What is your mindset? Is it a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? How do you handle challenges? Do other people’s success make you jealous or happy? These are the kind of questions you might ask yourself when you’re looking inside. In the yoga practice this is called Svadhyaya. One of the great sages of yoga, Patanjali, once wrote, “Study the self, discover the divine.” In our culture we get way too caught up in studying others than taking the time to understand the inner workings of our own mind.
There are a few simple steps to set you on a path of understanding your mindset and once you do, changing it in a positive, well balanced, growth based mindset. Carol Dweck, Ph.D is a leader in motivation and psychology. She wrote Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, I’ll use her model to explain how to improve your mindset and create more success in your life.
There are two kinds of mindsets, a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.
If you have a fixed mindset, you might be the kind of person who avoids challenges, prefers the easier way, avoids obstacles, doesn’t take criticism well, and finds jealousy in the success of others. Does that ring a bell? Do you like the little box you’ve created for yourself? Are you happy with your commute, you’re income, you’re family life, relationships? If that’s the case, and you’re happy, more power to you!
Most of the people I know are not so content, and by this, I don’t mean unhappy. I mean they they are people with a growth based mindset, they continually strive to improve, and they understand that growth comes from challenges. They seek out the challenging situation because they know the effort it takes to conquer that challenge is well worth the reward it brings. It reminds me of Brian Tracy’s idea of eating the frog. If you ate a frog first thing in the morning, everything else would seem a heck of a lot easier.
People with a growth based mindset embrace challenges, understand that it takes a certain amount of effort to succeed. They don’t shy away from obstacles, they take criticism well, and they see the success of others as a good thing. They persist even when they know the odds are against them. They have found a deeper purpose to their motivation. It’s important to find that purpose for yourself. Why do you do what you do? Is it fulfilling?
If you have a growth based mindset you’re usually able learn from constructive criticism. I have a hard time with this one. Sometimes I jump right to defensiveness and dig my heels in. It infuriates my wife, especially because I’ll take it from some people and not from others. It’s something I’m working on, but we’re all works in progress, right? Embrace your life now and move to improve it as necessary.
Here is your simple action plan to move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.
When a challenge appears, don’t runaway. Stop and assess it. You first, must identify when you avoid the challenges.
Commit to taking on the obstacle. It’s one thing to identify it, but quite another to commit to conquering the challenge.
Implement your action plan. Once you’ve identified and committed to taking on this obstacle, you must put in the effort and execute your plan. You must see it through to the finish. There is no greater reward than making big accomplishments.
Learn to take criticism better. I now ask for criticism when I’m in the right frame of mind and I take it from people whom I love and who love me. Then I know it is a safe place to feel vulnerable.
Understand there is room at the top. When you see others with outside success, make it okay. I love seeing my friends so successful because I know if they can do it, I can do it. They climbed up the mountain and there is now a trail I can follow. Believe me, I’m all about blazing my own trail, but if I see someone at the top, I know there’s a way.
And finally, according to Dweck, people with a growth based mindset achieve a higher level of success and a much deeper level of free will. I recommend you follow the five steps above, take a good look inside, and see where you’re life is stagnant. Be honest with yourself and then put in the work it takes to overcome. Any great champion and successful person understands that things take work and there will be obstacles along the way. Life is a journey of ups and downs, it’s time to enjoy it to the fullest. I’m always here if you need a little help, find me @teddymcdonald.