Kai Kahale
When you look at people who are skillful, intelligent, or successful, how do you think they got to that point? Did they earn it? Or are they just gifted or even lucky?
Do you think about these traits as the results of persistent learning, hard work, and perseverance? Or do you think that it happens from intelligence, skill, and success? You may even think that some people are just naturally talented in some areas compared to others.
These two mindsets are what are known as growth and fixed mindsets.
If you want to learn more about this and why it is important to cultivate a growth mindset read more below:
What Is It To Have A Growth Mindset?
A growth mindset was first developed by Carol Dweck a Stanford Psychologist. She introduced this thought in Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. In this book, she shows you how people can be separated into two groups. Those who have a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset.
The Growth Mindset: People who have a growth mindset think that intelligence and skill are something that can be built on and developed. They believe that people have qualities that come from personal development.
The Fixed Mindset: Quite the opposite, people who have a fixed mindset believe that people are either talented and intelligent or they’re not.
Dwerk looks at the difference between the two in more detail. She shows that people with growth mindsets often have greater skill development and success.
Has this intrigued you to know what it would take to cultivate a growth mindset? Let’s have a look at some of the ways you can below:
Look At Where You Sit Right Now
Which side do you consider yourself to be in at the moment? Do you already have an element of growth or are you completely in the fixed pool? Maybe you’re already in the growth mindset and want to ensure you stay that way. Knowing which side you are on currently can help you to know where you want to get to.
Think About Why You Want To Develop A Growth Mindset
Why do you want to have a growth mindset? Is there something that spurred on you wanting to make a change? Think about the benefits that you can see it bringing into your life. When you understand this you will have the motivation to continue on the journey when you face any problems.
Find Examples Of People Who Have A Growth Mindset
It might be that you have friends and family who have a growth mindset or have been working on creating one. If you do, they will be a good source of help when it comes to developing your own. Talk to them and talk about your reasons for wanting to cultivate your growth mindset. They may be able to give you some advice on how they have achieved it.
Change The Way You Think About Failure
Rather than looking at failure as a lack of ability to do something, you should look at it as an opportunity to learn something new. Nobody gets anywhere by being perfect the first time. It’s all about making mistakes and growing from them. Even the world’s best sportspeople or successful business owners started with little talent and learned to grow their skills. It’s unlikely that someone would just be born with natural talent.
Get To Know Your Limitations
You need to learn and realize that some things may be beyond what you can achieve. When you understand this you can set yourself some realistic goals. This will help you to realize that some of the goals you aim for will require a little more effort.
Take Note Of How You Speak And Act
You need to think about how you talk about talent and skills. If you find yourself saying things like ‘he’s naturally talented’ or ‘I’m just rubbish at that’ you you need to find different phrases to replace them with. Try saying ‘I’m not the best at this yet’ or ‘he’s put in the effort to be that talented’. You should also listen out to how people act and speak around you, if they also say phrases like those who have growth mindsets, you can lean on each other and learn from each other.
Concentrate On Rewarding Actions Instead Of Traits
If you want to help others to cultivate a growth mindset you need to concentrate on rewarding people’s actions rather than their traits. For instance, try saying things like ‘you did so well, you must have practiced’ instead of ‘you did so well, you’re so smart’. If you have children you can start to do this right from the start rather than them needing to relearn it when they are adults.
Don’t Seek The Approval Of Others
If you seek the approval of others, you can easily take on the wrong objective. We tend to seek the approval of someone else instead of growing and learning. Try to learn what the difference is. When making decisions recognize whether you are doing it to impress others or if you are doing it so you can learn or improve your skills. If you do this you will find that you soon become more a ease with failures.
Which Midset Do You Have?
Now that you know the difference between a growth and a fixed mindset which side do you think you fit into?
If you already fit in the growth mindset groups, that’s fantastic! That means you are well on your way to developing talents and skills through hard work. Take some time to reflect on your current mindset and realize that most people have an element of both fixed and growth.
If you think that you are more of a fixed mindset person, then the next thing you need to think about is whether you want to change this or not. It’s ok if you don’t, however, you should think about the benefits of including at times.
