Cultivating A Growth Mindest, Which Is So Important for Success

byTheCatherine

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3 years ago

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According to the American Psychological Association (APA), people with a growth mindset believe their talents, abilities, traits, and intelligence can be developed.

In order to understand a growth mindset, we need to explore

1. Mindset
2. Fixed mindset
3. Growth mindset
4. Growth mindset myths
5. Fixed vs. growth mindset
6. Tips for developing a growth mindset

The Oxford English dictionary defines mindset as "the established set of attitudes held by someone." Research has shown that mindset plays a significant role in determining the journey and outcome of a person's life. Your mindset is a set of beliefs that shape how you make sense of your world and your place in it. It influences how you think, feel, and behave in any given situation. In other words, your mindset influences every single moment of your life.
To improve physical and mental health, decrease stress levels, and overcome life's challenges, everyone must learn to understand, adapt and shift their mindset.

Two distinct mindsets have been identified: The fixed mindset and the Growth mindset. In order to understand the growth mindset, one must first look at the fixed mindset.

Fixed Mindset

Most things have a polar opposite. This is no different when it comes to a growth mindset. The opposite of a growth mindset is a fixed mindset. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), people with a fixed mindset believe the following, "that abilities, talents, and traits, like intelligence, are permanent."

Those with a fixed mindset believe no amount of learning, effort, or hard work will promote growth. In addition, those with a fixed mindset believe that nothing you can do will impact your creativity, character, or intelligence as these characteristics are unchangeable.

In every situation, a person with a fixed mindset will try to prove themselves as they need to show that their given abilities are enough to bring them the success they want.

Those with a fixed mindset will never try new things. New things can promote growth, and this is something that they do not think is possible. If something does not naturally come easily to them, trying it is completely out of the question.

Those with a fixed mindset do not ever want to fail. In their minds, if they fail, they are unintelligent and unintelligent people are an overall failure as a person. On the other hand, anyone who has been with WA and taken action, they know that failure is a necessary step towards success.

A fixed mindset can be unhealthy and may cause more harm than good for individuals. A fixed mindset will prevent necessary and essential skill growth and development. Not developing these skills properly can decrease your happiness and success and stop you from building connections with others. Those with a fixed mindset may also believe that their talent and intelligence alone lead to success, and effort is not required.

A fixed minded person often avoids challenges in life, and if they do attempt a challenge, they often give up at the first opportunity. Because they often fail to succeed, they are often intimidated by the success of others. Part of the reason is that intelligence and talents aren't developed; they think of it as something that is! Those with a fixed mindset are often negative thinkers; they fail to use their creative minds to work things out.

Growth Mindset

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), people with a growth mindset believe their talents, abilities, traits, and intelligence can be developed. People with a growth mindset are confident in their pursuit of ambitious goals. They are also less discouraged by setbacks and push themselves onward over challenges, obstacles, and barriers.

Those with a growth mindset believe that learning, effort, and hard work will promote internal growth. They believe that a person has the ability to impact their own creativity, character, and intelligence as these characteristics are changeable.

3 Growth Mindset Myths

With society's focus on being all that you can be and tapping into your unlimited potential, there is a slew of misinformation and misconceptions regarding the growth mindset. Below are three of the biggest growth mindsets myths.

1. A Growth Mindset is the Same as a Positive Mindset

The first growth mindset myth is that a growth mindset is the same as a positive mindset. While many people with a growth mindset do cultivate a positive outlook on life, it is not a requirement.

A growth mindset believes that there is potential development with perseverance and practice. It is not simply putting on a smile and looking on the bright side in all matters.

2. A Growth Mindset Automatically Leads to Success

The second growth mindset myth is that a growth mindset automatically leads to success. While motivation, drive, and perseverance become more prevalent with a growth mindset, it does not equate to guaranteed success.

A growth mindset establishes a commitment to internal and personal growth to develop the skills and abilities that help to build and achieve positive results.

3. A Growth Mindset Means Anything is Possible

Technically anything is possible. A one-legged person can learn to be a champion skier; it has been done. A blind person has climbed Mount Everest more than once.

The third growth mindset myth is that a growth mindset means anything is possible. Those with a growth mindset often recognize some limitations. They understand that everyone is capable of everything, but they can't achieve everything in practice. it may well take them ten years to learn to juggle, but they prefer the idea of writing a book. They work hard to achieve their true potential and never stop evolving. They know that their capacity for success does not begin and end solely with their genes.

Growth Mindset VS. Fixed Mindset

Key Differences Between “Fixed” and “Growth” Mindsets

While there are many different aspects to fixed and growth mindsets, there are three key differences. These three differences are outlined below.

A growth mindset means that you believe your intelligence and talents can be developed over time. A fixed mindset means that you believe intelligence is fixed—so if you’re not good at something, you might believe you’ll never be good at it.

At Mindset Health, we’re all about growth mindsets and encouraging people to adopt a positive outlook on learning. So, let’s look at growth vs. fixed mindsets together, explore the science, and see how people can change their mindsets over time.

Effort

The first key difference between the fixed and growth mindset is effort. The amount of effort that a fixed mindset person and a growth mindset person put into their tasks, responsibilities, and challenges is completely different.

A growth-minded person believes that effort is required to accomplish positive or successful outcomes. They know that they will need to push themselves and exert a lot of focused effort to achieve their desired results. They will take on the mental and physical efforts needed to propel them forward. You can see this type of effort in chat. Some people are like a dog with a bone, they keep coming back with questions, they ask for feedback, they constantly tweak what they are doing. They don't take the lazy way out, when they learn something, they apply that learning to every single post they have made. It doesn't matter whether it's adding tags, or changing categories, or indeed anything else, they do any changes site-wide.

A fixed-minded person believes that no additional effort is required on their part. They do not go the extra mile to ensure success. Often, you will find a fix-minded person recruiting others to complete tasks that require effort. They believe they are already as well off as they need to be, and exerting effort on their part would be futile. If you believe your intelligence is fixed, then if you are no good at something, it doesn't matter how much time and effort you put into trying it is futile. A fixed mindset means that you believe intelligence is fixed—so if you’re not good at something, you believe you’ll never be good at it.

it is in fact amazing how many fixed mindset members there are here.

Challenge

The second key difference between the fixed and growth mindset is their attitude to challenge. When faced with a challenge, problem, or setback, a fixed-minded and growth-minded person will operate as polar opposites.

A growth-minded person finds challenges to be exciting. They usually charge ahead, knowing that the more they engage in the challenge, the more they potentially have to learn. They view challenges as an opportunity to gain valuable knowledge and experience.

They stay the course and figure out ways up, over, down, around, or through the challenge. They know overcoming the challenge will allow them to move forward and onto even greater achievements.

A fixed-minded person avoids challenges at all costs. They do not want to engage in any situation in which they will not immediately be victorious. They have a large-scale fear of failure.

Challenges present an opportunity for delayed gratification and potential for failure. As such, they will shy away from, run from, and hide from challenges.

Both teachers' and mentors' beliefs are also important to the educational process. People who think intelligence is malleable are more likely to help others in a positive way. Again you can see this malleability or lack of it in chat. If the person helping has a growth mindset, they will give the people asking a more positive experience.

Mistakes and Feedback

The third key difference between the fixed and growth mindset is mistakes and feedback. A growth-minded person sees mistakes and feedback as a way to learn. They believe that to be successful; you need to grow and develop. To grow and develop, you need to be ready, willing, and able to embrace mistakes. They are not embarrassed to admit those mistakes and ask for help in rectifying the situation.

A growth-minded person also knows that being open to and accepting feedback will help build character, expand their knowledge base, and help them look at things differently. Growth-minded people are less likely to take criticism personally.

A fixed-minded person hates making mistakes. They view mistakes as weaknesses and as failures. They find making mistakes extremely embarrassing. They will blame others for their mistakes. Fixed-minded people also become very defensive when given feedback.It is never their fault, they do find it difficult - if not impossible to admit to their mistakes.

Benefits Of A Growth Mindset

On the surface level, growth is usually associated with positive adjectives and a general sense of good vs bad. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, growth is defined as an increase in size or to engage in progressive development.
The benefits of a growth mindset are much more than simply increasing in size. The greatest benefits of having a growth mindset are outlined below:

1. Increased self-insight
2. Increase self-esteem
3. Enjoyment of life
4. Improved relationships and connections
5. No pressure to be perfect
6. Lower risk of depression
7. Ability to not overthink
8. Ability to see each moment for what it is and live in just that moment
9. Increased resilience
10. Improvement in organization you’re affiliated with

Growth Mindset In The Workplace

Carol Dweck has completed a great deal of research regarding working in a growth-minded workplace. Her research was published in a Harvard Business Review and outlined the following statisticsrelating to employees in a “growth mindset” company”

• ● 47% likelier to say that their colleagues are trustworthy
• ● 34% likelier to feel a strong sense of ownership and commitment to the company
• ● 65% likelier to say that the company supports risk-taking
• ● 49% likelier to say that the company fosters innovation

In the updated version of her book “Mindset,” Dweck states the following, “ “Employees in the fixed-mindset companies not only say that their companies are less likely to support them in risk-taking and innovation, but they are also far more likely to agree that their organizations are rife with cutthroat or unethical behavior.

When organizations put a premium on natural talent, then everyone wants to be the superstar, everyone wants to shine brighter than the others, and people may be more likely to cheat or cut corners to do so. Teamwork can take a nosedive.”

10 Tips For Developing Growth Mindset

Developing a growth mindset will help you reach your maximum potential and enjoy your life to its fullest. Carol Dweck, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Stanford University and author of “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” has done extensive research on mindset.

Students who believe they can get smarter understand that all effort makes them stronger. Therefore they put in extra time and effort, which leads to a higher level of achievement.

In the last decade, advances in neuroscience have shown us that the brain is far more malleable than we ever knew. Research on brain plasticity has shown how connectivity between neurons can change with experience. This process is immediate. Changing how your brain is wired is possible. Making those changes creates new neural pathways. Not only are new connections made immediately, but the process strengthens existing pathways that support the new view.

In simple words, we can nurture our brains and increase our brain capacity. All the actions we take changethe way we think. There are certain very powerful strategies that assist this. They are not just reading to learn, but taking action on what we have learned. This strengthens the new neural pathways. Just creating a new neural pathway does not create growth. If you never use that pathway, it dies, as if it was never created. Good strategies are asking loads of questions, admitting you are wrong, admitting you don't understand something, and asking for help.

Recent research has also shown that for real growth to occur, you need quality sleep, and also a diet of nutrient-dense food helps. Your brain is seventy percent water and it needs water to function. That means good quality water, not liquids such as coffee, which dehydrate the brain. Does that mean you can't develop a growth mindset and drink coffee? Of course not. I drink coffee. I make two cups of coffee every day from quality organic coffee beans. While the coffee percolates, I pour and measure three liters of filtered hydrogenated water. This is the amount of water I know I need to drink daily. I don't go to bed until I have drunk it.

Below are 10 tips for developing a growth mindset.

1. Find Your Starting Point

The first tip in developing your growth mindset is to find your starting point. Where do you currently stand? This is important to discover as you need to build from where you currently are and not where you wish you were.

Are you in the growth mindset bubble, the fixed mindset bubble, or teetering somewhere in the middle? You can’t move forward on your growth journey if you don’t know where you’re starting from.

2. Determine Your “Why” for Developing a Growth Mindset.

The second tip in developing your growth mindset is to determine your “Why.” The thought-provoking question “What’s your why?” has become a common conversational piece for companies, networking, and even individuals.

This concept is riddled throughout books in leadership, growth, and management. It’s also a hot topic in motivational podcasts and workshops. The concept of finding meaning in your life amid the chaos of the world we live in today is extremely appealing. Studies have shown that having a purpose is healthy for you.

It is important to determine your “Why” for developing a growth mindset. Digging deep down and understanding your drive for a growth mindset will give you purpose, persistence, and perseverance during difficult and trying times in the developing stages of a growth mindset.

Some questions to help you discover your why are listed below:

• What benefits do you see from having a growth mindset?
• What about a growth mindset is motivating you to change?
• How will your life be different with a growth mindset?

3. Find Like-Minded Mentors

The third tip in developing your growth mindset is to find like-minded mentors. Start close to home and then branch out further. Begin discussing the growth mindset with friends, family, and coworkers and see if anyone else has been working on developing one. Their insight and experiences thus far may be helpful at the beginning of your growth journey.

Next, move on to books, podcasts, and any other material you can get your hands on regarding the growth mindset. See what other people have found and concluded before you. You can also seek out professionals who specialize in the growth mindset.

Psychologists, doctors, motivational speakers, business owners, entrepreneurs, etc. Write emails, send letters, ask for meetings, sign-up for coaching, and attend workshops.

Try new things, step out of your comfort zone, take risks, do things in ways you've never done them before, ask for help, surround yourself with self-actualized people, become obsessed with the fact that you have one go-round on this planet as the you that is you, and realize how

4. Recognize Your Own Limitations

The fourth tip in developing your growth mindset is to recognize your own limitations. A growth mindset's main component is understanding that neither you nor anyone is Superman. No one has the ability to be able to do everything. Knowing that some things are simply beyond your control and capabilities will help you set realistic goals.

It will also help you realize that some activities or projects require much more time, effort, and hard work. Recognize the fact that you set your own limitations. You don't need to break every glass ceiling to have a growth mindset.

5. Having a growth mindset doesn't mean you have to break every glass ceiling

Prioritize what challenges you need to take on, and don't try to do everything at once. It is ok to do things in your own time. There are different types of learners. Some people are visual whilst others need to hear things. Both the eyes and the ears are relatively close to the brain. Visual and aural learners create new aural pathways very easily. Kinaesthetic learners have to feel things before they create established neural pathways. This process is often heart led they need to feel things. Although they are slower to learn, the good thing is the fact that they tend never to forget new learnings. Once learned, it is learned forever.

6. Learn To View Challenges As Opportunities

Life does not have an easy peasy path to success or happiness. There will always be obstacles blocking your way, setbacks to overcome, and challenges to push through.

Seeing challenges as a positive opportunity for growth will help propel you forward. Learning to overcome and move beyond obstacles and setbacks is how we grow, learn and become resourceful. The bigger or more difficult a challenge is, the greater the opportunity is to increase your knowledge, grow, and become more productive. See how my blocked toilet helped me to be resourceful. Granted, I had no choice I had to do something.

7. Celebrate Others

In today’s society, there is a strong focus on being the best of the best. You’re told you must beat out your competitors at every turn.

This creates resentment and jealousy among friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers. When others are successful and shine bright, it opens up doors for you to also be successful.
Emotions are contagious and self-replicating. Negativity breeds more negativity while positivity breeds positivity. You see this often in chat, I get a personal sense of satisfaction when someone pushes themselves out of their comfort zone and overcome an obstacle

Celebrating others will give you the following benefits:

1. Feel happier
2. Learn new things
3. Exposed to new opportunities
4. Become well-liked
5. Inspire others
6. Increased likelihood of your own success

8. Stop Seeking The Approval Of Others

The seventh tip in developing your growth mindset is no longer seeking the approval of others. When we focus on seeking the approval of others, we lose sight of our goals that really matter and begin zoning in on being “correct only” .Do you want to be successful or correct?

Take time to know yourself and accept the parts of you that are not perfect. Remember you are your own person. No one is perfect. You do not need to seek out the approval of others. Everything you need is within yourself. Instead, focus on yourself and relish in the comfortability of having your own internal approval. Internal improvement makes you more true to yourself whilst external validation is often flawed and not permanent.

9. Learn From Failure

Failure is a normal part of life. There is no way to avoid failure. Everyone experiences failure in their lives at one point or the other.

Winston Churchill once said, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” Learn from failure. Take the necessary time to reflect.

Questions to ask yourself include:

• What happened?
• Why did it happen?
• What could you have done differently?
• Who else could have been involved?

Reflect on the above questions but do not dwell or beat yourself up on the past. The past is the past, and it is unchangeable. Allow yourself to recognize what you can adjust moving forward.

10. Incorporate the Word “Yet’ More Often.

The word "yet" evokes a realization and understanding that something does not come easy. As such, they take time, effort, and hard work to achieve.

Using this small but powerful word will keep you motivated and moving in the right direction. Anytime you catch yourself saying, “I’m not good at this” or “I don’t know how to do that,” add the word “yet.” After some practice, this will begin to be routine. Allowing the possibility of yet lets you imagine a more successful outcome.

Finally Reward Actions, Not Traits

As a society, we have a tendency to praise inherited traits instead of the actions consciously worked for and completed.

Think back to when you were a kid. When you brought home a good grade, your parents probably said something similar to, “ Wow, you did such a great job. You must be so smart.”

Parents should praise your effort in studying instead and should have said, “Wow, you put a lot of hard work and effort into studying. Great job.” Rewarding actions is crucial to boosting motivation, morale, drive, and success.

It is important to remember that all that you are is not set in stone. Developing and cultivating a growth mindset will allow you to expand your knowledge, improve your skills, and will help you overcome all the challenges presented before you.

A growth mindset will also help you enjoy each moment, build strong and lasting connections with others, and live with a sense of peace and purpose.