Making a change in your life is not easy. It’s hard work that requires dedication, consistency, and a whole lot of willpower. In this day of instant gratification it’s a real challenge for a lot of people to keep their goal in front of them and trust the process.

We are told that if we make vision boards, practice goal setting, make New Year’s resolutions, download apps to track and change habits, enlist accountability buddies, and read the shelves and shelves of self-help books, we’ll arrive at our final destination—a changed and happier YOU!

While these pursuits all have their place and value in our lives, there is a missing piece I believe that keeps many of us from achieving true change.

Mindset, Motivation, Methods

I take no credit for what follows but instead have Jim Kwik to thank for his brilliant teachings on how to have a Limitless Mind.

As a young boy Jim suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him struggling to learn to read and being dubbed “the boy with the broken brain” by his teacher. With the determination of a superhero, Jim set on a journey to understand how the brain and mind work. He has dedicated his life to teaching and inspiring millions of people how to tap into the power of their brain and become limitless in what they can achieve and who they can become.

Jim teaches the 3 M’s of being limitless—Mindset, Motivation, and Methods.

Mindset

Simply put, mindset is what you believe in, especially what you believe is true about yourself. These are usually limiting beliefs like “I’m not smart enough to learn this”, “I don’t deserve ____ (you fill in the blank), “I don’t have time for this”, etc.

All of these ideas that swirl in our head when we think about making a change in our lives or when we face a challenge are limiting beliefs we have learned.

Limiting beliefs are powerful. Limiting beliefs lead to learned helplessness. All behavior is belief driven.

Changing Limiting Beliefs

To change a limiting belief:

1. Understand its origin – Does this belief come from a past failure? Is it driven by a negative comment received? Is it based on perceived societal norms?
2. Ask yourself if this belief is still true for you – Do you have new experiences, knowledge or skills to contradict this belief?
3. Replace the limiting beliefs with empowering beliefs.

To replace limiting beliefs, beliefs that are holding you back, you need to reframe them. Begin by asking yourself where these beliefs came from and then reverse them by stating the opposite. Try it now. Write down 5 limiting beliefs, be honest about where they came from, and then write the opposite belief. You’ll be amazed how powerful something as simple as this can be!

“Beliefs are choices so choose wisely”

Mindset is the foundation upon which our entire reality is built so don’t shrink what’s possible to fit your mind, instead expand your mind to fit what’s possible.

Motivation

Finding the motivation to make changes in our lives and to go after what we want can be easy at first and then morph into something challenging and less appealing. Why is this?

Motivation comes from knowing your why or your purpose. Here are 3 questions to ask yourself about your why:

1. Who do you see yourself as? (Identity)
2. Why do you do what you do? (Values)
3. What is the reason you want to create results? (Reason)

Identity

Put aside your limiting beliefs, tap into your new beliefs, and ask yourself “Who am I?”. Now, write down 3 things you know to be true about yourself.

Values

Your values are your non-negotiables. What is most important to you in your life? In relationships? In your career? For your physical body? For your vitality in life?

Go ahead and write down 5 values you have.

Reasons

Without reasons you won’t get results. Reasons drive your why and have a very strong emotional component. They give you passion, they create your story and give you the fuel for life.

Reflect on a major goal you have and then list one emotional reason for every value you named above.

When you discover your purpose—your why— you will find you have direction.

Methods

Armed with your limitless mindset and motivation you now need a roadmap, a set of steps, a strategy; because as Jim says “Knowledge is not power until it’s applied”.

Flow

Finding your flow is one of the secrets to productivity. Here are 3 obstacles to finding your flow and some suggestions to overcome them:

Distractions
The number one distraction today is your cell phone. The need to constantly be checking email and social media is epidemic; the fear of missing out rampant.

To counter distractions, set your phone to airplane mode, schedule time to check email once or twice a day; the same goes for social media. The more you single task the more productive and in the flow you’ll be

“The art of learning is the art of attention” 

Mismatches
When a task is too easy or too difficult we tend to lose interest and focus. It is said that flow is where challenge meets skill.

To ensure you stay in your flow, find a balance between tasks that are slightly above your skill level and some that are slightly below.

Lack of Clarity
When we have not set a goal to our task it is easy to fall out of flow and lose motivation.

The solution to a lack of clarity goes back to knowing your why. When you have a clear picture of why you are doing what you do the flow comes naturally!

Having a “flow-friendly” environment is also important. Setting up a dedicated space to work and study that is free of distractions and noise improves your focus, state-of-mind, and flow.

Incorporating a feedback loop will help keep you in your flow. Remember to review and adjust your plan regularly to keep on track and reach your goals.

Studying Smarter

Learning, whether formal or informal, requires you to process information. This applies to students and non-students alike. At work you may be tasked with solving a problem that requires research. Here are some tips to make the most of what you are learning.

Spaced Repetition

There is great value in reviewing what you are learning many times over. Try reviewing what you previously read or learned before jumping into the next chapter or topic. This reinforces the material you already know and helps build on what you are about to learn. Returning to information you learned a week or even a month ago is also a good practice of spaced repetition.

State Regulation

All learning is state dependent. This means your emotional state is connected to memory. When you approach learning with a positive state of mind you will naturally benefit from what you are studying. Your body holds emotions so remember to assume an attentive posture to supercharge your learning!

EMOTION + INFORMATION = LONG TERM MEMORY

Engage Your Senses

We have 5 senses so why not engage all of them when studying or learning! Read aloud, color your notes, taste or smell something unique to help in recalling what you’re processing. Some of the best scents to aid recall are peppermint, citrus, and rosemary.

Effective Note Taking

There are many proven methods to improve note taking. One is mind-mapping where the information you are learning radiates out from a central point or theme. Mind maps are visual so don’t be afraid to use color and images to make them come alive and stick in your brain.

Another helpful method is to answer the following questions as you take notes:

1. How am I going to use this?
2. When am I going to use this?
3. How does this relate to what I already know?
4. What questions does this information raise?

Memory

Jim Kwik says “There is no such thing as a good or bad memory. There is a trained memory and an untrained memory”.

Here are 4 ways to improve and train your memory:

Visualization

As you study, ask yourself what you see and what you feel. When you add emotion, especially humor, you remember better.

Active Recall

One of the best ways to remember is to teach. This can be as simple as passing on the information you’re learning to a friend, colleague, or family member. You can also quiz yourself!

The Power of Association

This one is priceless! When you connect what you don’t know to something you know, you build a bridge in your memory. Keep building and soon what you know will grow exponentially.

Loci Method

This technique is powerful. When you connect things you are studying to places you know and are familiar with, you are able to recall them with ease. Try it! Take something as simple as your grocery list. Visualize a familiar location, like your home, and attach each item on your list to a room. Make it funny and it will be easier to remember your list when you get to the store.

Speed Reading

This is not about skimming to get the gist of what you read. This is about increasing the speed at which you read and at the same time understanding the content. Here are 3 techniques to put into practice:

Visual Pacer

Using something like your finger to guide your pace of reading may sound like a step back to your childhood when you were learning to read and shown how to use your finger to help sound out the words.

Using a visual pacer helps your brain focus on the words you are reading. By increasing the speed at which your finger moves across the lines on the page you up the rate at which you process the words.

Peripheral Vision

To increase your reading speed try softening your gaze so your focus widens and you take in more than just one word at a time. This helps stimulate your brain making your reading flow more fluidly.

Reduce Subvocalization

Subvocalization is when you vocalize the words you are reading in your brain. It’s that inner voice that sounds out the text. This slows down your reading speed because your talking speed is slower than your thinking speed is quicker.

When you recognize words by sight and not sound you naturally increase the rate at which you read. For example; when you see the word “New York City” you immediately know what the word means without sounding out “New”, “York”, and “City”.

Broaden Your Thinking

On average we have 60,000 thoughts a day and 90% of them are repetitive – through the day and from previous days! It’s easy to get tunnel vision when it comes to how and what we think.

“Thinking is the act of asking and answering questions.”

One way to broaden your thinking is to consider multiple solutions. A method that can help you with this is called the 6 Thinking Hats and was created by Dr. Edward de Bono.

By imagining wearing 6 differently colored hats you can think about solutions to a challenge or problem from 6 different perspectives. This allows you to break out of the rut you may be in with your thinking. If you are interested to learn how, click here.

Every journey has a starting point. Let mindset, motivation, and methods be yours!

Remember, if you fight for your limitations you get to keep them!