How to Adopt the Growth Mindset

How do you know the mindset you have? Do you have a fixed mindset or growth mindset?

You have a fixed mindset if you believe that you are either born with talent or not. Those with fixed mindsets think they are either naturally good at something, or they’re not. They view intelligence as a fixed trait. They believe inborn talent determines success.

Individuals with a growth mindset believe talent comes through effort. They believe anyone can be good at anything; that their abilities can be developed through dedication, perseverance, and the right strategy.

Individuals with a fixed mindset seek to validate themselves. Individuals with a growth mindset focus on developing themselves.

Why is having a fixed Mindset problematic?

Individuals with a fixed mindset rarely excel at anything. Because they believe their intelligence and abilities are what they are, they invest their energy in looking smart instead of learning and developing. Therefore, they believe that they are limited by the extent at which their talents can go.

How can you grow with such limitations?

Talent, in my opinion is the grease that makes work easier. It is like the lubrication in a gear or a bolt without which there is wear and tear. Talent is not absolute because they are people who are talented but can’t do it. Look around you or within you, I am certain that you must have identified one talent that could have fetched you or the bearer wealth but you aren’t practicing it. We see people who are talented singers but may not put out a single not to talk of an album. We see talented artists (painters) who may not be the Davinci of our era. All these talents may have been truncated by a fixed mindset.

Look around you or within you; I’m sure you’ve identified one talent that could have brought you or the bearer wealth, but you’re not using it. We see talented singers who may never release a single, let alone an album. We see talented artists (painters) who may or may not be the Davincis of our time. All of these abilities could have been hampered by a fixed mindset.

How does a fixed mindset hinder your progress?

For those who are conversant with the concepts of Stressor, Achiever and Dabbler, will understand that with a fixed mindset you can become a dabbler because you often abandon your dreams because you fail a few times.

For you, “failure” is humiliating and you’ll probably avoid what you have failed in for the rest of your life. You’ll make an excuse like, “this isn’t my thing.”

I have seen people who are natural born singers, with good voice and voice control but each time a challenge comes, they shy away because they feel they are not good enough. This is just because with a fixed mindset it is often impossible to challenge or push yourself.

I encourage everyone reading this post to become open minded enough to accommodate growth, accommodate criticism and change. I have come to understand that no matter how poor a criticism is delivered, there are things to learn from it. Make it a point of duty to adopt the growth mindset to avoid aborted dreams; according to Abraham Maslow “aborted self-actualization.”

It’s incredibly harmful to hold a fixed mindset, to believe intelligence and talent is static. Yet, most of the people I have conversed with, I find hold a fixed mindset in multiple areas of their lives.

How to Change from a Fixed to a Growth Mindset

Now that you know what a growth mindset is, you can begin to practice this way of thinking using the following steps;

1. Believing It’s Possible: 

Developing a growth mindset begins with a choice that you want to believe in the growth mindset, even if it’s hard to overcome your old way of thinking, at first. It also starts with accepting your fixed mindset. Everyone has fixed mindset tendencies in one way or another. Only by accepting that it is there do you have the power to change your mindset.

2. Awareness: 

Self-awareness is extremely important if you want to understand where your thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and behaviours come from. If you’re unable to identify the negative habits or thoughts you are having, then you’ll never be able to change them to healthier ones.

Here are some questions to help you become more self-aware:

• Who am I?
• What are my greatest goals and desires in life?
• Am I taking consistent action each day to move me closer to my dreams?

These questions will allow you to start self-reflecting on the choices and the decisions you’ve been making up to this point in your life. You can begin to analyse if you make more positive or negative decisions most of the time.

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