I am not sure if today’s post is a reminder for me, or for you guys, but let’s chat about mindset. I am typically a very positive gal. I like my cup half full and believe a positive attitude is contagious. However, to be very transparent with you all, I have really been struggling to keep that attitude up. My schedule this semester is very rigid. I have somewhere to be every day from 8am until sometimes 7 or 8pm. I have made it well known that I thrive on a busy schedule, however, I have found myself struggling to keep afloat amidst all of the craziness that has become my life.

On Valentine’s Day I talked about the importance of taking time to love yourself, but I think I skipped a step in that process that is important to discuss. Before you can get your life together the way you want it to be, you have to have your mindset right. You might be thinking, “How do I do that, Madeline?” Good question, lets’s expand.

Before you can formulate a strong mindset, you need to set clear intentions on where you are heading. What are your goals for yourself? I believe everything in our lives; from the choices we make, to the people we surround ourselves with, are in design to progress us forward. First step is to do a little social check. There is a well-known saying that “you are who you surround yourself with.” I think that holds a lot of truth. However, I would like to change a piece of that cliche, “You can be who you surround yourself with, but you don’t have to be limited to becoming who you surround yourself with.” What I mean by this is that there is always a space where your choices come into play. Who you surround yourself with plays a huge role in what choices are easier than others, but you always have free will to make choices that will push you forward rather than keeping you stagnant. In order to make this situation of free will to do what is right easier, take a second to evaluate your crowd. If you are struggling between what you think is right and what your crowd is telling you is right, you probably need a reality check on who you are surrounding yourself with. Do they share similar values as you? Do they push you to be the best version of yourself? Do they hold you accountable when you screw up? You don’t have to be who you surround yourself with, but it makes it a lot easier to grow when who you surround yourself with wants to grow too.

In the spirit of being fully transparent, I have really been struggling with mindset recently. Not because of the crowd I am involved with, but because of a lack of grace for myself. This brings me to my next point on mindset; being okay with failure. Oddly enough failure has been a big topic in a lot of my classes. In both of my biology classes, we have been talking about how almost all of the notable scientific discoveries came from accidents and failures. In my design class, my professor regularly reminds us to fail often and fail quickly. You might be wondering why I am so keen on celebrating failure. Some people look at failure as the absence of success. However, I look at failure as a stepping stone to success.

I love this blog dearly. It is an outlet for me to work through some things that I am struggling with, and a platform for me to connect with people who share my same struggles, interests or values. I don’t know if any of you guys noticed that my March Hero Highlight was not posted yesterday. Quite honestly, I have been so consumed in sorority obligations and exam preparations that I completely let it slip. I woke up abruptly today with a pit in my stomach and an intense feeling of failure. I was and am disappointed that I let something that I was so passionate about slip so easily. However, this past week I have been doing some reflecting on this semester so far. During this reflection time, I decided that it would be good for me to practice extending grace towards myself. I know myself well enough to know that no one is harder on me than me. I hold myself to high standards, and sometimes forget that it’s okay to fall short once in a while. That is what makes me human. However, it is equally important to look at your shortcomings and find the space for improvement.

I am just coming off of a four day break. This was the first time in a while where I had no place to be, no obligations, no exams to study for, and no meetings I needed to prep for. Although it felt foreign to do nothing, I think it was really important for me to understand that doing nothing was okay. I was able to do some activities that I enjoy, not because I felt the need to be productive, but because I knew these things would make me happy. I have been working really hard on my own mindset lately, and have recently gotten to a place where I can be okay putting myself first. I know my goals, I am confident in my crowd, now I just need to keep pushing to give grace to myself.

Building a strong mindset is not a journey that will ever end. I know that can sound intimidating, but what I mean is that the potential for a better you will always be there. Growing your mindset is an adaptive process that is anything but linear. I challenge you guys to be okay with the road blocks and stumbles along the way of pursuing a better you. Establish your goals, evaluate your crowd, have the courage to fail, and give yourself grace. These things might sound too simple to actually work, but its a dang good place to start.