5 Tips to Improve Your Mindset

• 💡 Wisdom

• ✏️ Illustration

• 💬 Saying

• 🧭 Explanation

• 📝 Reflection

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 43 seconds

In case you missed, you can now consume the WISER Newsletter in video form!

Here’s today’s video:

Life is like surfing.

Don’t fight the waves, learn to ride them.

And if you miss a great wave, don’t worry - another one will be along soon.

Embrace the surfer’s mentality.

Here’s a rework of a visual that I first produced 2 years ago in collaboration with Sahil Bloom:

Make the most of each opportunity as it comes, but don’t get caught up on the disappointment of falling off your board - another wave will come along soon!

American professor Jon Kabat-Zinn summarises why this mentality works so well:

Life will always bring uncertainty, challenges, and change - they are inevitable.

The key isn’t to resist them, but to develop the skills and mindset to navigate them.

Just like how a surfer adapts to the ocean’s movement instead of trying to control it, we thrive when we embrace life’s unpredictability and develop the ability to go with the flow.

Sahil Bloom’s Surfer’s Mentality is about approaching life with adaptability, patience, and trust.

Instead of trying to force things to happen on your timeline, recognise that life moves in rhythms.

Some seasons are for waiting, some for learning, and others for action.

Here are 5 tips to improve your mindset by developing the Surfer’s Mentality:

1. Read the waves.  Pay attention to patterns in your life: opportunities, setbacks, and lessons. Can you identify any patterns?

2. Don’t waste energy on the wrong waves.  We’ve all been guilty of this at some point, right? Not every opportunity is worth chasing. Focus on the ones that most align with your purpose.

3. Trust the timing.  Just because your wave hasn’t come yet doesn’t mean it won’t. Stay patient and prepared. I find reminding myself that “God’s timing is perfect” keeps me grounded when I would have otherwise become frustrated with things not happening on my timeline.

4. Don’t be afraid to get wet.

   Approaching life with fear and apprehension often impedes our ability to perform.

   Recognise that part of the journey is the falling down, so give it your best shot, even if it means causing a splash occasionally.

5. Get back on the board.

   When you do fall down, make sure that you get back up.

   Surfers don’t give up when they fall off their first wave. They psych themselves up for the next one, and get back on the board.

Embrace your inner surfer today by completing the Reflection below.

Here are 3 journal prompts to help you explore today’s wisdom:

• In what area of life am I fighting against the current instead of flowing with it?

• Have I ever experienced a time when patience led me to the right opportunity?

• How can I better position myself for the “right wave” when it comes?

Want to learn more about journaling? Join Journal Wiser today!

Today’s resource is Sahil Bloom’s debut book: The 5 Types of Wealth.

In this book, Sahil Bloom challenges the secular understanding of wealth by encouraging people to look beyond just finances to social, physical, mental, and time wealth.

This book aims to empower readers to build a richer, more fulfilling life.

To learn more, consider purchasing a copy from your friendly local book store.

Alternatively, you can buy a copy here:

If you have any feedback on the WISER Newsletter, I would love to hear it! Simply reply to this email, and I will get back to you. Alternatively, just DM me on social media.

You can find my social links and learn how to work with me here.

Catch you in the next issue!

Thanks,
Michael