What worries you masters you. What thoughts you have define you. If you cannot master your mind set, you will start breathing certain things into life. And are they the thoughts that you really propel you to lead an extraordinary life? Most likely, they aren't. I know that this has been my biggest struggle. And as many of you have heard me say before, "the mind is an amazing thing. It can convince itself of anything." This was a quote by Dad that he lived by and taught me. But it is not easy to recondition our mindset. In fact, I think it's the biggest battle we will ever face in our life...looking at our own reflection in the mirror. Sure, you can take that as a physical metaphor...but it really all starts deep inside how we see ourselves. And that comes from being able to control our thoughts in a way that we can only change. We have to think about things that move us forward to become better people. Others do not shape our mind set. We do. But it is so easy to get lost in the noise of our environments, what others say about us, and let others decide who we THINK we are. Do you get it?? Others do not get to have that power unless we allow them too. And here's the thing...the more we improve, the more confidence we grow, the more critics we will ultimately encounter. So we must build up our mental force field to say "these thoughts and feelings do not serve me."

So how do we change?

For me, it's started with my faith. I will keep my eyes on God and let him guide my heart and mind. And with that comes some important decisions about who we surround ourselves with. I am a firm believer that if we are constantly putting ourselves in environments that do not lift us higher or surround ourselves with negative people, our battle is going to be even more complicated. Isn't the internal battle enough?? We have to surround ourselves with what I call guardians of our hearts, the lifters, the game-changers, the people we walk away from after spending time together and have made us stronger. I am blessed to have some fierce guardians in my life...my girls, my Mom, several best friends, coaches, my students, and my team, Warrior Nation.

Recently, I have had the HUGE blessing to meet a dear friend, author, motivational speaker, and mentor Coyte Cooper. I finished his training on Impressions, a book he wrote about finding yourself and branding your life. He speaks about embodying gratitude, recognizing gifts that we all have, and most importantly, shifting our mindset to swap negative things into positive affirmations. And it is not easy! It is like going into a mental battle with yourself and the kicker is... we've created most of the noise! Over time, we all have allowed some pretty powerful things into our mindset. Unfortunately, many of these are barriers, not spring boards to growth. Coyte challenged us to write a list down of all the negative thoughts we have in a given day and flip them into a positive outcome. He also teaches visualization and how different our lives could be if we can envision a life without barriers. And really imagining how amazing our future can be if we only let those things go. We must let go of that fear in order to achieve our highest potential.

I am going to be brutally honest. One of my biggest barriers is settling. I have a history of making excuses for others, but it's not really about them, it's about me. I've conditioned myself to think that I'm not perfect or worthy of certain things so I have accepted less than the best for me. I am also believer in looking at the best in people and thinking I can change them. BUT I CAN'T. However, I can change me and what I allow my mind to consume itself with. And I will no longer harbor thoughts that do not serve me. Because as Coyte shares, those thoughts become directly linked to our emotions and vice versa. It's a vicious cycle.

So today instead of being a story teller only, I come to you as a voice of reason that wants to cut through the noise in your life. What would truly make you happy? What do you envision your life to be? If you can see it, then you can breathe it into life. And this is the way life should be lived. But first you need to wrap your mind around those things that are holding you back and flip them into a positive way to change your mindset. It's not easy...but nothing ever worth it is. Believe & Achieve. 

Yours Truly, 

Natalie Rene

To know more about Coyte Cooper, check out his website and podcast "Earn The Right to Live Your Dreams." It's a game changer...

Click here: http://www.coytecooper.com