People often think that success is all about one’s talents and skills. While our capabilities play a significant role in our success, what we believe about ourselves is also essential.
We might not realise it, but our mindset influences our behaviours, actions, and the kind of relationships that we have. Therefore, the type of mindset that we cultivate is crucial, especially if we want to achieve success in work or life in general.
Growth vs Fixed
Have you ever thought about the kind of mindset you have right now? Unfortunately, thinking about our thinking is something we only sometimes spend time on for reflection.
According to
Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck, there are two mindsets- fixed and growth mindsets.
If a person has a growth mindset, they believe in their capacity for growth and that their qualities can still be honed. Having a growth mindset makes one more open to new ideas, opportunities, and experiences.
On the other hand, a fixed mindset is the opposite. A fixed mindset believes there is no more room for improvement. A person with a fixed mindset thinks that their skills, knowledge, and capabilities are also set and that there is no point in trying to improve. A fixed mindset limits us from learning and can even demotivate us to excel, as we believe that wanting to improve is a useless pursuit.
Growth Mindset Truths and Myths
The idea of having a growth mindset is not new. Throughout history, we have seen successful people push boundaries and think outside of the box. However, a growth mindset is more complex. Though the concepts of fixed versus growth mindsets seem to be binary, the reality is that our beliefs lie somewhere between these two opposing ideas.
We also think a growth mindset is the same as a positive outlook. While the two concepts are similar on the surface, some differences set them apart. Having a growth mindset sees the potential of every situation and that we can improve ourselves to achieve our goals. Meanwhile, a person with a fixed mindset can remain optimistic while being blind to opportunities that would allow growth. An employee can stay positive that he can meet his targets but may not see the beauty of taking risks and challenging himself to achieve more. In short, a fixed mindset can trick us into settling for our comfort zone.
Working and putting in the effort is also not enough to have a growth mindset. While working hard is an essential aspect of a growth mindset, our attitude sets things in motion. A perspective that focuses on acquiring new skills and knowledge rather than failing is what a growth mindset is all about.
Ways to Cultivate a Growth Mindset
Adapting a growth mindset takes time. We need to unlearn many toxic beliefs and misconceptions we have acquired over the years. To cultivate a growth mindset, we must actively set our minds to it and initiate ways to lead us to achieve a growth mindset.
Here are some ways we can cultivate a growth mindset.
- Constantly challenge yourself
Seeking ways to challenge yourself is an excellent path to learning and growth. The aim of challenging yourself is not to succeed but to look at it as a way to acquire new knowledge and skills. Being successful is just the cherry on top of the cake.
To become truly open to new challenges, we also need to reframe our perspective on failure. The fear of failure paralyses us from seeking ways to grow. It also traps us in our comfort zone which stagnates our potential.
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Remain persistent
Adapting a growth mindset is a challenging road. You will still be faced with hurdles and roadblocks along the way. Having a growth mindset will not make problems magically disappear. However, with a growth mindset, we can remain persistent amidst these obstacles because we know we can power through them. Furthermore, persistence allows us to get creative and think outside the box. It also gives us a chance to reflect, regroup, and, if necessary, seek help from others.
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Learn from feedback
Feedback from others, whether positive or negative, could be difficult to accept because of our self-perception. However, to cultivate a growth mindset, we need to be able to take feedback and learn from it. There are aspects of ourselves that others see but you don’t, and being open to feedback lets us have a complete view of our strengths and weaknesses and grow from them.
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Become inspired by others’ success
Seeing others succeed is an excellent motivator to continue working on ourselves. Instead of looking at others’ success with the green eyes of envy or self-pittance, view their success as a pathway for yours. Look at what worked for them and see how you can use their insights for your growth. Ask them questions that would lead you to understand their success better and see how you can incorporate it with your practices. A growth mindset sees another person’s success as an opportunity for learning and self-reflection.
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Understand your limitations
Having a growth mindset does not automatically make one’s skills limitless. As humans, we have our limitations, too, and part of cultivating a perspective set on growth is to accept them. We have to recognise that some things are impossible to achieve to set realistic goals. When we have set SMART goals (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound), we are more likely to achieve them, allowing us to develop more goals towards success.
Having the right mindset geared towards learning and growing opens many possibilities for us. It could also lead us to discover new things about ourselves that we could only have known if we were open to challenging opportunities. Our skills and knowledge could take us far, but our mindset could take us farther, even to places we never thought possible.
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