How to Break Free from a Fixed Mindset and Move Towards a Growth Mindset
Turning your desire of trying to look smart to truly pursuing knowledge
A Journey You Didn’t Realize You were on
As humans, we wake up every day and make choices that affect each and every aspect of our lives. We develop routines, we explore new activities, and at the end of the day, we always try to do what is best for us. But do we always succeed at this process?
Carol Dweck breaks down this concept into two parts. Fixed or growth. These are two mindsets we can choose to live by each day. This new way of life we have been living for a year has many of us in a personal or emotional rut. I, like many others, have probably let myself sink into a fixed mindset.
And that is ok! 2020 and now 2021 have been challenging to say the least. This past year has tested human biology, psychology, and will-power more than most years would.
Let us take this article as a way to push ourselves to get back to where we want to be, a growth mindset.
Where School Messed Up
The process of thinking and developing mindsets are not well taught in schools or even at all in some places. The purpose of school is to teach students how to think rather than what to think. The real hard-hitting question that no one wants to answer is, are schools successful at teaching their students how to think?
I would argue, no.
In school, we find ourselves saying things like, “I’m not good at this” or, “I just can’t do math.” Those are examples of a fixed mindset. Instead, we need to strive for, “What am I missing?” and “I might not be good at math right now, but if I keep practicing then I know I can learn it.”
These simple changes in perspective and mindset can take us further than we realize.
Let’s dive into a full breakdown of fixed vs growth mindset.
Fixed vs. Growth
The infographic below is a perfect depiction of the human mindset. I am going to break down how I would take on each of these themes and share any tips and tricks I have been using to shift my mindset from fixed to growth.
Challenges
Facing challenges is something everyone can relate to. Humans do not get to hand pick the obstacles place in front of them. You never know what challenge might face you today, if it will be the same tomorrow, or if the solution will be the same. What we do have, however, is a choice on how we handle challenges.
We can choose to embrace it or avoid it.
If you avoid it, growth will not ever come. You might be comfortable, but you will not see much return. Taking the challenge head-on, however, will give you access to your confidence that you have never seen before. If challenges are inevitable, why not challenge them right back?
Obstacles
Obstacles and challenges go hand in hand. They need each other. Anyone will tell you in challenging time, there are concrete obstacles in your way. Perseverance is always the move. In times like these it is easy to sink into “give up” mode, but it is important to be self-aware and consciously bring yourself back up into a positive, growth mindset rather than a negative, fixed mindset.
My best tip for obstacles is, remember to take time, some things cannot be solved off the top of the head. Taking it another step further, you can even put this task on hold for a day to come back with a fresh perspective, especially if you had been working on it for a while – tunnel vision and writer’s block are real, people!
Effort
Giving effort is something everyone can and should do. Even if you do not know how to do something, applying effort will take you farther than anything else.
Your perception of effort is what differentiates a fixed vs growth mindset. Do you think effort will lead to mastering something or do you think it will lead nowhere? Your answer shows you whether you need to realign your thoughts on effort.
The best thing I do when I am feeling low on effort, is I pick a time to dedicate my full attention and effort to that task. Trying to just start giving effort without a plan can be hard, so find a direction you want to go and map it out. I promise you will see an uptick in your effort from that alone.
Criticism
You know who loves being critiqued? Successful people! You can read just about any biography about your favorite person, and they will all have a chapter on how they took on the challenge of criticism.
At face value, criticism sucks. We have all been there and know what it feels like. It is simply human nature to want to succeed and be competent and do something right. When that thing gets broken down and flipped on its head, it can really throw a wrench in our mindset.
That is where this chart comes in! When shifting your mindset away from pity party and letting criticism demotivate you, you must refer to what that shift looks like. The goal is to reach a growth mindset where you take the criticism head on and utilize it to better yourself and your performance for next time.
The best things in life are when criticism and feedback help to open your mind to new opportunities.
The best tip I can give you to help change your mindset is to think of it as an opportunity to make your project or work that much better. If you think about it, that could be the best thing for your project because we can all develop a tunnel vision on things. Fresh perspectives are game changing, and you should always learn to embrace it.
Success of Others
People can find this to be the trickiest. When things involve other people, it is easy to bring jealously, assumptions, and sometimes anger to the table. That is where you need to change your mindset.
When it comes to other people’s success, you should always take it as a learning opportunity. I know that it can be hard because sometimes people’s success could seem invalid or confusing, but if you have that mindset, you are only hurting yourself.
Instead, focus on what you can do now to keep growing. Find some inspiration and run with it. Use these people as resources!
Successful people do one thing that many people overlook. Before they were successful, they too looked up to successful people. The only difference between you and them is:
-They took action
-They found inspiration
-They took on the journey of growth
Conclusion + Takeaways
All in all, life is a journey. Mindsets can change with the seasons. This past year has been hard on us all, and therefore it is time for everyone to take a step back and reevaluate their mindsets. A light at the end of the tunnel seems to be coming closer. That means there is no better time to start shifting your mindset.
Growth Mindset = Will lead to levels of achievement not first imagined.
Fixed Mindset = Will lead to less achieving and a plateau effect.
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