Penthouse or Basement – Where are you working from?

It's never about the strategy, it's always about the mindset.

That was one of the key points that I heard Garret Kramer say over and over in a variety of ways in his book Stillpower and in our recent interviews.

It's all about understanding that our state of mind fluctuates from high to low and anywhere in between on a constant basis. One of the simplest metaphors to demonstrate this is likening our state of mind as if we are going up and down on an elevator. When we are feeling happy, clear minded, at peace and all that good stuff, then we are in the penthouse. And when we are feeling down, fed up, angry and all that stuff we don't like feeling, then we are in the basement.

So the obvious question to ask then is how do we stay up in the penthouse or as near to the top as possible?

The simple answer is that there is no how to. I know, I know, that's not what we want to hear is it? We have been conditioned to look for the how to's. There must be a solution to this “problem” ..... what can we do to resolve it? We have been trained to look for the answers, and unless we find one, in some way we have failed.

I know I have spent years reading self help books and attending seminars looking for “the answer”. I've used lots of techniques and tools to help me feel better and trying to keep myself up in the penthouse. And lots of them worked temporarily, so it seemed. And then the effect wore off or I stopped doing the technique or using the tool because it was hard work.

And then I came across some principles that pointed me in the direction of an understanding of the inside out nature of life and the need for all the tools and techniques disappeared.

As I said there is no how to when it comes to being in the penthouse. The answer is to do nothing. Do nothing to try and change your quality of mind. Because when we do nothing we are allowing our minds to become quieter and stiller naturally and going back to our “default” setting of being in the penthouse.

Yes, our natural state is being in the penthouse! What stops us from being in the penthouse is our own personal thinking, all those thoughts buzzing around in our heads. And as we are trying to work out what to do to get up to the penthouse a.k.a. busy thinking, guess what ........ yes, we are stopping ourselves from being there!

That's why the answer to being up in the penthouse is DO NOTHING. We don't have to work it out, our natural state is to be there and left alone, we automatically rise up to the penthouse.

I have to admit, I am still working on the doing nothing part! I have spent years thinking I have to work at feeling better because if I am not feeling good then I must be “doing or thinking” something wrong.

I've worked at eliminating limiting beliefs, at loving myself and at all sorts of mindset change work. Now I've finally got it ......... just being and allowing my natural state to emerge is all that is required. It still just seems too simple sometimes and I fall into the trap of doing something like meditation or yoga to create the good state.

Meditation and yoga are great, I practise them everyday (well nearly!), but as I am writing this article from my penthouse suite, I know they are not the cause of my being in my penthouse. The reaso
I am in my penthouse is because I am thinking in a way that is good for me right now, I am being true to myself.

I also know that it's OK not to be in my penthouse all the time and as human beings it is in our nature to be move up and down on the elevator. Knowing this makes it a whole different experience especially when I am at basement level! I don't always have the awareness, and that's OK too.

So how does this all fit into your business? I'm sure you've heard it said that 80-90% of success is dependent on a person's mindset. Well, that's exactly where it fits in. When you are in your penthouse that is exactly the time to be making plans and taking the action and using the strategies. When you are in your basement, that's exactly when not to.

Unfortunately, so many people believe that when it feels like hard work, and they have to really push to get through it, and they are busy, busy, busy, then that's the signal that they are doing a good job. That's actually a sign that we are off base and it's time to stop and do nothing.

The quicker we have the awareness that we are pushing and trying hard, and we kick back and do nothing, the quicker we will rise up in the elevator and things will start to flow again. I am not saying that there is no effort and there won't be places we will feel stretched. The difference here is it will feel “right” and we'll be enthusisastic even when it's tough.

So I encourage you to become aware of when you are in your penthouse and just how your day flows. Do nothing when you are down in the basement, and definitely do not give yourself a hard time, and just observe what happens. I would love to know. Please drop me a line at sheela@sheelamasand.com and I will personally answer you.