What Is Growth Mindset and How to Achieve It - Intelligent ...

The growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which ... Howdoyourateyourlifesofar? Doyouenjoylearningnewstuff?Orwouldyourathersticktoyourwell-knownroutines? Areyourrelationshipsbasedonmutuallove,trust,andrespect?Ordoyoufeellikeyou’reconstantlycompetingwithsomeone? Areyouhavingfunandtakingrisks?Ordoyoufearfailure? Ifyourelatemoretothe“or”questionsandproblems,perhapsit’stimetochangeyourmindset.Bearwithustofindouthowtoswitchfromafixedmindsettoagrowthmindsetandachieveyourgoalsineveryareaofyourlife. WhatIsaGrowthMindset? Successisnotfinal;failureisnotfatal:Itisthecouragetocontinuethatcounts.–W.Churchill ThesewisewordsbyChurchillunfoldwhatthegrowthmindsetisallabout:seeingopportunitiesinsteadofobstacles. Thatmeansseeingfailureasachancetodevelopyourabilitiesfurther,insteadofrollingintoyourcocoonandhidingfromtheworld. Asscientificevidenceshows,yourintelligence,talents,andabilitiesdon’tnecessarilystopgrowingonceyoureachadulthood.AccordingtopsychologistEricEricsson,humansgothroughseveralstagesofdevelopmentthroughouttheirlife.Everystageisdefinedbythechallengeyouneedtoovercomeinordertocontinuetothenextstage. However,aswegrowup,itsometimeshappensthatwechangeourperspective:westopbelievingthatwearecapableofgrowthanddevelopment,andwebuildadebilitatingandstaticself-imageinstead. Luckily,scienceandmodernpsychologycanshedlightonacompletelydifferentapproachtolife.Let’sforasecondfocusourlensonStanfordUniversity,theinstitutionwhereDr.CarolDweckhasbeenstudyinghumanmotivationforsome30years. Dr.Dwecknoticedthattherewasasignificantdifferencebetweendifferentstudents’approachtosuccessandfailure,whichinspiredhertostartdoingresearchandbuildatheoryaroundit. Shecoinedthetermgrowthmindsettodescribethosepeoplewhobelievetheycanachievegreatthingsonlythroughhardworkandstrongrelationshipswithothers. GrowthMindset:DefinitionbyDr.CarolDweck Aswementionedearlier,agrowthmindsetisanapproachtolifeinwhichanindividualbelievesthattheirtalents,intelligence,andabilitiescanbedevelopedfurther.Peoplewithagrowthmindsetseekopportunitiestolearn,gainnewskills,andenhancetheirexistingskills.Whenpresentedwithachallenge,anindividualwithagrowthmindsetdoesn’tseeitasachancetofail,butrather,asanopportunitytogrow.Theybelievethathardwork,andnotluckorchance,cantakethemfarinlife.However,believingisnotenough-it’sthegestaltofyourbeliefsandactionsthatmakeagrowthmindsetwork. AsdoctorDwecknicelyputit: Thegrowthmindsetisbasedonthebeliefthatyourbasicqualitiesarethingsyoucancultivatethroughyourefforts.Althoughpeoplemaydifferineverywhichwayintheirinitialtalentsandaptitudes,interests,ortemperaments,everyonecanchangeandgrowthroughapplicationandexperience. But,inordertounderstandtheconceptofgrowthmindsetbetter,weshouldintroduceitsoppositeconcept—fixedmindset.ThisconceptisalsoaproductofDr.Dweck’sresearch,andhereareafewwordsaboutit. GrowthMindsetvsFixedMindset Contrarytothegrowthmindset,afixedmindsetmeansthatyoubelievethatyourabilities,talents,intelligence,orpersonalitytraitsaregivenandunchangeable.You’rebornwithwhatyou’rebornwith—andthat’sit. Howweviewwhatweconsidertobeourpersonalityisoneofthemostbasicbeliefsahumanbeingcarriesaroundthroughlife.Dr.Dweckfoundthatpeoplewithafixedmindsetbelievethatsuccessisjusttheaffirmationofourinherenttraits—ourintelligence,abilities,ortalents.Thereisnopointintryingtodoorlearnnewthings,becauseifyouweretobegoodatit—youalreadywouldhaveknownit. Dr.Dweckclaimsthatthesetwomindsetsmanifestfromanearlyage,andshapeagreatdealofourbehavior,relationships,andapproachtofailuresandsuccesses.Inherwords: Believingthatyourqualitiesarecarvedinstonecreatesanurgencytoproveyourselfoverandover.Ifyouhaveonlyacertainamountofintelligence,acertainpersonality,andacertainmoralcharacter,wellthenyou’dbetterprovethatyouhaveahealthydoseofthem.Itsimplywouldn’tdotolookorfeeldeficientinthesemostbasiccharacteristics. Asyoucansee,unlikethegrowthmindset,afixedmindsetisverydebilitatingandcancausedifferenthurdlesthroughoutourlifespans.Thefearoffailureforcesustostickwithwhatwe’regoodat,andnevertakeastepforward. What’sevenworseisthatafixedmindsetdoesn’tonlyaffectapersonwhohasthisattitude,buttheirwholesocialsphere.Thesepeopletendtoseeothersascompetition,ratherthanfindthemasinspiration.Thefixedmindsetcausespeopletohaveahardtimebeinghappyforotherpeople’ssuccesses.Therefore,it’shardtobetruefriendswiththem. Tomakethedistinctionbetweenagrowthmindsetandafixedmindsetclearer,wehaveprovidedthistablewithgrowthmindsetexamples,andfixedmindsetexamples,derivedfromhertheory: FixedMindset GrowthMindset Intelligenceisstatic Intelligencecanbedeveloped “Idesiretolooksmart” “Idesiretolearnnewstuff” Avoidschallenges Embraceschallenges Givesupeasily Persistsevenwhenit’shard Ignoresconstructivenegativefeedback Seescriticismasachancetolearn Seesthesuccessofothersasathreat Seesthesuccessofothersasinspiration “Failureisthelimitofmyabilities” “Failureisanopportunitytogrow” Deterministicworldview Senseoffreewill “Effortsarefruitless,IcanachievewhatIcanachieve” “Effortsareapathtomastery” Reachestheplateauearlyinlifeandachieveslessthanthey’recapableof Hashigherlevelsofachievement Nowthatwe’reclearaboutwhatgrowthmindsetactuallyis,let’smovetothenextimportantquestion:howtoachieveit. HowtoAchieveaGrowthMindset Thefirststepoutfromthefixedmindsetisbelievingthatyoucanstepoutofitandthatgrowthmindsetispossibletoachieve. So,askyourgut.Whatdoesitsay?Areyoureadytotakesomestepstowardsamoreopenattitudeinlife?Areyoureadytoevenfailsometimes,andtakeresponsibilityforit,byacceptingfailureasachallengeandopportunity,insteadofbowingdownbeforeithasevenhappened? Inordertohelpyouelevateyourstateofbeingandachieveagrowthmindset,we’vepreparedthisthoroughlistofadvice.Wehopeitwillserveyouwell! AChallengeIsanOpportunity Thisfirsttipisprobablythemostdifficultonetoembrace.Fearoffailureisdeeplyrootedandrelatedtothefearoftheunknown.Thebestwaytostartseeingchallengesasopportunitiesistoexperimentwiththem,analyzeyourmistakes,andlearntobepatient:everytimeyoustartover,you’reonestepclosertobecomingamasterinwhateveritisthatyou’redoing! EmbraceYourImperfections Ifyou’retryingtohidefromyourweaknesses,you’llneverovercomethem.Embraceyourimperfections,they’rewhatmakesyou—you. ThereAresoManyTactics… Thetypicalfixedmindsetalwaysusesthesame,proventacticsinproblem-solvingorlearning.It’sallrelatedtothefearoffailure.Whatifthisnewmethoddoesn’twork?Justbecauseotherpeoplearoundyoustudyorworkusingonemethoddoesn’tmeanthatmethodwillnecessarilyworkforyou.It’snotacompetitionbetweenyouandtherestoftheworld:it’sacompetitionbetweenthepersonyou’retodayandthepersonyouwereyesterday.Thelargerthevarietyoftacticsyou’reabletoapply,thewiderspectrumofproblemsyou’llbeabletosolve! PayMoreAttentiontotheWordsYou’reUsing Doourwordsreflectourthoughts,orisitviceversa?ThisisthefamousSapir-Vorfhypothesis.Wecan’tdeterminewhichanswerisright,butwecanassumethereisacorrelation.AsthefamousGermanphilosopherLudwigWittgensteinsaid:Thelimitsofmylanguagemeanlimitsofmyworld. Ifyousaythatyouhavefailedeverytimeyoudon’tachievesuccess,it’smuchmorelikelythatyou’llbuildadebilitatingself-image.Ontheotherhand,ifyoutryreplacingthewordfailurewiththewordlearning,andsaythatyou’velearnedsomethingeverytimeyoudon’tsucceed,you’llmuchmorelikelybuildapositivepictureofyourself.That,ofcourse,shouldbefollowedbyanalyzingwhyyoudidn’tsucceedandtryingonemoretime,usingdifferentmethods. DoYourResearch:LearnMoreAboutBrainPlasticity Iftheorganicstructureofyourbrainiscapableofchanging,whywouldn'tyoube? Brainplasticitymeansthatourbrainsareabletochangeandadapt,asaresultofexperience. Forexample,thebraincanchangeitsphysicalstructure,asaresultoflearningprocessesormovefunctionsfromoneareatoanotherincaseofdamage.Thewordplasticitydoesn’trefertoplastic,itreferstothebrain'smalleability. Nowthatyouknowwhatyourbrainiscapableof,don’tyouthinkit’stimetoletyourmindbecome“plastic”aswell? TheProcessIsMoreImportantThantheEndResult Thisisanothercrucialshiftyouneedtomakeifyouwanttoexittheheadspaceofthefixedmindsetandenterthemoreproductiveandhappiergrowthmindset. Thefixedmindsetis,typically,alwaysfocusedontheendresult: Willitbegoodenough? Willsomeoneelsedoitbetter? Aswesaidalready—donotcompetewithothers.Everyhumanbeingisdifferent,it’sfruitlesstocompareyourselftoothers.Also,theendproductlosesitsvalueifyoudidn’tenjoytheprocess. Ifstudyingorworkingistorturetoyou,receivingthatuniversitydegree,orfinishingaprojectwon’tputasmileonyourface.It’sfarmoreimportantthatyouenjoytheprocess:solvingpuzzles,reinventingsolutions,memorizinginterestingfactsorstories,having“a-ha!”moments. StopSeekingOthers’Approval:EnjoytheLearningProcess Valuingapprovaloverlearningissimilartovaluingtheendproductovertheprocess—itjustkillstheenjoyment!Amomentinspaceandtimeinwhicheveryonefindsyouthemostbeautiful,thesmartest,themosttalented,orcapablewillneverhappen.So,droptheperfectionism,andenjoyyourlearningprocess!Everytimeyoufall,you’llgetupbiggerandbetter.Cultivatingself-acceptanceandapprovalhelpsyoubecomemoreconfident,andconsequently,makesyoutrustyourselfmore. BeHappyforOtherPeople’sGrowthandCelebratewithThem Seeingotherpeopleasfriendsandinspirationcantakeyoumuchfurtherthanviewingthemascompetition.Thatway,you’llcreatehonestandstrongrelationshipswithothers,andenhanceyourownchancesforgrowth. CultivateaSenseofPurpose Whenyou’redoingsomething,doyoufeellikethere’smoretoit?Likeallthethingsthathappenonyourpatharethereforahigherreason?Dr.Dweck’sresearchhasshownthatstudentswithagrowthmindsethaveahighersenseofpurposethanthosewithafixedmindset.It’squitesimple—asensethatthere’ssomethinggreaterthanyourselfandmoreimportantthanpettycompetitionswithothersisthestrongestdriveryoucanhave. Keepingagratitudejournalcanbeveryhelpfulwhencultivatingasenseofpurpose.TheFiveMinuteJournaltakesonlyfiveminutesofyourtime,andit’sdesignedtogearyoutowardsgreaterpositivity.Rememberingeverydaywhatyou’regratefulforcanhelpyoushiftyourmindtowardsagrowthmindset.Ifyoudon’tliketocarryanotebookaround,youcanalwaysdownloadTheFiveMinuteJournalapptoyourphoneandsetuparemindertofilloutyourgratitudejournal. Ifyou’dliketofindoutmoreaboutkeepingagratitudejournal,feelfreetoreadourUltimateGratitudeJournalGuide. TheFiveMinuteJournal $41.00SGD Shopnow GrowthIsMoreImportantthanSpeed Allowingyourselftomakeamistaketakestime.Learningthingswelltakestime.Gettingthingsdoneproperlytakestime.Sokeepcalmandtakeyourtime.You’reracingonlywithyourself. ActionsAreWhatMatters—NotTraits Doingsomethingsmartorinasmartwayisfarmoreimportantthanbeingsmart.Beinginherentlysmartisgreat,butthisstilldoesn’tmeanyou’llactthatway.Ifyoushowoffyourintelligencebyexhibitinghowgreatyouarewithpuzzles,riddles,numbers,orschoolgrades,you’lljustlooklikeyou’rebragging.But,ifyouapproachproblemswithinterestandawishtolearn,that’sirreplaceable. Makingmistakesisachancetochangeyourapproachtothingsinlife.Thiscantakeyoufarclosertoachievingagrowthmindsetthancalculatinghowtoleavethebestpossibleimpression. TalentIsn'tWhatMakesaGenius—HardWorkIs We’lljustciteAlbertEinstein’sfamousquote:Geniusis1%talent,99%work.Yes,sometimesthingsdohappenbychance.Somepeopleareluckytobebornwithabeautifulvoice,whileotherscan’thitanoteeveniftheirlifedependsonit.However,hardworkalwayspaysoff.Aneglectedtalentdoesn’tgofar,whilehardworkisalwaysrecognized. CriticismCanBeGoodforYou Thetypicalfixedmindsetpersonoftenignorescriticismasanunbearablestriketotheego.Trytoletgoandseecriticismasagift.Everybitofcriticismisasuggestiontoimproveyourwork.Thisisexactlythekindofshiftnecessaryforbuildingagrowthmindset. “RoomforImprovement”vs“Failure”Definition Justlikeyouneedtochangeyourvocabularyandincludemoreencouragingwords,youalsoneedtostopseeingeverythingasblackandwhite.Lifeisnotanall-or-nothinggame.There’salwaysplentyofroomforimprovement,nothingcanbedoneperfectly.Justbecauseyouorsomebodyelsenoticesthatthere’sroomtoimprovesomething,itdoesn’tmeanyoufailed.Onthecontrary!Itmeansthatyoushouldworkhardertoachievewhatitisthatyouwanttoachieve,whichistheverybasisofagrowthmindset. Reflect,Reflect,Reflect Youknowhowwesaidyouneedtolearnfromyourmistakesandvaluethemasopportunitiestogrow?Perhapsweleftyouwonderinghowtodothis.Asoneexample,youcancommittokeepingareflectivejournal.Thismeanstakingtimetowriteaboutyourexperiences,analyzethemandyourself,andseewhatcouldbedonebetter. Howisreflectionconnectedtoagrowthmindset?Well,it’sliterallyimpossibletolearnsomethingnewortounderstandwhereyou’vebeenwrongifyoudon’treflectonthatexperience.Thereflectivejournalshouldbeyoursafespacetostressoutallyourthoughts,andwhat’sevenmoreimportant,they’llstaythere,soyoucanreturnandre-analyzethem. AbandontheIdeaofBuildinganImage Luckily,wenolongerliveinthetimeofphrenology.Intelligenceandsuccessarearesultofbothnatureandnurture.Somepsychologists,likeBerhusSkinner,believedthatit’sonlynurturethatcounts.Heevensaid: Givemeadozenhealthyinfants,well-formed,andmyownspecifiedworldtobringthemupinandI’llguaranteetotakeanyoneatrandomandtrainhimtobecomeanytypeofspecialistImightselect—doctor,lawyer,artist,merchant-chiefand,yes,evenbeggar-manandthief,regardlessofhistalents,penchants,tendencies,abilities,vocations,andraceofhisancestors. Thismaybeabitofanextremepointofview,butitprovesapoint.There’snosuchthingas“naturaltalent”.Ifthere’snohardworkinvolved,thattalentmayneverevenbediscovered. OtherPeople’sMistakesareaValuableLearningResource Tryexpandingthe“Learnfromyourmistakes”to“learnfromothers’mistakes”aswell.Whicheverpathyou’retaking,somebodymusthavebeentherealready.Ourexperiencesmayseemunique,however,they’renot.Yes,therearecertainthingsthatarecase-specific,butthatdoesn’tmeanthatyoushouldn’trelatetootherpeople’ssimilarexperiences.Thisdoesn’tmeancomparingyourselftothem,justseeingthatotherpeoplehavesimilarweaknessesasyoudo. Hereare10inspiringandfamousfailurestoriesyoumightbeabletorelateto. TakeRisksevenifOthersareWatching Stoptakingyourselftooseriously.Loosenupabit.Begoofy.Don’tbeafraidtomakemistakesinfrontofotherpeople.Forinstance,areyouawareofhowmanypeoplefeelanxioustodosomethingassimpleaseatinginfrontofotherpeople?Wedon’tknowtheexactnumber,buthonestly:alot.Perhapsyou’reoneofthem,ofatleastyouknowsomebodywhofeelsthatway.Thereasonforthatanxietyissimple:thefearoflookingsillyorstupidinfrontofothers.Whatifwespilleverything,orstainourselves?Whatif?Nothing!Youcanalwayslaughatyourself,andmakeajoke.It’snobigdeal. GetRealisticAboutYourGoals Inordertoachieveagrowthmindset,youalsoneedtogetgoodatplanningandorganization.Thismeansadoptingtime-managementskillsandhavingafine-tunedrealitychecker. Realisticgoalsarespecific,measurable,attainable,andtime-bounded.Thebestwaytogetintouchwithyourorganizationalselfistositwithapenandpaper,writedownyourgoals,analyzethem,definehowyou’regoingtoachievethem,andgiveyourselfarealistictimelimit.Butthat’snotenough.Youalsoneedtosticktothisplanandtrackyourprogress.Inordertodothisinthesimplestandmostcreativeway,werecommendusingTheProductivityPlanner.TheProductivityPlannerisahighlystructureddailyplannerbasedontheFocusTimeTechnique.Itempowersyoutofocusyourmentalenergyonthemostmeaningfultasksofthedayandaccomplishthemontime. ProductivityPlanner $43.00SGD Shopnow OwnYourAttitude Onceyoufullyinstillchangeandmanagetoachieveagrowthmindset—ownit!Acknowledgeyournewrole,andletitguideyouthroughoutbothyourrelationshipsandprofessionalcareer. FinalWord Howdoyoufeelafterreadingthisarticle?Wasithelpful? Whichadvicestickswithyouthemost? Webelievethatyounowunderstandthedifferencebetweenafixedandagrowthmindsetaswellashowtomakethisshift.Don’tforgetthatmakingsucharadicalchangeinyourpsycheisaprocess,andcan’tbeachievedovernight.So,evenifyounoticesomeleftoversfromyourpreviousstrategiesandbehaviors,don’tjudgeyourself.Analyze,reflect,andacceptyourimperfectionsandfailures. Tosumup,we’llciteDr.Dweck: Weliketothinkofourchampionsandidolsassuperheroeswhowereborndifferentfromus.Wedon’tliketothinkofthemasrelativelyordinarypeoplewhomadethemselvesextraordinary. Itallstartswithyouandhowmuchyou’rereadytogive:work,fail,startover,plan,experiment,andcelebratesuccess. 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