15 Ways to Build a Growth Mindset | Psychology Today

15 Ways to Develop a Growth Mindset · 1. Acknowledge and embrace imperfection · 2. Face your challenges bravely. · 3. Pay attention to your words ... Skiptomaincontent TchikiDavis,Ph.D. ClickHereforHappiness 15WaystoBuildaGrowthMindset Wanttoincreaseyourchancesofsuccess?Thendevelopyourgrowthmindset. PostedApril11,2019 | ReviewedbyJessicaSchrader Share Tweet Email Source:Pixabay “Thehandyouaredealtisjustthestartingpointfordevelopment.”—CarolDweck WhyGrowthMindsetMatters Only10yearsago,Istoodbehindanoldbrowncashregisteratalocalretailstore,slidingcustomers'purchasesacrossacrisscrossredscannerfor$7.25anhour(minimumwageatthetime).Ifyouhadtoldmethenthat10yearslaterI'dhaveaPh.D.fromBerkeley,writeablogforPsychologyToday,orbetheauthorofabookonhowtogeneratehappinessinthetechnologyage,Iwouldhavethoughtyouwereabsolutelybonkers!Ihadnoconnections,nomoney,noinformationonhowtogetmefromwhereIwasthentowhereIamnow.ButIdidhaveonething...Ihadagrowthmindset. WhatIsGrowthMindset? Thereareavarietyofmindsets,eachofwhichcanhelporhurtourwell-being.Agrowthmindsetissimplythebeliefthatourbasicabilitiescanbedevelopedandimprovedthroughdedicationandhardwork.It'snotsomuchthatthisbeliefissomekindofmagic.It'sjustthatwithoutagrowthmindset,wedon'texerttherequiredeffortandsoweremainperpetuallystuck. Butwithagrowthmindset,wecanbreakthroughthestuck-nessandachievethelong-termgoalswedesire,whetherthatbeatwork,inourrelationships,orinotheraspectsofourlives(takethiswell-beingquiztogetasenseoftheareasofyourlifethatmightneedwork). DoYouHaveAGrowthMindset? Doyoubelievethatyouwerebornandraisedwithafixedsetofskillsandabilities—suchasyourIQ—thatyouhadfrombirthandwillstaywithyouyourentirelife?Ordoyoubelievethatyourideasandbeliefsareever-evolving,thatyoucanlearnnewskillsifyouworkatit,andthatyourwisdomandintelligencegrowwitheachnewexperience?Ifyousaid“yes”tothefirstquestion,youhavewhatisreferredtoasa“fixedmindset.”Ifyousaid“yes”tothesecondquestion,youprobablyhavewhatStanfordprofessorCarolDweckcallsa“growthmindset." Don'tworryifyoucurrentlyhavemoreofafixedmindset—youcandevelopagrowthmindset. WhyDoesGrowthMindsetMatter? Ifwehavea“fixedmindset,”wemayshyawayfromchallengesbecausewedonotwanttofeelembarrassedorhumiliatedinfrontofothers—whodoes,right?!Butthiscanbeproblematicbecauseourfearofmakingmistakescanleadustoavoidchallengesandnewexperiences—experiencesthatwouldhelpusgrow,improveourselvesinimportantways,andcreatethelifewedesire. Ifwehavea“growthmindset,”weenjoychallenges,despitetherisk,usuallybecausewevaluelearningandgrowthmorethanothersthinkingweknowwhatwe’redoing.Andbecausewe’realwaystryingnewthings,weoftendon’tknowwhatwe’redoing.Still,thoseofuswithagrowthmindsetoftenbuildnewskillsandmanifestsomethingmoreeasilybecausewebelievewecanandsowereallyworkatit. Developingagrowthmindsetcouldcontributetoafuller,moremeaningfullifebecausetherangeofexperiencesthatsuchalifeencompasseswillbeconsiderablybroader. KeyDifferencesBetween“Fixed”and“Growth”Mindset 1.Effort Whenfacedwithhardwork,the“fixedmindset”personmayrecruitotherstodothehardestparts,spendingaslittleeffortaspossible,whilethe“growthmindset”personbelievesthatgoodoutcomesoftenrequireexertion—“effort”isjustapartoftheprocess.Inordertomasteranewtask,oneusuallyneedstoapplyenergy,whethermental,physical,orsimplybyusingrepetitionovertime. 2.Challenge A“fixedmindset”personshiesawayfromchallenges,possiblyfromfearoffailure,andmaygointohidingasawaytoavoidresponsibilities.Incontrast,the“growthmindset”personfindschallengestobeexcitingandengaging,knowingthattheywilllearnsomethingvaluablefromtheirexperiences.They“sticktoit,”masteringthechallenge,andthenareabletomoveontoevergreateraccomplishments. 3.MistakesandFeedback The“fixedmindset”personhatesmakingmistakesbecauseit’sembarrassing.Theymayblameothers(checkouttheInnerBondingworkbookifyouneedhelpwithblaming)orbedefensivewhencriticized.Meanwhile,a“growthmindset”personwillseethemistakeasalessontolearnfromandwillbelesslikelytotakecriticismpersonally.Beingopentocriticismcanhelpimproveone’sabilitytodobetterthenexttime,whichisanotherreasonwhyagrowthmindsetcanleadtosuccess. 15WaystoDevelopaGrowthMindset Changingone’smindsetfroma“fixed”perspectivetoa“growthmindset”mayseemdaunting,butbytakingbabysteps,anyonewhowantstocanbuilda“growthmindset.”Here’show: 1.Acknowledgeandembraceimperfectioninselfandothers,asitisthespicethatmakesusindividuals.Weallhaveourflaws,peculiarities,andweirdness—ourimperfections.LikethesmallblackmoleonMarilynMonroe’sface,ourimperfectionsmakeusunique.Andself-loveisagoodthing. 2.Faceyourchallengesbravely.Ifyoufindyourselfterrifiedinthefaceofaseriouschallenge,stopandreframethesituationinyourmind.Consideryourchallengeasan“opportunity,”thusslightlyshiftingyourperspectivetomakeiteasierforyoutoengage.Eachchallengeoropportunityinvitesusintoanewexperiencethatisasortofadventure. Trydifferenttacticstocoachyourselfabouthowtoexploreanewpath,orhowtodevelopanewskill,orhowtointeractwithanewgroupofpeople,ortonavigatethroughnewcircumstances.Asanadventure,fearisanacceptablefeeling.Youpressforwardanywaybecauseit’sexcitingandnew.Ifyoutakethissameattitudewithacrisisatworkorwhateverthechallenge,youcandiscoverabilitiesyoudidn’tknowyouevenpossessed. 3.Payattentiontoyourwordsandthoughts.Starttopayattentiontothewordsyouspeak,eventhewordsinyourmind.Ifyourwordsarelowordark,theresultsmaybealso.Sowatchyourself.Listentowhatyouaresayingandthinking.Censoryourselfandbecomeyourownguide. Replacenegativethoughtswithmorepositiveonestobuildagrowthmindset.Replacejudgmentwithacceptance,hatewithcompassion.Ifyouaredisrespectingyourselforloweringyourethicalstandards,theoutcomeofyourdecisionsandtheirconsequenceswillreflectthat.Intendtothinkhigherthoughtsandholdyourselftothem. 4.Stopseekingapprovalfromothers.Approvalfromotherscanoftenpreventagrowthmindset.Cultivateself-acceptanceandself-approval.Learntotrustyourself.Youaretheonlypersonwhowillalwaysbethereforyouinyourlifesoyouaretheonlyoneyouneedtoimpress. 5.Takeastepdeeperintoauthenticity.Pretendingtobesomeonewhoyouarenotdisrespectswhoyoureallyare.Itmakesyouafake.Itdiminisheswhatyouhavetooffer.Becomingtrulyauthenticisaprocessthattakestimeandalotofinnerwork.Onceyoudo,you'lllikelybemoredriventopursueyourtruegoals,whichputsyouinagrowthmindset. 6.Cultivateasenseofpurpose.Doesyourlifefeellikeitispurpose-driven?Ifyes,defineforyourselfwhatthatpurposeencompasses.Ifyouaredrawingablank,askthatyourlife’spurposebecomecleartoyou.Meditateorcontemplateon“purpose”andseewhattidbitscomethroughuntilyoufeellikeyouknowtheessenceofyourpurpose,orperhapspartofit.Thenpursueit—that'swhat'llhelpyoubuildagrowthmindset. 7.Redefine“genius.”Weallhavestrengthsandweaknesses.Exploreandappreciateyourstrengths,andworktoimproveyourweaknesses.Thiseffortcanhelpyoubuildagrowthmindset. 8.Turncriticismarounduntilyoufinditsgift.Thepurposeofcriticismistomakethingsbetter.Someoneelsecanseewhatyouaredoingfromaslightlydifferentperspectivethanyouandmayhavesomevaluablesuggestionsforyou.Ifyouopenuptohearingsuggestions,youcanmoreeasilydevelopyourgrowthmindset. 9.Valuetheprocessovertheendresult.Remember,it’sthejourneythatmatters,notthedestination. 10.Learnfromthemistakesofothers.Ifyoucanlearnfromthemistakesofothers,thenyoumaybeabletomakefewermistakes.Thiscansometimescalmthefearoftryingnewthings,akeyaspectofbuildingagrowthmindset. 11.“Notyet”isOK.Whenstrugglingwithatask,remindyourselfthatyoujusthaven’tmasteredit“yet.”Ifyoustickwithit,timeandpracticewillleadtoimprovementandself-development. 12.Takerisksinthecompanyofothers.Trynottotakeyourselftooseriously.Bewillingtomakemistakesinfrontofothers,becauseifyou'regrowing,thisisboundtohappen.Andmakingmistakesinfrontofotherswillusuallygeteasierwithpractice. 13.Berealistic.Ittakestime,sometimeslotsoftime,tolearnanewskill,likelearninganewlanguageorlearningtoplayaninstrumentorlearninghowtobecomeagoodlawyer.Keepingthisinmindcanhelpwithagrowthmindset. 14.Speedisnotimportant.Whenyouhaveagrowthmindset,theendresultsarelessofafocus.Instead,youfullyengageandputeffortintotheprocess,nomatterhowlongittakes.Incidentally,focusingontheprocessoftenalsoimprovesresults,becauseyoudidputalotofeffortinalongtheway. 15.Ownyourattitude.Ifyouvaluehavingagrowthmindset,thentakethetimeandmaketheefforttodevelopit.Persistandopportunitieswillcome.Cultivateresiliencealongtheway.Youareremoldingyourmindandthat'saprettycoolthing. Insum Agrowthmindsetmeansoneembraceschallenges,persistsinthefaceofsetbacks,takesresponsibilityfortheirwordsandactions,andacknowledgesthateffortisthepathtowardmastery.Itisbasicallythereasonwhy“practicemakesperfect." Bychoosingtomaketheextraefforttobuildagrowthmindset,youcanmakeyourmentalprocessesworkforyou,resultinginagreaterlikelihoodthatyougettheresultsyou'relookingforandlivethelifeyouwanttolive. Thisarticlewasco-writtenwithStarrSites.Tolearnmoreabouthowtobuildwell-beinginthedigitalage,checkoutberkelywellbeing.com. References Dweck,C.S.(2008).Mindset:Thenewpsychologyofsuccess.HouseDigital,Inc.Chicago More references Share Tweet Email advertisement AbouttheAuthor TchikiDavis,Ph.D.,isaconsultant,writer,andexpertonwell-beingtechnology. 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