As the name suggests, I am going to go live on Instagram every Monday of September 2023 to talk about mindset.

In this episode, I expand on Episode 2 of Mindset Magic for Aligned Action.

In the episode, I share some practical tips on how to practice focusing on the things that we can control and letting go of the things that we can't.

I also walk you through a short visualization exercise to process charged feelings.

As the name suggests, I am going to go live on Instagram every Monday of September 2023 to talk about mindset.

In this episode, I expand on Episode 1 of Mindset Magic for Aligned Action.

There's a phrase that we hear a lot from successful people in any industry, 'it is all about mindset'. Success leaves clues and it is on us to follow these clues.

In the episode, I am unpacking this phrase with the hope that sharing my understanding of it helps you understand the power of perspective, which is one of the most important elements that form our mindset.

Thank you for joining me for this short audio series - Mindset Magic for Aligned Action. I hope it brought you clarity around a lot of terms and concepts that are quickly trickling into artistic and entrepreneurial spaces from the self-development space. And I also hope that this audio series has empowered you with a fresh perspective on how to make your mindset work for you.

If you are interested in hearing more about this subject then make sure to subscribe to my email list and become a Studio Artinject insider, I share the blog posts I write and the videos I create on the subject there. You can also book a 60-minute one-on-one session with me through my website at studioartinject.com/book-heartstorming-session, wherein we will together address any mindset blocks you’re faced with as an artist and a creative entrepreneur. 

Feel free to come say hi to me on my Instagram @artinject_. I would love to hear how you liked this series and if it helped shift something for you!

Thank you again for tuning in. Here’s to your big and beautiful dreams!

What is the hype around mindset and self-development anyway?

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” This is a quote attributed to the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, although I couldn’t find a corresponding citation for the same. Regardless, this is the gist of what I want to discuss in this episode, the short answer to the question, ‘Why the fuss around mindset?’

So do you need to have awareness of mindset and indulge in self-development? No, not really. You can go on living a perfectly happy, satisfying life without ever diving into any of this. But if you are the kind of person who yearns for growth, who wants to explore your connection with yourself, with the people around you, with nature, and the possibilities that you can pursue in this lifetime, then you would not want to miss out on this. Becoming aware of your mindset further brings awareness to the why of how you’re operating in the world and thereafter pivot if need be. 

This series is titled ‘Mindset Magic for Aligned Action’, I want to break that down and bring it all together in this last episode. To me, mindset alignment is simply a practice which involves making the unconscious conscious by becoming aware of your patterns and identifying the reasons behind your actions to see if your current actions are moving you closer to where you want to go or farther away from it, and then recalibrating your mindset to be aligned with your goals and desires. Just a reminder from our discussions in the previous episodes, your current actions are stemming from your current mindset, which again is nothing but your existing perspective and belief systems.

Now coming back to the question posed at the beginning of this episode, ‘do you need to have awareness of mindset and indulge in self-development?’ And the answer remains no, you don’t need to do anything you don’t feel called to. But if you want that gift that keeps giving, that’s when you choose to dive into mindset and self-development.

Choosing to wear rose-coloured glasses and why it is okay to do so.

Wearing rose-coloured glasses is, simply put, choosing to see the positive outcome in circumstances. Choosing to see a happier, brighter, and more vibrant version of how things are at the moment. Even though it might not be your current reality.

And, why is that such a bad thing? Aren’t we choosing to believe lies every single day anyway? Aren’t we choosing to believe that we are not good enough when we know it’s a lie? Aren’t we choosing to believe x, y, z, name any insecurity that you have, when we know it is not true? But we continue to believe all these lies about ourselves that act as a roadblock to living life to our fullest potential.

How is it okay to choose to believe something negative? How is it okay for that to happen and for that to be acceptable and for that to be normal, but choosing to believe in something positive suddenly sounds toxic? And radical? And naive? Why this disparity? Think about that. It’s an interesting thought to sit with.

Think about how we are being conditioned by society to stay where we are, to stay small, to not live our fullest potential, to not dream without any bounds. Because you know what, your voice, your authenticity, your dreams, your originality, your boldness scares them. It scares them when you question things. Them being the society, the status quo, the people who question your dreams, and who doubt your potential.

So I invite you to dare to question. Why is it okay for me to choose to believe in my insecurities but not okay for me to choose to believe in my potential?

It’s time to put on those rose-coloured glasses, my friend!

Focusing on what we can control while practising surrender. 

Yes, I say ‘practice’ because surrender, the act of letting go is an active act, it is not something that comes naturally to most of us. And it is not our fault. It is because of how our lifestyles have become so fast-paced, so productivity-centric, and so competitive that it is natural to want to practice control and feel difficult to let go. 

We try to control things that are beyond our control and then feel disappointed when things don’t work out for us. It is these things that are beyond our control that we have to practice letting go of. And practice control over things that are actually in our control. So we shift our focus on practising control from things that are not in our control to things that are, practice surrender and believe in our hearts that what is happening is what’s meant to be. It is not good or bad, it just is.

So, what is in our control? How we choose to look at things and how we choose to feel about those things. Because our feelings create our perceptions, and our actions are a direct reflection of those perceptions.

Now, I know it is easier said than done. You are not going to suddenly wake up one day and have this switch flip, do a complete 180-degree turn and start being this different person. Embodying the identity of who you want to be is an everyday practice. And the more you practice being that person, catching yourself when you’re drifting, being compassionate with yourself when you catch yourself, is what is going to take you closer to the person you desire to be.

What is mindset?

What do we mean when we talk about mindset alignment, or when we talk about mindset reframing?

Something is and it exists. That is a fact. Something happened and that happened is a fact. But how do we look at it, that is to say, that, how we react to it, what our emotion around an incident or a series of events is, is what constitutes our mindset. Mindset is nothing but a collection of our perceptions, it is simply how we choose to look at something, at everything.

Mindset alignment and reframing our mindset is a tool to take us from where we are to where we want to be. It is to get us from point A to Point B. And we get to define what point A and B mean to us, and what it looks like.

When you really think about it, everything is a matter of perception. So then the question becomes, how do we change our perception to move us from where we are to where we want to be? Whenever we look at anything, anything said or done, any situation or event, it is not good or bad, it just is. Things simply are, and our perceptions around those things add meaning to the thing itself.

So the question then becomes having what mindset serves us to get us from where we are (our current reality) to where we want to be (our desired reality)? And what doesn’t serve us in our growth journey of getting closer to our dreams, our aspirations, our goals? If our perceptions alone add meaning to things, then how can shifting our perception shift our reality?

Hello and welcome to this short audio series called Mindset Magic for Aligned Action! I am your host, Shimona Ghosh, artist and founder of Studio Artinject. I like to describe myself as an artist, explorer and traveller. I am extremely passionate about sharing the joy of creating art and creating an intentional life.

Art has been a constant part of my life through a myriad of mediums, but it was in 2020 that I fully committed to watercolours followed by pottery. And it was at the start of 2022 that I started transitioning from being a practising advocate to building my creative business. My dream is to build a mindful and sustainable business, so mindset is an indispensable component in that journey. Expansion and growth of my mindset over the past two years is single-handedly the biggest tool that got me through the challenges pivoting to being a full-time artist has brought to me. And so I feel it is imperative that I share my knowledge around mindset alignment with you, with the hope and belief that it will help you navigate this often challenging but oh-so-rewarding journey of being a creative.

Through this series, I want to introduce you to the concept of mindset and how you can use it to create magic in your life! So without further ado, let’s dive in!