For those that don’t know me, I used to work in the education system for more than 20 years, eventually working my way to Head Teacher of a great school. Although I had achieved “success” in the traditional sense, by reaching the top in my profession, I was unhappy and unhealthy. I had very poor work life balance, very little free time to spend with my own family and was about to experience a serious health scare.
Put simply, something had to change.
For me, changing my mindset began through necessity, I’d hit a point where I had no choice but to change. However, the turning point for me was learning to believe in my self and take a risk which enabled me to leave my job as a head teacher.
I’d been working on my side hustle for months alongside my full-time job as a Head, and over time I realised that not only was this where my passion was, I also believed I could increase my income if I committed to it fully. It was a risk, quitting the job I’d worked so hard to get, stepping back from the security of my teaching income but a voice, deep inside me told me this was the right thing to do at that time. It told me to believe in myself, that my past successes would help me to be successful again if I just had the confidence to try.
I haven’t regretted my decision once.
That was the catalyst to changing my mindset and since then, I’ve had the time and opportunity to learn and apply so many personal development strategies.
The key thing for me was time, I finally had a work life balance whereby I could not only spend quality time with my family, but I could also invest time working on my self and my mindset and in doing so I’ve realised just how important it is.
We are capable of changing our mindset, we can do it today! No matter your age, background or current situation, you can change your way of thinking and improve your life because of it.
A great example of someone who demonstrated this publicly was Sir Captain Tom Moore. At the beginning of the pandemic, the 99-year-old veteran decided to show his support for the NHS by walking laps of his garden. He aimed to raise £1,000 but in fact raised a total of £39 million!
In his 99th year of life he was Knighted by the Queen, had a UK number 1, published a book, raised record amounts of money for charity and inspired a nation.
How? Because he challenged himself, he stepped outside his comfort zone and look at the results!
What you achieve once you change your mindset will be unique to everyone, but the steps we need to take to change it are similar.
Personal development encompasses so much; your physical and mental health, your skillset and knowledge, knowing yourself and what you want in life and so much more. When you prioritise personal development, you give yourself permission to put all these important factors at the heart of everything you do. As things start to improve your goals will get bigger and more ambitious and you’ll start achieving things you never thought were possible.
Your thoughts are powerful and have a significant influence on your beliefs. If your thoughts are limiting, your beliefs will be to so it’s important to be aware of your thoughts and to challenge the negative ones. Instead of thinking you can’t do something and believing it, ask yourself what evidence there is to support that belief. Soon you’ll realise that you can do what ever you set your mind to.
Challenging your thoughts can mean reshaping your whole belief system. If deep rooted negativity is holding you back it can take a lot of work to unlearn these thought patterns and replace them with positive ones. Don’t give up though, it is worth investing the time and energy in rewiring your thought process.
When I embarked on my journey of personal development it involved a lot of learning and self-reflection. I knew I wanted to make changes to my life but knowing that and actually doing it are two different things. Many people stumble when it comes to the final hurdle – executing their plan for change when this is the most crucial part of the process. My top tip for overcoming this challenge is to write down your goals and keep reviewing them. This will help hold you accountable and in turn should encourage you to take action.
If you want more advice on changing your mindset or to discuss starting your own business then get in touch today.
Read more of my reflections and business advice here.
Prior to starting his current business with UW, Derek dedicated 29 years to Primary Education, serving as a classroom practitioner, an Advisory Teacher for Information Technology, and ultimately as the Head of a Primary School until 2014.
Register for my upcoming webinar and take your first step to obtaining financial security
