Is Your Personal Filter On/

Walk around your home and I'll bet you have plenty of filters.  Water filters to keep our water clean and pure.  Home heating and AC filters to reduce allergens.  We have all of these to protect our health and the health of our families. 


It's amazing what we'll do to protect things that are important to us.  So, then, why do we put more emphasis on protecting our possessions than the most important asset we own - our mindset?


Have you ever gotten up in the morning excited and ready to work on building your dream?  And then things happen.  Your spouse is cranky.  You stop for coffee and your waiter is rude.  Your best friend laughs at your latest plan for greatness.  You turn on the TV or radio and hear supposed adults - government leaders, religious leaders, business leaders - bickering and arguing like children.  You go shopping or out for lunch and all around you people are making hateful and hurtful comments about others.  And before you know it, you are sucked into all of THAT.  No wonder you don't feel like pursuing your goals.


Filter what goes into your mind.  If your filter is off, it's like a glaring light that affects your sight.  You CAN choose what you let into your life.  For example, in my home, we have stopped watching the evening news.  Why?  Because I don't like all the drama and negativity.  I already know the world is not as it should be.  I don't need to be reminded daily.


Another way I protect my mindset it to filter who I spend time with, especially on social media where it seems that the level of negativity and outright hatred has reached epidemic proportions. Almost every social media platform has a way to unfollow, unfriend, and block someone.  And I know how to use them all! 


It's the same with people I interact with face-to-face.  If you are always negative, judgmental, whining and complaining, chances are we won't spend much time together. 


I'm not saying that you will never have a disagreement with someone.  And I know that you can't shut out the entire world.  Sometimes you have to see the negative stuff if you are going to help change it.  And yes, even I get frustrated and angry from time to time.  But I'm talking about the consistent offenders.  Disconnect from those who constantly seek to bring you down.  They will probably never see your vision.  Why allow them to cast their shadow on it?  Seek out people who lift you up.  Look for those who have a clear vision of their own. 


Many coaches, no matter what their specialty, will encourage you to visualize your goals as a way to help reach them.  But it's not enough to just visualize what you want. You can't just create good thoughts and hope they will overwhelm the bad ones.  You have to actually ensure that you do not allow negative things to alter your vision or your goals.


So add one more filter to the filters you already use.  Protect your mindset.  Filter out negativity, anger, hatred, fear.  Release it and you just might find your path to your goals just became much clearer.