Developing a Growth Mindset

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What if there was no limit to your learning ability, and the limit of what you could accomplish is dependent on the amount of passion and training you’re willing to put in? According to Carol Dweck a Stanford professor of psychology, this is more than a hypothetical situation and isn’t dependent on your skill level or intelligence. It’s a mindset, that one can develop at any point in their lives. In her book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, she explains how a fixed mindset can have an overall negative impact on your life, but on the other hand, a growth mindset can cultivate development. So let’s look deeper at the differences between a growth and fixed mindset. As well as the benefits of a growth mindset and what you can do to develop one.

Growth Mindset vs Fixed Mindset

A fixed mindset is a belief that skills, qualities, and intelligence are fixed and therefore cannot be changed. People with a fixed mindset focus on their talents and intelligence rather than working to develop them, and that talent leads to success, not hard work. While a growth mindset is a belief that skills, qualities, and intelligence can grow with time and experience. Those with a growth mindset believe that time and effort will lead them to success. Now that we’ve covered the differences between growth and fixed mindsets lets look deeper at the benefits of a growth mindset.

Benefits of a Growth Mindset

Fixed beliefs can hold you back from making positive changes. If you have a trait you believe can not be changed, then you’ll avoid situations that make you uncomfortable and reveal your shortcomings. But by developing a growth mindset you’ll be able to grow and rise above challenges. So important to embrace the idea that we are not static, and that we can take steps in creating actual change in our lives. Whether it’s learning a new skill or breaking a bad habit. Having a growth mindset will help you form the belief that you’re capable of accomplishing goals. So with that in mind lets look at some ways that you can build a growth mindset.

Building a Growth Mindset

Our mindsets stem from the views we’ve adopted of ourselves, and it can have an impact on the way we lead our lives. For example, if someone sees themselves as a mediocre artist, they’ll lack the drive to learn and improve their skills. While on the other hand, someone who sees themselves as a budding artist will likely have the drive to learn and improve their skills. Luckily, we can change our mindsets and beliefs from ones that don’t benefit use to those that do. Here are some things you can do to build a growth mindset.

Pay attention to your inner voice

We all that voice in our heads that’s quick to tell us we’re going to fail at something before we’ve even tried. We can interpret these voices in two different ways, as a setback or a challenge. The key to shifting from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset is interpreting that voice as a challenge telling you to step up tour efforts or change your tactics. Then talk back to that voice with a growth mindset mentality, and take the necessary steps to move forward.

Acknowledge and embrace your imperfections

Be honest with yourself about your limitations and embrace them. If you hide your weaknesses then you’ll never be able to overcome them. Don’t look at your weaknesses as limitations, but as challenges to overcome. None of us are perfect and they’re things we’re not the best at, but that doesn’t mean we can’t improve. Everyone learns differently, and what works for one person might not work for you. So explore different learning tactics, and when you make a mistake don’t look at it as a failure but as leaning something new.

Don’t seek approval from others

If you’re constantly seeking the approval of others then you’re constantly setting yourself up for failure. When you’re more concerned with the thoughts of others, your focus isn’t on what you need to do to improve yourself, but you need to do to impress others. And when you don’t get the validation you’re seeking, it’s easy to give up on improving yourself. Don’t worry about what others may think, but instead focus on improving yourself for your own benefit.

Be patient with yourself

When it comes to learning something new, there will be times when you don’t do as well as you hoped. Make time to reflect on how far you’ve come, and acknowledge the effort it took to get there. Celebrate your growth even if it’s small. Changing a fixed mindset to a growth mindset isn’t something that’ll happen overnight. It takes time to acknowledge weaknesses, learn, and change habits. Throughout the process, you’re going to make mistakes, so don’t use those mistakes as an excuse to put yourself down. Use them to cultivate grit and see how far you’ve come.

After you’ve taken the time to develop a growth mindset, let it guide you throughout life. Own it and view yourself as someone who has the mentality to grow and be successful in whatever they choose. What are some things you’ve done to cultivate a growth mindset?

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