Cultivating A Winning Mindset

The only separator in life is mindset.

Whether the world has become harder or easier to live in is completely subjective.

Ask yourself: is it easier or harder to get in better shape today than it was 100 or even 1000 years ago?

On one side you have more advanced and scientific information in the palm of your hand.

You have tools and apps that make it easier to set up routines or nutrition that would work best for you.

You could see double the results in your fitness in half the time today as the average person would 100 years ago.

But if it was easier, why are obesity rates increasing year over year?

Why is health - physical and mental - deteriorating year over year?

Is it the ease of access to high-calorie foods at your disposal?

Is it the sedentary lifestyles we've adopted as technology advances?

Tons of information can also mean it's more confusing than ever to find the right information.

Doesn’t that make it harder also?

The paradox.

These contradictions exist in fitness and in every other aspect of human life.

Relationships: harder or easier today?

Parenthood: Harder or easier? What about childhood?

Business? Schooling? Sports?

When I observe this paradox across all aspects, I come to the conclusion that none of it is factual.

It is all subjective. An opinion.

Nothing more.

To one person, the world is getting worse. Doom and gloom.

AI will take over. The rich are getting richer and the poor getting poorer. Getting in shape can't happen because of their genetics or because of fast food companies... you name it.

Sound familiar? Someone might come to mind when you hear these doom and gloom statements.

It might even be you.

What about on the other side?

Some people are in better shape in their 60s today than average people in their 40s were decades ago.

Some people built a business to huge heights in half the time that someone could 30 years ago.

Someone overcame mental struggles without needing 20 years of therapy unlike before.

They might say it's because of technology.

But I doubt it.

The tools, technologies and the WORLD will continue to change...

But those that achieve greatness will do so regardless.

In the times of old, there were still the few that were fit, and the average.

There were the few that were rich, and the average.

There were the few that had healthy relationships, and the average.

Change is guaranteed. Mindset is ubiquitous.

All the changes in the world simply highlight that one aspect.

Those who are susceptible to degeneracy, who aren't disciplined, who don't have emotional control... are controlled. Regardless of if it's by a smartphone, by AI, by their employer, whoever.

The world has only gotten EASIER for those with a winning mindset.

Because now you can achieve everything you could have before in half of the time. With half of the struggle.

But the world has gotten 100x harder for those with a losing or average mindset. Because your life can spiral out of control twice as fast and half as easy.

Dissecting the winning mindset.

So what makes up a winning mindset?

Let's find out by first dissecting a losing mindset.

A losing mindset is one that leads to being out of shape. Being in perpetual financial difficulty. Lower quality of life. Worse mental health and so on.

Such a mindset has common elements such as:

- Always blaming external circumstance

- In constant fear & lack

- Conditioned for instant gratification

It is fragile. Major or minor life setbacks occur very often.

Everything happens "to" this person.

“Its the governments fault. It's technology's fault. It's my friend's fault. It's my spouse's fault.”

No matter how much opportunity may exist in the world around them, a mindset like this will forever be stuck.

So to build a winning mindset that excels in any environment or circumstance, we must:

- Take extreme ownership & responsibility

- Always find the positives in any scenario

- Condition the mind for delayed gratification

It is impenetrable. Not rigid (rigidity is weak), but flexible.

Flexible to the circumstance. Flexible to what happens around us.

That is why it's "survival of the fittest". Which means the most adaptable.

Adaptation is mindset.

You can cultivate a winning one. Anyone can.

But it will take dedication.

Start to see everything in your life as something you can overcome.

The simplest way we can begin to do that is by prompting ourselves with this question anytime you get upset, frustrated or dejected:

"what is the positive in this situation?"

Try this profound yet silly exercise.

I remember one of the first self-improvement books I read was by Tony Robbins. (No surprise there)

This one part in the book was all I remember from it... but it was enough to change my perspective of the world for the rest of my life.

It was an exercise he asks you to do along with him.

I'm going to ask you do it with me right now as well.

Regardless of where you may be reading this right now , stop for a moment and look around.

Ask yourself: what colour immediately pops out at you?

If you're outside, green might be one of them because of trees, or grass, for example.

It will be the most obvious colour and the colour that is most abundant. The easiest one to see.

Now, think of a random colour that doesn't immediately pop out to you. Say purple, for example.

Look around again, but ONLY look for the colour purple anywhere you can find it.

Look hard.

You’ll immediately be surprised to notice something.

You’ll probably be shocked as to how much purple there is around you that you were completely oblivious to.

And now, you can’t NOT see it.

This is an exercise that reveals what’s called the Reticular Activating System (RAS) in your brain.

It’s the same thing responsible for when you suddenly decide you want a brand new, cool car and you suddenly start seeing that very car driving everywhere around the road.

Ever had that happen to you with something?

You see this might seem like such a silly little exercise, but it can be incredibly profound.

Because you may realize that you only see the world based on what you are SEARCHING for.

If you only look for the positive, you start to see it pop up everywhere.

Even in a scenario where it seems obvious everything is "bad".

If you look for the negative - or for the ways you can abdicate responsibility - they will be all over the place.

Easy to find.

I now see everything in life as an opportunity to make me stronger or better.

Because I've conditioned my brain to look for the positive seed in all scenarios, it happens automatically now.

No matter what has happened in my life, I see the opportunity, I see the way forward and I am never "down and out".

Sure, I may be sad at times. Emotions are part of being human and they are important.

When you understand their role they become beautiful, regardless of the emotion. Because they offer up part of the human experience.

But a winning mindset won't dwell on these things long enough to deter or discourage you from the path. The lesson. The evolution. The opportunity. Life.

Combine this with the practising of delaying gratification and you will prosper regardless of what happens in the world.

Which also means fear no longer plays a role in day to day life.

You start to believe you can and will overcome anything and continue to evolve.

I will write more on delayed gratification at a later time because that deserves its own entire outline.

But going forward, remembering the following helped me to cultivate a winning mindset:

Don't give your power away. Not to the government. The smartphone. The "way the world is".

Or else you'll miss the great, endless opportunities that lie all around you.

They exist. They are around us all right now.

So long as we choose to pursue a fit mentality, a fit body, and pledge to be the best version of ourselves.

The world starts to seem that much better.

The future that much brighter.

Because it is.

I implore you to ask yourself: are you willing to improve your mindset…

So that you can pursue a life of fulfillment and lead by example for your loved ones to be the top 1% no matter what direction the world goes?

Thank you so much for reading.

I hope you found this insightful.

But I won’t tell you to have an amazing day.

Instead I say:

Make it an amazing day.

Jon.