“If you keep an open mind, you can learn so much from the people around you.”  Lynn Good.

I can’t be the only person in the UK that feels like I am watching a scene from the film Groundhog day when I watch news coverage covering the latest position regarding Brexit (the UK giving up its membership of the European Union).It seems to me that the politicians are going over the same ground, using the same arguments and getting the same results!

It was Einstein who reportedly said “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results!”

All this has got me thinking that if we have a desire to have different results in our life we have to be prepared to do something different. We have to have a willingness to change our thinking and try alternative approaches and types of action to what we usually do.

Also there’s a need to stay alert to the world around us and to new opportunities and ideas that are available to us. We all get greater balance from listening to other people’s perspectives, views and opinions. However, as I wrote in last week’s blog, it’s important that we listen to the right voices. This includes people who will challenge us with good intention and are supportive and encouraging.

It’s therefore imperative if we are to grow as individuals and live our best life that we take some time to think about the environments that we hang out in. Negative and toxic environments aren’t good for our mental and physical energy. They can be debilitating, drain our energy and make us unhappy.

Conversely, positive and uplifting environments have a positive impact on our mental and physical health. They increase our happiness and energy levels and help us to feel good about ourselves and the world.

It’s also important that we take time to consider who we spend our time with. We must ensure that we spend time with like-minded people who uplift us and give us energy rather than energy vampires who drain our energy!

Maintaining an open and curious mind can be challenging sometimes as we’re all creatures of habit and like routine and familiarity with our surroundings. Also there are lots of social media and other media outlets available easily to influence our beliefs and opinions.

Sometimes it’s useful to take a moment and think about what your sources of inspiration are and what vitamins for the mind you consume to help you create a positive and healthy mindset. Feeding your mind is as important as it is for gardeners when they apply fertiliser to their plants and crops to encourage them to flourish and grow. You might find inspiration from meditation, music, art, inspirational quotations, positive books or attending personal development seminars or a walk in nature etc.

There is a part of our brain that can play a vital role in helping us to spot new opportunity. It is known as the reticular activating system (RAS). It’s the automatic mechanism inside your brain that brings relevant information to your attention.

The RAS will help you spot opportunities that will move you towards your vision. It acts as a kind of filtering system between your conscious and subconscious minds. It takes instructions from your conscious mind and passes them on to your subconscious.

It focuses your brain to notice available resources that were always present but had previously gone unnoticed. On your next journey try it for yourself by looking out for yellow cars. These cars would have been on your journey but you may not have noticed them if you hadn’t made a point of consciously looking for them. You may be surprised by how many you spot!

If you ask your RAS to help you to spot new ideas or resources that will help you to meet your goals and vision it will do that task for you. It’s therefore important to have clarity on your vision and what you would like to experience and attract in your life.

In order to stay alert to new opportunity we need to be flexible in our approach to life. Flexibility is a key skill to help us to develop great relationships and connection with others. It’s also vital to helping us to realise our potential in life.

It’s worth bearing in mind that being too set in our ways and too rigid in our approach rarely helps us to achieve positive beneficial change. If we think about a rigid tree in a gale, it’s the first one to fall. The flexible tree proves to be more enduring. It is the same with our mindset and attitudes.

If we experience challenges in our life but we’re flexible in our thinking and look at our situation from all angles we will find a new way around them. An open mind is reflected in a relaxed and healthier body. It allows for co-operation and compromise, so other people find it easier to work with us.

When we adopt a flexible approach to life, we are less uptight, we seek to control outcomes less and have greater patience. We accept that life will have ebbs and flows. We appreciate that there will be times when we feel invincible and like we are at the top of a hill and others when we feel low and like we are in a valley.

We must ensure that we enjoy the good times and are grateful for them because we know that life isn’t always easy and the likelihood is that we will experience some tough and challenging times at some point in our life.

Having an acceptance of the reality of life helps us to be less anxious and stressed, it allows us to stay calm under pressure and have a greater sense of inner peace and assurance. It allows us to remain centred and grounded.

This week, why not pause for a few moments to reflect and consider how open minded and alert to new ideas and opportunity you are. Ask yourself “What positive beneficial change am I ready to welcome into my life?”

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk