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How to Create a Mindset That Fuels Your Growth and Gets You What You Want Your brain is a muscle, and like the other muscles in our bodies, we can train it to be imaginative again and get what we want. Here's how.

By Dave Conway Edited by Chelsea Brown

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Appearing in everything around us, there are two parts: ourselves and the matter to be dealt with. On the one hand, there is the situation and our attitude towards the problem. But on the other hand, our attitude towards life will determine life's attitude towards us.

We all want to grow. A growth mindset can massively transform how we live our lives, from how we think about ourselves to what we want to accomplish. A growth mindset is when you believe you can develop your abilities, become your thoughts and transform your life.

Have you accepted something in your life that is not exactly what you wanted? Are you attached to a past period in your life? Has your imagination gone out the window? Many people in this world live their lives thinking that life is the way it is and accepting it. They have no idea how to change their life, get out of the rut or produce the results they are looking for. What has happened is that the imagination has gone dormant without realizing that change comes through awareness.

Related: 10 Ways to Develop a Success-Oriented Mindset

Understanding desire

Awareness is a state of consciousness and is the first step to change. All change is preceded by awareness. Is your mind producing the results you want? Are you conscious of your internal thoughts? Feelings? Actions? Memories? How do you know if that is the case? Look at your results. You can discipline your mindset to fuel your growth and get what you want.

All mental transformation in the mind is produced by desire. Desire is the catalyst for a mental transformation. When we set a goal, what is beyond that goal? Desire. Desire is a want that is in your subconscious mind, and it is much stronger than a goal.

You have to have the desire for something that you are willing to change for. Desire is the fuel for discipline. So, instead of thinking of discipline as a willful process or forced, think of it like this: Write down something you love to do — do you need the discipline to do that? Probably not. You don't need the discipline to do that fun activity because you have a strong desire, and it is fun.

Related: 5 Mindset Secrets to Achieve Your Goals Faster

How desire contributes to discipline

People have a terrible attitude toward discipline and view it as a grind or chore. I used to live like that, in the grind. I called it "the year of the grind," and my life was not what I wanted for myself or my family. It was brutally hard. However, I am not talking about discipline like in the military, but discipline with a purpose. When you talk about desire, it automatically moves into action. All movement of your body is from desire. You can feed the good desires to discipline your mind.

Let's say I have a desire to make a million dollars a year and also have a desire not to call anyone to share my product or service. That is a problem. It's not about discipline. The actual cause is a lack of desire. Everything is easier when you have a desire. Focus on your desire, and discipline your mindset. You have to start by setting a goal so you can stay motivated by continually keeping that desire alive.

Your environment is the number one killer of that desire; therefore, you must create an environment that will support that desire. The environment will give you suggestions — if they are always negative, unproductive or don't feed your desire, the chances of thriving are pretty slim.

Your mind is powerful. Accept that to be true. Your whole life is governed by what you think about. The idea that your mindset is not important is crazy. Your mind is creating your life. Accept that you have a mind and that you want to leverage it. Can you use your mind to get what you want? The answer is "yes."

You can use your mind to create happiness, health, wealth, money, whatever you want. Leverage your mind by expecting things to show up. Believe that whatever you want is coming. Relax. Otherwise, you will try too hard to manifest and force it — that doesn't work.

Related: Why Mindset Mastery Is Vital to Your Success

How to create a mindset that spurs your growth

  • Explore YOUR understanding of yourself: The more you know yourself, the more you will understand what you want. Set your goal, and let your mind do the work. Staying relaxed with an expectant attitude will help you see your results move into form.

  • Use your mind as a tool: You can become very advanced in your ability to manifest what you want. It is like a painter who uses a brush or a racecar driver that uses their car to win the race. I have a 10-speed bicycle that I know can do more than what I use it for. If you were to put a professional cyclist on that bike, you would be able to see how the bicycle could do so much more. Treat the mind as the bike — what can I pull out of it? Think about how you can leverage it. Your mind is an instrument to master and is infinite, more than a lifetime.

  • Use autosuggestion: Your mind will direct your life, so you have to address your thoughts, and you can do that through autosuggestion. Write out your goal every day. Remember, it is all about desire. Keep tapping into that and use goals and affirmations. There is a power greater than yourself. So, watch where you get your suggestions because they are the one thing that will kill your desire. Be aware of what or who is pulling your energy. Don't let yourself drift or let your brain go from a powerhouse creative machine to a laptop computer in sleep mode.

  • Keep your head in the game: Leverage your mind by using affirmations and autosuggestions. Tap into your infinite power. The key to getting in that mindset is to accept the idea of what you want, let it exist, and keep the desire alive through autosuggestion.

  • Create your standards: We take time to feed our bodies healthy food, hopefully. But, what are you feeding your mind? The mind works on cause and effect. We know what an unhealthy lifestyle does to our body, but what about unhealthy thoughts? What does that do to your mind? Set standards for yourself.

What do you need to eliminate in your life that is not serving you? Your brain is a muscle, and like the other muscles in our bodies, we can train it to be imaginative again and get what we want. Your mind will attract all of your awareness. Once a thought is in you, you will start producing it.

Dave Conway

Founder, Sales and Mindset Mentor at Conway Consulting

Dave Conway is a 7-figure sales and mindset coach serving hundreds of clients all over the world in a range of industries. He has done over 1,500 sales calls, more than 800 group presentations and closed millions in sales. He has been featured in Forbes, Medium, Napoleon Hill Foundation and more.

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