shift in your mindset. You can do this on your own to get the work started if you’re ready to make a change. If you are interested in healing your mindset on a deeper level I book complementary inquiry calls please reach out any time at healingyourmindset@gmail.com
If you feel like you are wanting more recipes, tips, and tricks on mental belays, relationships, and a roadmap to living your healthiest life, I have lots more tips and tools for your toolbox where those came from. All of my meal plans include access to hundreds of recipes and short, easy, all levels workouts. If you have any specific recipes you would like or fitness program questions, always feel free to reach out to me. My mindset work is all-encompassing and can help you release trauma abs roadblocks to ensure a more balanced and joyful life. Thanks for reading. I hope this information was useful and finds you in a space of the heart. I’m just me, Sarah Roberts (Savino), MSW, RYT200, TBB Coach founder of team Indie Sols, figuring out what works for me and sharing it with you in hopes that it will make some positive changes for you as well! As always if you have any direct questions or want personal consultation for anything you can reach me at my email healingyourmindset@gmail.com or https://tinyurl.com/y7qx7wwg or contact me through any of my social media: Facebook.com/sarah.savino IG- the_fit_philanthropist
Love and Light Always,
Sarah