Transitioning From A Fixed To A Growth Mindset
There are two different kinds of mindsets that people have. There’s the growth mindset and the fixed mindset. Almost everyone has experienced transitioning between their own two mindsets.
Are you in a rut and doing the same things day in and day out?
Do you believe that you haven’t reached your highest potential?
Do you feel like the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train?
Maybe you aren’t flexible to new ideas or open to new possibilities. Perhaps it’s because a little voice in your head keeps telling you that you lack the skills and intelligence to get what you want in life.
Those limiting beliefs will keep holding you back until you start challenging them. They are much like the tiny rope wrapped around an elephant’s leg in a circus. They are not strong enough to hold the elephant in place, except the elephant believes they are. A negative mindset is pretty much the same thing.
A good step in the right direction is to work on your mindset. In doing so, you can cut the ropes that tie you down and prevent you from making the progress you are capable of achieving. This process would be considered a growth mindset. Let us take a closer look at the two different types of mindsets.
Let’s Start With The Fixed Mindset
People with a fixed mindset usually don’t believe that they are capable of learning a new skill. Instead, they might think they lack smarts or are not talented enough instead of taking on the challenge of trying something new.
Frequently you might encounter people who constantly put you down, belittle or condemn you. They might even tell you that you aren’t the type to achieve a particular task or reach a certain goal.
It’s simple to take the easy way out by making excuses and blaming outside factors such as a lack of education, age, parents, coworkers, or boss whenever you experience a setback. As a result, you don’t move forward in life but end up sticking to what you can do best, even if it stops you from realizing your dreams.
Most fixed-mindset personalities envy coworkers or friends who have developed their skills and reached their goals. You take constructive criticism personally, which only reinforces your belief that you’re not talented or intelligent enough to do the job. This form of surrender can be considered as accepting the status quo or mastering mediocrity.
Growth Mindset
People with a growth mindset put forth a lot of effort to learn a new skill. They learn from setbacks and don’t let that define who they are. They see the glass as being half-full, propelling them to take action.
It’s crucial because they view negative feedback meant to help them as an opportunity to grow without allowing their ego to get in the way. As a result, they have the self-esteem and confidence to know that even a skilled person can learn more.
Unlike the fixed-mindset person, the person with a growth mindset doesn’t suffer from limited beliefs and vision due to the fear of failure; instead, they turn their failures into successes. They reach their goals easily because they are goal-oriented and strive for growth.
Going From A Fixed Mindset To A Growth Mindset
You must be willing to change, work on your self-esteem, and learn new skills to develop a growth mindset. Some of the things you could consider doing are learning a new language, taking a computer course, taking dance classes, or even singing karaoke.
Face challenges and realize there is always the potential for failure in anything you undertake. It’s okay to fail. However, realize that you can improve and change something, thereby making it better. Many successful people get to where they are because they keep on trying.
Don’t get defensive by placing the blame on everyone else for the mistakes that you have made. That’s just making excuses, and you can make excuses or get results, but you can’t do both.
Maybe you failed at something because you didn’t put forth enough effort or use enough resources. People with growth mindsets acknowledge their weaknesses but don’t harp on them. Instead, they focus on positive thoughts instead of on negative self-talk.
Set Yourself Goals
Setting goals helps you grow as a person. They could be goals for your business, personal development, quality family time, and leisure activities. What is important is that you set yourself both short-term and long-term goals, whereby the former will be your biggest priority today.
Once you have a goal in mind for your career or business, you will have to think about the next steps you need to take to attain that goal. For example, if you lack the skillset to achieve what you need to do for your business, then you will have to learn new skills, emulate your boss, or ask a coworker for help.
As you try the methods you learned, you’ll probably make a few mistakes here and there. Ask what your coworker learned from their mistakes. Maybe they tried an entirely different method of doing something? It has often been said that the best experience to learn from is someone else’s.
You will shorten your learning curve because the odds of them having put forth a lot of effort in achieving their goals were very high. So this factor will give you an advantage and save you time.
Getting Out Of Your Comfort Zone
You grow as a person when you learn or implement something that is out of your comfort zone. Avoiding situations that make you feel uncomfortable won’t get you ahead. Likewise, being self-critical and thinking that you lack the intelligence to do something just because you lack experience only stunts your growth.
You can leave your comfort zone by trying something you have been avoiding. The first step in doing this is to create a new vision of your future goals or things you want to achieve. Next, turn them into a manageable list that you complete on a daily basis. Then, look at what you’ve written down and envision them as already having been achieved.
Another way is by creating a vision board, where you post images of the goals you want to accomplish. Now, this might feel odd at first. Still, if you view it the same way as when you post your children’s artwork on your fridge to be admired, then the images on your vision board should be viewed as goals you have already obtained. Again, this does something to motivate your subconscious to work on solutions to achieve them.
Remember, moving from the fixed to the growth mindset doesn’t take much. Instead, it takes a willingness to learn new things, make mistakes, and the courage to view your new goals as already accomplished.
Remember:
“If you want to make it big, remember to do the small things well.”
~ Frank Sonnenberg ~
