Understand What Motivates You to Make Changes

A simple belief that you can develop your abilities and that effort and dedication will make a difference can keep you from feeling paralyzed by a new challenge. Studies have shown that people with a flexible mindset behave differently when confronted with life's challenges and end up learning from their mistakes instead of being held hostage by false beliefs. Faith inspired fitness model and author, Kim Dolan Leto said, "If you don't change your mindset, you will go back to the same old you." Until you identify the faulty thinking that leads to a fixed mindset, your world will continue to be unchangeable and you can't do much about it.

Since wishing yourself into a new mindset doesn't work for most people, try these strategies to make your self-talk work for you instead of against you:

• Time to Change is Now - You don't need to tell everyone about your goals. Try to keep yourself busy and concentrate on working toward achieving what you set out to do.
• Forget the Past - Don't forget that self-dialogue is the language of your mind. Learn to think positive and you'll see the world differently.
• Believe You Can Change - It is not enough to create an action plan, because you only grow when you take an action.
• Find Your Self Voice - With a rigid mindset, failure is an example of your own inadequacy, whereas, with a growth mindset, failure is an opportunity to learn and gain a new perspective.
• Don't Get Philosophical - It is not enough to simply write it down. Take action. Even if you wrong, you still making progress and focusing on a positive change.
• Invest in the New You - Investing the time to work on your own development can be challenging but it is the only way to effectively manage the inevitable "ups and downs."

It doesn't matter how old you are, it is never too late to change your life for the better. The key is trading in your fixed mindset for one that supports and encourages making changes to live a life that's more fulfilled. Research suggests that people with high-self regard may benefit from positive affirmations, whereas it can backfire for those lacking self-confidence. Once you abandon your fixed mindsets, you can apply all that you learned while becoming good at one thing to become proficient at something else. This is the ultimate reward for adopting a growth mindset.