From fixed mindset to growth mindset: the complete guide

Having a growth mindset is related to having an open mind. Instead of seeing your abilities, skills, knowledge and values as fixed, you always push into the ... Skiptocontent Menu Menu Fromfixedmindsettogrowthmindset:thecompleteguide Anne-LaureLeCunff•Readingtime:13minutes Ifyouasksomeone“Doyouhaveagrowthmindset?”,mostpeoplewillsayyes.Infact,whenIranapollaskingmyfollowersiftheyhadagrowthmindset,only10%saidtheydidn’t.Thisiscalledthe“falsegrowthmindset”andit’sanaturalconsequenceofbeinghuman.Youprobablyheardsomewherethathavingagrowthmindsetwasgood,soyouautomaticallysayyoudo.Ifyouwanttochallengeyour“yesautopilot”andtakeadeepdiveintowhatisagrowthmindsetandhowyoucanfosterit,buckleup! Thetwomindsetsshapingyourlife Amindsetisasetofassumptionsheldbyapersonoragroupofpeople.Itiscloselyrelatedtopeople’sworldvieworphilosophyoflife.Adeeplyanchoredmindsetcanactasastrongincentivetocontinuetoacceptorevenadoptcertainbehaviours. InherseminalbookMindset,AmericanpsychologistCarolDweckexplainsthetwomainmindsetswehavewhenapproachingnewchallenges—orevenlifeingeneral.Herresearchhaschallengedcommonlyheldperceptionsaboutwhatitmeanstobesmart.Idon’tthinkIcouldexplainitbetterthanshedid,soherearehertwodefinitionsofthemindsetsthatimpactthewayyouthinkandactonadailybasis. Fixedmindset—“Inafixedmindset,peoplebelievetheirbasicqualities,liketheirintelligenceortalent,aresimplyfixedtraits.Theyspendtheirtimedocumentingtheirintelligenceortalentinsteadofdevelopingthem.Theyalsobelievethattalentalonecreatessuccess—withouteffort.” Growthmindset—“Inagrowthmindset,peoplebelievethattheirmostbasicabilitiescanbedevelopedthroughdedicationandhardwork—brainsandtalentarejustthestartingpoint.Thisviewcreatesaloveoflearningandaresiliencethatisessentialforgreataccomplishment.” Let’shavealookatanexample.Let’ssayyouyou’reworkingonabigproject.Thelaunchgoesterriblybad. Inafixedmindset,youwillfeellikeallyoureffortwaswasted.Nexttimesomeoneasksforyourhelpinlaunchingaproject,youmaytellthemyou’renottherightperson.Instead,you’llfocusonstuffyouknowyou’regoodat. Inagrowthmindset—whileofcourseafailedlaunchstillsucks—youaregratefulforeverythingyougottolearn.Becauseyoufocusontheprocess,theoutcomedoesn’tmatterasmuch.Youseethisfailureasatemporarysetbackandanopportunityforpersonalgrowth. Theideaisthatwhatiscommonlycalledintelligencecanbe“grown”incrementallybymeansofhardwork,positivity,resilience,andtraining,andthatpeoplecanbeplacedonacontinuumaccordingtotheirimplicitviewsofwheretheirabilitiescomefrom.AsDerekSiverssaid,it’sabitsimilartotheconceptofnatureversusnurture. Allaboutneuroplasticity Contrarytowhatmanypeoplethink,theadultbrainisnot“hard-wired”withfixedneuronalcircuits.It’sactuallyveryplastic.Neuroplasticitycanbedefinedastheabilityofthebraintochangecontinuouslythroughoutyourlife.Forinstance,synapsesmaystrengthenorweakenovertime,orbrainactivityassociatedwithagivenfunctioncanbetransferredtoadifferentlocation.Itcanbeobservedatallscalesinthebrain,frommicroscopicchangesinindividualneuronstolargescalechanges,whichhappenmostcommonlyinresponsetoinjuries. Let’sbustanotherneuromyth:neuroplasticitydoesn’tstopafterchildhood.Itisatworkthroughoutyourwholelife.Dependingonwhatisbeingactivelyused,connectionswithinthebrainareconstantlybecomingstrongerorweaker.Andwitheveryrepetitionofathoughtoranemotion,youtendtoreinforcespecificneuralpathways.Iffrequentlyrepeated,thesesmallchangesendupchangingthewayyourbrainworks. Whatdoesitmean?Itmeansyourbrainkeepsonchanging,adapting,andformingnewconnectionsevenasyougrowolder.Moreimportantly,itmeansyourcognitiveabilitiesarenotfixed.There’snothingpreventingyoufromlearningsomethingnew,tacklinganewchallenge,orgettingoutofyourcomfortzone.Andthisiswhathavingagrowthmindsetisallabout. Identifyyourfixedmindsettriggers Beforeweexplorewaystofosteragrowthmindset,it’scrucialtobeabletospotyourownfixedmindsettriggers.Thoughtheoutcomewillalwaysbesimilar—lackofmotivation,resilience,andpersonalgrowth—thereareseveralmindsettriggerspeopletendtoreactto.It’sunlikelyallofthesewillapplytoyou,butitwouldbesurprisingifnoneofthemdid.Ifyoucan’tpinpointoneofthesetriggersasaffectingyou,youmayactuallyhaveafalsegrowthmindset? Havingtoworkhard.Mostpeopleliketosaythey’rehardworkers.Butinreality,thereissomethingsocietyseemstovaluemore:being“gifted”or“naturallytalented.”Didyoueverfeelproudwhenyoudidwellonanexamwithoutworkingtoohard?Ifhardworkisoneofyourmindsettriggers,youmaygetoverwhelmedbytasksthatrequirealong,sustainedeffort—andyouwillbemorelikelytogiveup.Anothersignthathardworkmaybeamindsettriggerforyouisifyoutendtocompareyourselftoothers,andyoufeeldiscouragedwhenitseemslikeitrequireslesseffortfromthemtoachievethesamegoals.Notethatifhavingtoworkhardisofyourmindsettriggers,itdoesn’tmeanthatyou’relazy.Itjustmeansyouhaveaself-limitingbelief—thatyouthinkthatnomatterhowmuchworkyouputin,somepeoplearejustmoretalentedthanyouare.Facingsetbacks.Lifehappens.Wegetsick,wecanloseajob,notsignanimportantcontract,therecanbeanoversight,amistake,anaccident.Achallengeisintrinsictowhatyou’retryingtoachieve.Asetbackisextrinsic.Let’ssayyoudecidetogoonadiet,butontheveryfirstday,acolleaguecelebratestheirbirthdayatworkandyoufeellikeyouhavetoacceptapieceoftheirbirthdaycake.Withagrowthmindset,thiswouldn’tbeabigdeal—you’djustgetbackontrackandforgetaboutit.Butifsetbacksareamindsettriggerforyou,youmaystopthedietaltogetherbecauseyoufeellikeyouhavefailedalready.Let’slookatanotherexample:youpromisedyourselftogoforaruntwiceaweek.Butit’sbeenrainingallweek—whatabummer.Runningwon’tbeasnicewiththiskindofweather.Soyoudon’tgoforarun.Youbasicallyletsomethingliketheweatherderailyourplans.Inyourmind,asetbackisnotasetback,it’saroadblock.Gettingnegativefeedback.Wedon’tallhandlecritiquethesameway.Okay,let’slookatprofessionalathletes.Theygetatonoffeedbackfromtheircoach.Andsometimes,thatfeedbackcanbeprettyharsh.Buttheylisten,theylearn,theyapplythefeedbackandsuggestions.Theproblemisthatsomeofusstruggletoseparateourperformancefromouridentity.Ifwedidn’tdowell,wethinkwe’renotgoodenough.Thinkabouthowyoureacttocritique—isitoneofyourmindsettriggers?Beingchallenged.Beingoutofyourcomfortzoneisoneofthebestsignsyouarelearningandgrowing.Thinkaboutit—unlessyou’regettingstretched,chancesareyou’resimplyrepeatingstuffyoualreadyknow.Butsomepeoplearenotcomfortablebeingontheedgeoftheircompetence.Ifyourmindsettriggerisbeingchallenged,itmeansthatwhenyoutrytoworkonsomethingandthesolutionyoutrydoesn’twork,youbelievethegoalitselfistoohard—andyoumayquitaltogether.Seeingsuccessinothers.Thisisonepeoplehaveahardtimeadmittingto.Ithashappenedtomebefore.Iwouldlookatsomeonewhowaseithermoreseniororhadmoreexperience,andIwouldcomparemyselftothem.It’snotaprettyemotion—Iwasbasicallyfeelingjealous.Whatmybraindidn’tseemtoreallyget,though,isthatthesepeoplehadbeenworkingatitforlongerthanme,andthattherewasnoreasonIwouldn’tgettoasimilarleverifIputintheefforttoo.Itcanbeintimidatingtohangoutwithpeoplewhoaremoreadvancedthanyouintheirjourney—whichiswhyit’samindsettriggerformanyofus. Youmaybefacingmoresubtlemindsettriggers—forexample,somepeoplehavespecificmindsettriggerswhenitcomestotheirsiblingsortheirbestfriend.Butit’sveryunlikelyyoudon’thaveanymindsettrigges.Sotakethetimetoexploreyourthoughtsandyouremotionssoyoucanbecomeawareofthem. Howtofosteragrowthmindset AsCarolDwecksaid,therearetwowaystolookattheworld:“Inoneworld,effortisabadthing.It,likefailure,meansyou’renotsmartortalented.Ifyouwere,youwouldn’tneedeffort.Intheotherworld,effortiswhatmakesyousmartortalented.” Whenyouhaveagrowthmindset,thehandyouaredealtisjustastartingpointforpersonalgrowth.Bychangingyourvisionofeffortandfailure,youcandesignawholenewapproachtoyourlife.Convinced?Herearefifteenstrategiesyoucanusetodevelopagrowthmindset. Remembertheconceptofneuroplasticity.Thereislotsofresearchshowingyourbrain’sstructureisnotfixed.Yourmindshouldnotbefixedeither.Appreciatetheprocessovertheresults.It’sallaboutthelearningprocess.Don’tworrytoomuchabouttheactualresult,makesureyoulearnasmuchaspossible.Acknowledgeyourweaknesses.Ignoringyourweaknessesmeansthatyou’llnevermanagetoimprove.Acknowledgingandembracingyourimperfectionsalsomeansyouknowwhichonesyouwanttoworkon.Cultivateyoursenseofpurpose.AccordingtoCarolDweck’sresearch,peoplewithagrowthmindsethaveagreatersenseofpurpose.Keepasking“why”andthinkaboutthemeaningofyourwork.Don’tsayfailing,saylearning.Shiftyourvisionoffailure.Ifyoufallshortofagoalormakeamistake,don’tseeitasafailure—makeitalearningopportunity.Valueeffortovertalent.Stopchasingthereputationofsomeonewhois“naturallysmart.”First,geniusrequireswork.Second,youwon’tbeperceivedassmartifyou’renotwillingtoputtheworkin.Considerchallengesasopportunities.Challengesareanopportunityforself-improvement.Tacklethem,andwhetheryousucceedorfail,makesuretolearnasmuchaspossible.Placegrowthbeforespeed.Ittakestimetolearn.Learningfastdoesn’tmeanlearningwell,andlearningwellrequiresallowingtimeformistakes.Thinkrealisticallyabouttimeandeffortitwillrequiretoacquireanewskill.Don’texpecttomastereverythinginonesitting.Donotchaseotherpeople’sapproval.Whenyouprioritiseapprovaloverlearning,yousacrificeyourownpotentialforgrowth.Viewcriticismasagift.Related—don’twaitforconstructivecriticism.Analyseallcriticism.Donotletitdestroyyou,seeitasausefuldatapoint.Celebrateactions,notattributes.Giveyourselfapatonthebackwhenyoudidsomethingsmart—notjustwhenyouwerebeingsmartandrelyingonyourpreviousknowledge.Growwithothers.Ifyouhaveagrowthmindset,youmaywanttoshareandcelebrateyourprogresswithothers.Learnfromotherpeople’smistakes,takeriskswiththem.Don’ttrytolookyourbest,showhowhardyou’rewillingtoworkandhowcomfortableyouarewithexperimenting.Takethetimetoreflect.Eitheronceaday,onceaweek,oronceamonth,usejournalingandmetacognitiontechniquestoreflectonyourpersonalgrowthtrajectory.Cultivateperseverance.Gritanddeterminationwillhelpyouovercomechallenges.Remindyourselfofallthetimesyoumanagedtodealwithaparticularlytoughsituation.Youcandoitagain.Usethe“notyet”technique.CarolDwecksaysadding“notyet”toanyfixedmindsetstatementisagreatwaytoreframeyourthoughtprocesses.Whenyou’restruggling,justremindyourselfthatyouhaven’tmasteredthatskill…Yet. Thereareprobablymoregrowthmindsettechniquesoutthere,butIthinkthesewillhelpyougetthegistofit.Now,let’shavealookatthequestionsyoucanaskyourselftodevelopagrowthmindsetonaday-to-daybasis. Askingtherightgrowthmindsetquestions Havingagrowthmindsetisrelatedtohavinganopenmind.Insteadofseeingyourabilities,skills,knowledgeandvaluesasfixed,youalwayspushintotheunfamiliar,toensureyouarealwayslearning.Withthatinmind,hereareafewgrowthmindsetquestionsyoumayaddtoyourjournalingroutine. 4weeklyplanningquestions.HerearethequestionsIrecommendtoansweronaweeklybasis.IpersonallyliketodoitonSundayevening,butyoucandoitwheneverworksforyou.SomeofmyfriendsblockthefirsthouronMondaymorningtogothroughthisexercise. WhatamIstrugglingwithrightnow?WhatdoIwanttolearnbytheendofthisweek?WhatisonethingIwilltrythatwillgetmeoutofmycomfortzone?WhocanIreachouttoforhelpthisweek? 3dailyreflectionquestions.AndherearethequestionsIthinkarebesttoansweronadailybasis.Asyouwillsee,thesearenotaboutplanning.They’reaboutlookingbackonyourdayandfiguringoutwhatworkedandwhatdidn’t. WhatdidIdotodaythatmademethinkhard?WhatnewstrategiesdidItry?WhatmistakedidImakethattaughtmesomething? That’sit.Ifyou’vereadthisfar,youknowmoreabouthavingagrowthmindsetthanmostofthepopulation—exceptpeoplewhoactuallyreadCarolDweck’sbook.GrowthmindsetistheveryfirstmindframeIdescribeinthemindframingmethodofmindfulproductivity.Ifyouwanttokeeponexploring,youmayenjoythearticlesaboutmetacognitionandself-authorship—thetwoothermindframesIrecommendmasteringbeforeapplyingthePARIframework. Developingagrowthmindsetisalifelongcommitment.Manypeoplefallpreytothefalsegrowthmindsetandnevermanagetodevelopanactualgrowthmindset.Bewareofyourassumptions,andmayyoufindyourpersonalgrowthjourneyrewarding. Join40,000mindfulmakers! You'vereachedtheendofthearticle.Ifyoulearnedathingortwo,youcangetafreshoneinyourinboxeveryweek.MakerMindisaweeklynewsletterwithscience-basedinsightsoncreativity,mindfulproductivity,betterthinkingandlifelonglearning. Asaknowledgeworker,yourbrainisyourmostimportanttool.Worksmarterandhappierbyjoiningacommunityoffellowcuriousmindswhowanttoachievetheirgoalswithoutsacrificingtheirmentalhealth.You'llalsoreceiveaguidewith30mentalmodelstomakethemostofyourmind! Oneemailaweek,nospam,ever.SeeourPrivacypolicy. Resources Categories ⚡️ MindfulProductivity ✨ BetterThinking 🌱 ContinuousLearning 💙 HealthyMind 🏔️ MeaningfulLiving 🎨 PurposefulCreativity 🛠️ ToolsforThought 🧠 WonderfulBrain Don’tworkmore.Workmindfully. 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