A Mindset is the set of beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions that shape how a person thinks, interprets experiences, treats others and responds to challenges.
A Mindset is the mental posture you take toward life, yourself and others.
It’s the internal lens through which you see, yourself, others and the world.
Your mindset influences:
• How you handle setbacks
• How you view success and failure
• How you approach learning
• How you relate to others
A mindset is a belief!
For example:
• A negative mindset believes things are set—I’m just not good at this”, “That’s just the way I am”, “It’s always been that way”, “That’s just not my thing.”
• A positive mindset believes things can change and become better—“I can improve with effort and repetition”, I can be different” “I can be better”, “I can and I will!”
In simple terms:
A mindset is the mental posture you take toward life. It’s also a mental picture of one’s self.
Some things to remember about mindsets:
- If you don’t change what you believe and how you think things are not going to be any different.
- The decision to change how you think about yourself and how you view uncomfortable situations and difficult circumstances will determine “the story of your life.”
- You go into every situation—mind first. So start by getting your mind thinking the right thing.
- Nothing changes until your mind changes!
- There has to be a mindset change before there’s ever going to be a life or culture change.
I want to show you the power of a mindset:
In Numbers 13:1-4: “The Lord said to Moses, “Send some men to explore the land of Canaan. I will give this land to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve tribes.” So Moses obeyed the Lord’s command and sent out the Israelite leaderswhile the people were camped in the desert of Paran. These are their names: Shammua, Shaphat, Igal, Palti, Gaddiel, Gaddi, Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, and Geuel. Joshua and Caleb.
“We saw the giant Nephilim people there! (The descendants of Anak.) We felt like little grasshoppers. Yes, we were like grasshoppers to them!” Numbers 13:33
“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” Numbers 13:33
Not many remember the 10 spies that said, We can’t!” But, most everyone is familiar with Joshua and Caleb. And it’s because of their mindset—that said, “We can!”
However , because of the mindset of the other 10 spies, the Children of Israel experienced 40 years in the wilderness instead of entering in and enjoying the promised land. It took 40 days to get the children of Israel of Egypt, but it took 40 years to get Egypt out of them.
The statement: “and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight” in Numbers 13:33 is interesting. It’s interesting because I’m pretty sure that the 10 spies didn’t have a mirror to see themselves. I’m also pretty sure that the giants of the land that intimated spies didn’t even see them to call them “grasshoppers.” They were spying. Therefore, they got in and out without even being seen. The giants didn’t see them and they couldn’t see themselves, but their self image was a mental picture of they felt themselves compared to the giants of the land—it was a mindset.
Your mindset matters! What you decide to believe about yourself, others and the obstacles that you may face, will determine what you experience. The mindset that you determine to have will determine what others remember about you. It will be your life story.
What do you want to be remembered for? What do you want your legacy to be? I can or I can’t? I will or I won’t? The decision that you make will determine the story of your life.
The reason I chose this passage and to write this is because I want to see your life and your future be blessed. I want to see you experience the things that you deserve and that you desire.
I want you to believe that you can develop a different mindset. A mindset that says, “We can, not we can’t.” A mindset that says, “I can and I will”, not, “I can’t and I won’t.” So I leave you with this today: “You can and you will!!!” All you have to do is change your mind about yourself and the way things are. Develop a different mindset, because mindsets matter.
“Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.” —Romans 12:2 NLT
