How To Build (At Any Age) a Growth Mindset

Ask yourself:

Do you want to have more fun in life? Do you want to enjoy learning? Do you want to have better relationships? Do you want to improve your business?

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.” -Abraham Lincoln

In this article you will learn:

How to gain a growth mindset and banish a fixed mindset
How to continually expand, learn, grow and succeed as a human being
How to find enough courage to fulfill your potential

If these things are interesting to you, then this article was written for you.

Photo : iStockphoto

You may be wondering:

What exactly is a growth mindset? And can it actually help you succeed?

A growth mindset means that you thrive on challenge, and don’t see failure as a way to describe yourself but as a springboard for growth and developing your abilities. Your intelligence and talents are all susceptible to growth.

Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford University who studied human motivation first talked about the power of mindset nearly 30 years ago. Carol Dweck and her team became interested in the attitude of students when it comes to failure.

After studying the behaviour of students and children, the term growth mindset formed. Simply put, this mindset means that you believe in your ability to become better through hard work and help from others.

“This 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 way in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments, everyone can change and grow through application and experience.” -Carol Dweck

You must understand:

The difference between a growth mindset vs. a fixed mindset.

If everything has its opposite, a fixed mindset is the opposite of a growth mindset. A fixed mindset is a basic belief that you can’t change your talents, traits, and basic abilities; in other words, you have certain innate abilities that you’re born with, and that is that.

A mindset that’s fixed assumes that your character, intelligence, and creativity are unchanging, and nothing you can do will impact them. Achievement for a fixed mindset is the belief that it just confirms your inclination toward a traitor your intelligence.

No effort or hard work will impact your achievements if you have a fixed mindset. This means every situation is a way to prove yourself, to prove that you are given abilities are enough to bring success.

This means that there’s no reason to try new things because you won’t have any growth. New skills that you don’t believe will come easily to you are out of the question. Failing at them will mean you’re unintelligent, and a failure as a person.

“I’ve seen so many people with this one consuming goal of proving themselves in [a learning setting], in their careers, and in their relationships. Every situation calls for a confirmation of their intelligence, personality, or character. Every situation is evaluated: Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Will I feel like a winner or a loser?” -Carol Dweck

You must know that you can build a growth mindset. But where do you start? Here are 25 ways that can help.

1. Acknowledge and embrace imperfections.

Hiding from your weaknesses means you’ll never overcome them.

2. View challenges as opportunities.

Having a growth mindset means relishing opportunities for self-improvement.

3. Try different learning tactics.

There’s no one-size-fits-all model for learning. What works for one person may not work for you.

4. Follow the research on brain plasticity.

The brain isn’t fixed; the mind shouldn’t be either.

5. Replace the word failing with the word learning.

When you make a mistake or fall short of a goal, you haven’t failed; you’ve learned.

6. Stop seeking approval.

When you prioritize approval over learning, you sacrifice your own potential for growth.

7. Value the process over the end result.

Intelligent people enjoy the learning process and don’t mind when it continues beyond an expected time frame.

8. Cultivate a sense of purpose.

Dweck’s research also showed that students with a growth mindset had a greater sense of purpose. Keep the big picture in mind.

9. Celebrate growth with others.

If you truly appreciate growth, you’ll want to share your progress with others.

10. Emphasize growth over speed.

Learning fast isn’t the same as learning well, and learning well sometimes requires allowing time for mistakes.

11. Reward actions, not traits.

Tell students when they’re doing something smart, not just being smart.

12. Redefine the wordgenius.

The myth’s been busted: genius requires hard work, not talent alone.

13. Portray criticism as positive.

You don’t have to use that hackneyed term, “constructive criticism,” but you do have to believe in the concept.

14. Disassociate improvement from failure.

Stop assuming that “room for improvement” translates into failure.

15. Provide regular opportunities for reflection.

Let students reflect on their learning at least once a day.

16. Place effort before talent.

Hard work should always be rewarded before the inherent skill.

17. Highlight the relationship between learning and brain training.

The brain is like a muscle that needs to be worked out, just like the body.

18. Cultivate grit.

Students with that extra bit of determination will be more likely to seek approval from themselves rather than others.

19. Abandon the image.

Naturally smart sounds just about as believable as spontaneous generation. You won’t achieve the image if you’re not ready for the work.

20. Use the word yet.

Dweck says “not yet” has become one of her favourite phrases. Whenever you see students struggling with a task, just tell them they haven’t mastered it yet.

21. Learn from other people’s mistakes.

It’s not always wise to compare yourself to others, but it is important to realize that humans share the same weaknesses.

22. Make a new goal for every goal accomplished.

You’ll never be done learning. Just because your midterm exam is over doesn’t mean you should stop being interested in a subject. Growth-minded people know how to constantly create new goals to keep themselves stimulated.

23. Take risks in the company of others.

Stop trying to save face all the time and just let yourself goof up now and then. It will make it easier to take risks in the future.

24. Think realistically about time and effort.

It takes time to learn. Don’t expect to master every topic under the sun in one sitting.

25. Take ownership of your attitude.

Once you develop a growth mindset, own it. Acknowledge yourself as someone who possesses a growth mentality and be proud to let it guide you throughout your educational career.

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. ..I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” — Michael Jordan

Having a growth mindset isn’t an easy button solution to any problem, and it will not automatically cause good things to happen to you; however, it will likely make it easier and more enjoyable to work hard toward your goals, and give you the confidence you need to set ever more ambitious goals.

I hope this article has satisfied some of your curiosity about the growth mindset theory, but if you’re still curious, there are tons of studies, articles, and books out there about the importance of cultivating a growth mindset.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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