Our psychological foundations enable us to withstand the trials, hurdles and upsets of life. But what are our psychological foundations and how do we create and maintain them.
If your foundations are shaky you can easily be toppled!
Weak or Strong?
Imagine a building, it doesn’t really matter how big or how tall. A building needs to withstand anything thrown at it by nature, as well as wear and tear. Many buildings are beautiful, striking, or just very tall, but it is the invisible part, below ground, that matters. Generally the taller the building, or the poorer the ground, the deeper the foundations need to be.
Well, we all have foundations just like a building, our psychological foundations. Think of your mind as a skyscraper, you would want psychological foundations deep enough to withstand stress, bad weather and storms.
Your psychological foundations are your sense of power and control and your self esteem. These two belief systems have a huge impact on every aspect of your life. They are central to how you perceive and experience everything around you and if they are strong and deep you can really thrive.
Our foundations are first created during childhood, largely in relation to how we are parented and taught, and how we process and interpret events. The good news is that these things are entirely changeable and re-programmable, and this forms a major part of the Thrive Programme.
The cracks start to show if your foundations are poor
Your Mindset
Your mindset comprises the extent to which you have skills and techniques that help you manage how you think, feel, and react to events. Being positive, having the right attitude, and the ability to distract yourself from unpleasant thoughts are all mindset skills. The stronger your foundations the less effort required to keep your mindset positive and functioning well.
Who do you know who is always happy, positive and bouyant, without appearing to make any effort? Equally you will know other people who are always struggling to stay ‘ in a good place’. The first group have strong foundations and have to spend little time on their mindset. The second group have weak foundations and are continually fighting anxiety, depression, self doubt etc.
How to develop strong psychological foundations
One of the unique elements of The Thrive Programme is the recognition that you can rebuild your foundations. You can learn to be one of the happy, positive people instead of running around looking for happiness.
If you don’t address your foundations it will be very hard to feel completely confident while having low self esteem. It is also difficult to focus on success when you don’t feel you deserve it. And, of course, it is hard to be happy if you feel haunted by your past.
Just as a plant won’t thrive in poor soil, it is difficult to thrive without strong psychological foundations. Thrive With Ian will guide you through The Thrive Programme, helping you rebuild your psychological foundations, and learning to Thrive in life.
With strong foundations you can aim for the sky!
Contact me now for your free, no obligation, initial consultation
– either face to face in Liverpool or Wallasey, or via Skype.
#www.thrivewithian.com
Ian Crosswell
I’m Ian and I’m a qualified Thrive Programme Consultant. Using the professionally developed Thrive Programme – a proven, evidence based, positive psychology training programme – I work with people from all walks of life, providing the insights and skills they need to change their lives for the better.