There are two types of mindsets we can cultivate: one that embraces each challenge as an opportunity to learn something new, and one that avoids them, often out of fear of failure. People that avoid conflicts can be described as having a fixed mindset while those who see problems as interesting challenges have a growth mindset.
Many people have a fixed mindset because they believe the basic qualities like intelligence or talents are fixed traits and that these traits are responsible for success. But when we foster a growth mindset, we acknowledge that intelligence and talent can go up or down because these are mutable based on experience and attitude.
World-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, who coined the term, insists on trying and celebrating each effort, explaining that success depends on whether we approach life with a fixed or growth mindset.
In essence, cultivating the right mindset, we can motivate ourselves to reach our own goals, both personal and professional. This simple idea about the brain can create a love of learning and a resilience that is the basis of great accomplishment in every area and a growth mindset may help us see the potential and open the doorways to success.
Different thoughts, different mindsets: Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset
| Fixed Mindset | Growth Mindset | |
| Challenges: | don’t like them | initiate them |
| Failure is: | limit of my abilities | opportunity to grow |
| What I seek: | what I already know | new things |
| Tell me: | you are smart | you try hard |
| When I’m frustrated: | give up | persevere |
| What determines everything: | my abilities | my effort & attitude |
| Feedback & criticism: | are personal | are constructive |
| With the success of others I feel: | threatened | inspired |
Developing a growth mindset: Dos & Don’ts
‘’it’s not about how good you are, but how good you want to be”
Dos
- View challenges as opportunities
- Embrace change
- Acknowledge weakness
- Enjoy the learning process
- Give and receive constructive criticism
- Pursue improvement
- Try different learning tactics
- Cultivate a sense of purpose (or keep the big pircture in mind)
- Share progress and celebrate effort with others
- Make a new goal for every goal accomplished
Don’ts
x Focus on problems
x Avoid change
x Seek for approval from others
x Prefer to learn fast; focus on learning well
x Think mistakes mean failure; they mean learning
x Expect to master without dedicating effort and time
