You might have heard the term “growth mindset” already – it’s big in the self-development world.
A mindset refers to our general attitude or set of beliefs about ourselves. And our mindset tells a lot about ourselves in terms of how we understand, process, and experience things.
Mindsets develop through various life experiences – both positive and negative. And while we all have this in common, some of us end up with growth mindsets and some of us end up with fixed mindsets.
Definition of Growth Mindset
Broadly speaking, mindset can be categorised into two parts – growth mindset and fixed mindset.
As the name suggests, a growth mindset is a set of beliefs that abilities and intelligence can be developed and improved through effort, learning, and dedication.
People with a growth mindset see challenges and failures as opportunities for growth and development rather than as signs of fixed limitations. It acts as a filter for negative thoughts and actions that can take a toll on our well-being.
Growth Mindset versus Fixed Mindset
A growth mindset and a fixed mindset are poles apart. While the growth mindset is all about expanding the mind and enhancing our abilities so can we can utilize them to the fullest, the fixed mindset is more structured and rigid in nature and is tied in with inhibitions about self-adaptation or change.
The table below outlines some of the ways in which these two mindsets differ from each other.
| Growth Mindset | Fixed Mindset | |
| Perception of abilities | We believe that we can change and improve ourselves. | Changing habits is difficult, and we think our abilities are stone carved. |
| Dealing with difficulties | We see them as a learning opportunity and focus on the solutions. | We see them as the end of it and try to avoid facing them. |
| Response to failure | We give time to the mind and body to get over it and channelise the emotions to grow and learn. | We believe it to be a personal shortcoming and stop trying thereafter. |
| Hard work and focus | We focus more on achieving rather than proving ourselves to others | We work hard to prove our abilities and derive validation. |
Benefits of adopting a growth mindset
The core of developing a growth mindset lies in a strong self-belief system. We naturally become intrinsically motivated and more resilient to challenges.
Some strong benefits of cultivating a growth mindset are:
- Improved attention and focus, leading to more productivity at work.
- Increased emotional self-regulation and better coping mechanisms when we face challenges.
- Increased creativity and appreciation towards our own efforts.
- More work satisfaction as we strive to enhance and not excel.
- Improved relationships which comes as a by-product of better emotional regulation.
- Better social and interpersonal skills – both personally and professionally.
- Improved decision-making skills, as with a growth mindset we learn how to use past experiences and take risks reasonably.
Here are some examples of fixed-mindset thoughts and what to replace them with:
| Fixed Mindset | Growth Mindset | |
| I cannot learn something new at this age. | I can learn anything at any time I want to. | |
| I think I should give up | I think this is hard, but I’ve done hard things before. | |
| I don’t think it was my fault. | Regardless of the fault, what can I learn from this? | |
| If I fail, they will laugh at me. | Even if I fail, I still learned something. | |
| I feel threatened by others’ success and achievements. | I am my biggest competitor. |
Developing a Growth Mindset
Mindset is one of the best examples of nurture over nature. We can consciously cultivate it at any stage of life and continue to learn and improve our knowledge of self.
“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude”
Oprah Winfrey
Developing a growth mindset is all about mind over matter, and here are some ways in which you can develop and incorporate it:
- Be grateful for where you are and what you have.
- Focus on the solution and not the problem. Let your brain consciously choose positivity.
- Make the most of your time – remember it won’t last forever.
- Be kind to yourself and others.
- Replace the negative thoughts in your mind with positive ones.
- Practice regular self-care and mindfulness.
- Be open to constructive criticism and use it to improve yourself. People with a growth mindset continue to work on themselves.
- Accept challenges and transform them to open doors for self-development and improvement.
- Practice resilience and hardwork – there is no shortcut to success except for being consistent in what you are doing.
- Train your mind to learn from disappointments, rehearse and return appreciation.
Applying a Growth Mindset in Self-Development
Developing a growth mindset is not an easy challenge. But the return on investment is one of the best you’ll ever get if you stick with it.
With any new goal or challenge, it’s important to reflect on your what, why, and how.
- What do I want to accomplish?
- Why am I wanting to accomplish this?
- How am I going to accomplish this?
When it comes to goals like weight loss or achieving a salary, we have certain figures in mind. But when it comes to mindset, it is harder to quantify our idea of success. Still, we need to have a concrete idea of what our end goal looks like.
(ex: When some gives me feedback, I don’t get defensive by responding with excuses. Instead, I ask them questions to understand their perspective and then I reflect on what I can do better next time)
Once you have a concrete idea of your What, Why, and How, read on to take steps on growing your growth mindset.
Set achievable goals
Create goals that are S-M-A-R-T (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound).
With this format, you’ll be able to solidify what it is you want to achieve and from there, you can come up with your plan.
Some goals take a long time to achieve, and some goals are always being chased. To make sure you are making progress and to make sure you actually feel the progress, break down your goal into sub-goals and address them one at a time.
Pursue personal growth opportunities
Unfortunately, you can’t be great just by thinking. You have to also do – seek out opportunities that will allow you to learn new skills and give you new perspectives.
Only through encountering new challenges, environments, and people, do we learn and grow.
So while you may have goals, make sure you focus on the process and progress, not just the outcome.
Stay open-minded
Embrace criticism, face challenges, learn from your mistakes, and have those difficult conversations.
At the same time, remember you once wished to be where you are now, so stay grounded even when achievements are sky-high.
It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, it matters how many times you get up and get back at it. So make sure you not only expect failure but learn how to embrace failure.
Cultivate positive relationships
We cannot grow without relationships. Relationships are essential to our mental health and social well-being. A growth mindset can help strengthen your relationships, but positive relationships can also strengthen your mindset.
Lean on people you trust to help keep you accountable in your self-development journey. Be open with each other and discuss your challenges and celebrate your wins.
Embrace change
Change is inevitable in life – it is the one constant we have. As we move forward in life it can be easy to get stuck in old ways and with old habits that keep us from growing.
If you want a growth mindset, you have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone. Look for opportunities that push you towards change and go towards the unknown. After all, we can’t grow without new experiences.
Try to see change as an opportunity for growth and learning and not a threat.
“I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better.”
Georg C. Lichtenberg
Conclusion
Take a moment to reflect on how you can work on improving your mindset.
Now that you have learned a bit about the growth mindset, you will be able to engage better in applying the techniques mentioned above and see how a growth mindset can change your life.
Remember, you can learn and develop your mindset at any given point, and there is no right or wrong to it.
