Do any of these thoughts sound familiar to you?

I can’t do this.

This doesn’t make sense.

I’m no good at this.

I know I am guilty of these sometimes!! These sneaky thoughts can creep in anytime, and they can be hard to catch because they feel like the truth! The problem with these thoughts is that, while they feel like the truth, they’re actually a big ol’ lie. And I don’t know about you, but I feel really uncomfortable with the idea of lying to myself. I always try to keep it real and give myself the straight truth. However, as much as these thoughts might parade as “real talk,” ALL of the thoughts above are lies. They’re missing one word that turns them into the truth.

This word is small, but deeply powerful: “YET.”

When we think of each of those sentences without the word “yet,” our brains take the thoughts literally, and they fill in the invisible blank with the only logical conclusion:

I can’t do this forever.

This doesn’t make sense and it never will.

I’m no good at this and never will be.

If you don’t fill in the blank with the word “yet,” you’re closing the door on growth and progress, and you’re allowing yourself to feel lost and stuck. “Yet” opens yourself up to unlimited future potential!

Why is it that “yet” makes such a difference? The reason is simple. It allows your brain to consider that those thoughts won’t stay true forever. It does this by turning a fixed mindset into a growth mindset. Do these mindsets sound familiar to you?

Growth Mindset: Noun. The belief that your learning and intelligence can grow and improve with time and experience. The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset. With a fixed mindset, skills and intelligence are fixed and remain the same over time.

Here are a few ways you can tell if you have a growth mindset:

I LOVE to learn, and deep down, I honestly believe that I can grow and improve in all aspects of my life. Sadly enough, this doesn’t make me immune from deceitful fixed-mindset thoughts. I have to keep an eye on my thoughts and identify where I need to add the word “yet.” The awesome thing is, it’s a really simple way to stay more positive while practicing or trying something new or difficult!

When you start adding the word “yet,” you can rest easy and trust that with time and effort, you WILL get to your end goal!

Try it out and let me know in the comments which devious fixed-mindset thoughts you are adding “yet” to today!

The post Are Any of These Sneaky Thoughts Limiting Your Potential? appeared first on Stephanie Hoeckley | Flute Lessons + Music Gamification for Dynamic Performance.