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Meditation
Are 'Mindset Shifts' the New Meditation?
Mindset shifts: How and why to explore this route to a more fulfilling life.
Posted July 25, 2024 Reviewed by Jessica Schrader
Key points
- Mindset shifts may be easier than meditation and a good replacement when you're stuck.
- Mindset shifts could help people lose weight or lower their blood pressure.
- Mindset shifts require first identifying the obstructing mindset and then correcting the underlying belief.
Although meditation is a helpful form of emotional regulation, only 10% of people meditate.1 This leaves the other 90% in a quandary about what to do when they get up on the wrong side of the bed, are enraged, anxious or annoyed, or are just pessimistic about their lives. Most people I have talked to find it difficult to sit still, let alone close their eyes, focus on their breath, or repeat a mantra. What do you do when your mind bogs you down, why should you do this, and how can you get a start?
Mindset shifts
Meditation brings one to present-moment awareness.2 Traditional psychiatric drugs and treatments aim at emotional control, changing negative thought patterns, or behavioral control. These are somewhat different from mindset shifts, which involve shifting a belief or attitude3 to change thought patterns and enhance emotional control.
To understand the difference, consider the following examples. A pessimistic person can try to see the bright side but will likely fail unless they change their beliefs about the inevitable negative consequences. Similarly, an insecure or uncertain person may try to muster up confidence, but this is also difficult unless they recognize that they must change their belief that you must know what to do to be confident. Instead, it would help if you believed that you are capable. It’s the belief that you must change.
In this sense, mindset shifts are powerful shifts in beliefs that can be practiced.4
Why should you practice mindset shifts?
Mindsets have profoundly impacted physiology, success, and healthy longevity.
Physiology. One study demonstrated that you could reduce your weight, blood pressure, body fat, waist-to-hip ratio, and body mass index just by believing that you are exercising well in a way that meets the surgeon general's recommendations for an active lifestyle, with specific examples provided.5 The comparison group did the same amount of exercise without this belief. Nothing shifted for them.
Similarly, negative beliefs about aging are associated with more memory problems. And, when people are told that athletes have better vision than others, their vision improves when they do more athletic exercises like jumping jacks than less athletic ones like skipping.6
In another study, researchers found that when you think that time is flying, your wounds heal faster. 7
Success and healthy longevity. Besides these physiologic effects, a growth mindset (a belief that one can improve with effort) is also associated with greater academic success8, and optimism is specifically related to an 11% to 15% longer life span.9
Hence, to the extent that mindsets reflect beliefs and attitudes, they profoundly impact physiology, success, and healthy longevity. For this reason, mindset shifts offer a pragmatic alternative to meditation, which has also been shown to impact physiology,10 academic success,11 and healthy longevity.12
How to get started
To get started on a mindset shift, identify a mindset that may currently be in your way, such as pessimism, uncertainty, or dependence. Then, identify the belief or attitude that informs this mindset; for example, your pessimism may stem from hitting walls in your recent pursuits. Recognize that the brain is wired to be biased toward negative things, especially if you feel anxious (consciously or unconsciously). So, deliberately think of evidence to support the opposite mindset. For instance, when did things work out for you? List at least five things that have worked out for you and stay connected to the emotion of remembering this. Then, self-talk can imprint the new belief that there are reasons to be optimistic. You may need to repeat this process. The key factor is to act in congruence with this mindset, taking all negative feedback as information that cannot compromise your new optimistic outlook. Optimism becomes your commitment. You feel it in your bones. You do this by breathing deliberately while using self-talk, breathing in this new world before you.
So, the next time you are stuck in a rut, try a mindset shift. It will likely work wonders.
To find a therapist, please visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.
References
(1) Cramer, H.; Hall, H.; Leach, M.; Frawley, J.; Zhang, Y.; Leung, B.; Adams, J.; Lauche, R. Prevalence, Patterns, and Predictors of Meditation Use among US Adults: A Nationally Representative Survey. Sci. Rep. 2016, 6, 36760. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep36760.
(2) Kiken, L. G.; Lundberg, K. B.; Fredrickson, B. L. Being Present and Enjoying It: Dispositional Mindfulness and Savoring the Moment Are Distinct, Interactive Predictors of Positive Emotions and Psychological Health. Mindfulness 2017, 8 (5), 1280–1290. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0704-3.
(3) Lombardo, L.; Ehlers, J.; Lutz, G. Mindset and Reflection—How to Sustainably Improve Intra- and Interpersonal Competences in Medical Education. Healthcare 2023, 11 (6), 859. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11060859.
(4) Dweck, C. S.; Yeager, D. S. Mindsets: A View From Two Eras. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. J. Assoc. Psychol. Sci. 2019, 14 (3), 481–496. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618804166.
(5) Crum, A. J.; Langer, E. J. Mind-Set Matters: Exercise and the Placebo Effect. Psychol. Sci. 2007, 18(2), 165–171. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01867.x.
(6) Langer, E.; Djikic, M.; Pirson, M.; Madenci, A.; Donohue, R. Believing Is Seeing: Using Mindlessness (Mindfully) to Improve Visual Acuity. Psychol. Sci. 2010, 21 (5), 661–666. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797610366543.
(7) Aungle, P.; Langer, E. Physical Healing as a Function of Perceived Time. Sci. Rep. 2023, 13 (1), 22432. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-50009-3.
(8) Ng, B. The Neuroscience of Growth Mindset and Intrinsic Motivation. Brain Sci. 2018, 8 (2), 20. https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci8020020.
(9) Lee, L. O.; James, P.; Zevon, E. S.; Kim, E. S.; Trudel-Fitzgerald, C.; Spiro, A.; Grodstein, F.; Kubzansky, L. D. Optimism Is Associated with Exceptional Longevity in 2 Epidemiologic Cohorts of Men and Women. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2019, 116 (37), 18357–18362. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1900712116.
(10) Venditti, S.; Verdone, L.; Reale, A.; Vetriani, V.; Caserta, M.; Zampieri, M. Molecules of Silence: Effects of Meditation on Gene Expression and Epigenetics. Front. Psychol. 2020, 11, 1767. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01767.
(11) Ostermann, T.; Pawelkiwitz, M.; Cramer, H. The Influence of Mindfulness-Based Interventions on the Academic Performance of Students Measured by Their GPA. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Front. Behav. Neurosci. 2022, 16, 961070. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.961070.
(12) Alexander, C. N.; Langer, E. J.; Newman, R. I.; Chandler, H. M.; Davies, J. L. Transcendental Meditation, Mindfulness, and Longevity: An Experimental Study with the Elderly. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 1989, 57 (6), 950–964. https://doi.org/10.1037//0022-3514.57.6.950.
