By Nabitali Victoria Bbosa
Developing a growth mindset is just the belief that our essential capacities can be developed and improved through dedication and hard work. It’s not so much that this conviction is an enchantment. It’s just that without a growth mindset, we don’t apply the necessary effort thus we remain never-endingly stuck.
But with a growth mindset, we can break through the moment of being stuck and achieve the results we desire, regardless of whether it’s at work, in our relationships, or in other aspects of our lives
Growth mindset means one embraces challenges, persists despite setbacks, takes responsibility for their words and actions, and recognizes that effort is the path toward mastery. It is fundamentally the reason why careful discipline brings about promising results
By deciding to put forth the additional attempt to build a growth mindset, you can make your psychological procedures to work for you, bringing about a more prominent probability that you get the outcomes you’re searching for and carry on with the life you want to live.
Samuel Johnson says; “Great works are performed, not by strength, but by perseverance.”
Why Growth Mindset Matters
Let me share with you this story;
In November 2011, when I had just finished my masters degree in Public Relations and Media Management. I told my fellow graduates that I am going to start a PR firm. They all looked at me and said, Really! They didn’t take me seriously because the truth is; I had no money, no connections, no information on the most proficient method to get me from where I was then to where I am currently, guess what; I registered the company (Victoria Breeze Communication Limited) in May 2013. It then transformed into a blog in September 2016; which I am so proud of. In any case, I had one thing … I had a growth mindset.
Let me ask you some questions;
Do You Have A Growth Mindset?
Do you believe that you were born and raised with a fixed set of skills and abilities; such as your IQ that you had from birth and will stay with you your entire life?
Do you believe that your ideas and beliefs are ever-evolving, that you can learn new skills if you work at it, and that your wisdom and intelligence grows with each new experience?
If you said “yes” to the second question, you have what is referred to as a “fixed mindset.” If you said “yes” to the third question, you probably have what is called a “growth mindset.”
Don’t worry if you currently have more of a fixed mindset, you can develop a growth mindset.
If we have a “fixed mindset,” we may avoid difficulties since we would prefer not to feel humiliated or embarrassed before others, this can be dangerous in light of the fact that our fear of committing errors can lead us to maintain a strategic distance from difficulties and new encounters, which would enable us to develop ourselves in significant ways, and make the life we want.
If we have a “growth mindset,” we appreciate difficulties, notwithstanding the risk, for the most part since we esteem learning and development more than others thinking we comprehend what we’re doing. Furthermore, in light of the fact that we’re continually trying new things, we regularly don’t know what we’re doing some of us with a growth mindset often build new skills more easily because we believe we can and so we really work at it.
Developing a growth mindset could contribute to a fuller, more meaningful life because the range of experiences that such a life encompasses will be considerably broader.
Developing a growth mindset from a “fixed” perspective to a “growth mindset” may appear to be overwhelming, but by taking a slow pace, anyone who wants to can build a “growth mindset.”
Here’s how:
1. Be hopeful.
Hopeful people see the world diversely when contrasted with cynical individuals. Idealistic individual is somebody who discovers opportunity in each peril, then again, cynical individual is somebody who discovers threat in each chance.
This is the reason hopeful individuals are multiple times more effective than critical individuals. The main contrast among confident people and those who worry is thinking design. Thinking makes huge contrast in their lives.
2. Believe in yourself.
Confidence comes when you believe in yourself, even when others are doubting you. Believing in yourself can take you to the extraordinary level.
A bird sitting on a branch never believes that it will keep her safe. She believes in her own wings. In other words, the bird has a belief that no matter what happens with the branch, it will be able to fly on another one.
When you don’t believe in yourself, what makes you think that other people will believe in you? So, the best thing you can do for yourself is “believe in yourself even when others are doubting”.
3. Use the power of “yet”.
The word “yet” is the most powerful thing you can use to develop a growth mindset.
Most people think that they know everything in the world. But the harsh reality is, no one can ever know everything in the world.
One of the wisest man in history once said, “I Only Know One Thing, And That Is I Know Nothing” – Socrates.
When you think you know nothing, you crave for more information curiously.
But, when you think you know everything, your brain stops looking for more information.
So, when you start using the power of “yet”, you will start to grow your mindset as well.
4. Be curious.
You need to become curious and if you think you are already, then you need to become more curious about everything. Because “curiosity is the best teacher” for all of us.
As Roy T. Bennett, said, “Enjoy every step you take. If you’re curious, there is always something new to be discovered in the backdrop of your daily life.”
When you become curious about everything, you will start to find answers that most people struggle with.
It’s a straight path that leads to growth and greatness in life. You will open up a new treasure of life. Whenever you find difficulty in life, curiosity will take you out of it.
Successful people are curious and they are always looking for a new way to succeed more in life. Curiosity will lead you to developing a growth mindset because it will allow you to learn new things everyday and grow more.
5. Look at failure as a learning opportunity.
Sometimes we all face setbacks and failure in life, but how we choose to respond to a failure determines the level of success we are going to achieve.
The biggest difference between successful and unsuccessful people is the way they respond to failure.
Unsuccessful people choose to stop after few setbacks and failure. Just because of having a fixed mindset, they believe that they are not capable of doing it.
However, successful people learn from setbacks and failure. Because they believe that they need to learn another way of doing it.
Successful people develop a growth mindset and they believe failure is a part of success and growth, otherwise they won’t be able to learn “what does work and what doesn’t work”.
As Michael Jordan said, I can accept failure, everyone fails at something. But I can’t accept not trying. It implies that growth will come when you refuse to stop at every setbacks and failure.
6. Face your challenges bravely.
If you find yourself terrified in the face of a serious challenge, stop and reframe the situation in your mind. Consider your challenge as an “opportunity,” thus slightly shifting your perspective to make it easier for you to engage. Each challenge or opportunity invites us into a new experience that is a sort of adventure.
Try different tactics to coach yourself about how to explore a new path, or how to develop a new skill, or how to interact with a new group of people, or to navigate through new circumstances. As an adventure, fear is an acceptable feeling.
You press forward anyway because it’s exciting and new. If you take this same attitude with a crisis at work or whatever the challenge, you can discover abilities you didn’t know you even possessed.
7. Pay attention to your words and thoughts.
Start to pay attention to the words you speak, even the words in your mind. If your words are low or dark, the results may be also. So watch yourself. Listen to what you are saying and thinking. Censor yourself and become your own guide.
Replace negative thoughts with more positive ones to build a growth mindset. Replace judgement with acceptance, hate with compassion. If you are disrespecting yourself for lowering your ethical standards, the outcome of your decisions and their consequences will reflect that, intend to think higher thoughts and hold yourself to it.