Fixed vs. Growth Mindset
What kind of thoughts typically fill your mind? Do they look something like:
I’m not good at this stuff.. I’ll never get good at this.
I just can’t do math.
This is just too hard…
Or does your mind think:
What am I missing? There has to be something I’m overlooking.
I’m glad I learned that mistake sooner rather than later.
I can always keep improving this, so I’ll keep trying.
The former set of thoughts are those that are commonly attributed to a fixed mindset whereas the latter are those attributed to a growth mindset. These are the two different types of mindset camps we can fall under when it comes to our belief systems and the manner in which we approach and solve problems in life.
The Difference Between a Fixed and Growth Mindset
A fixed mindset is constrained to the limits of one’s beliefs and thoughts. There’s a belief that people are innately born with certain skills and aptitudes and that someone without a certain knowledge or skillset cannot improve themselves over time with effort.
Failures serve as validation of this belief, reassuring that the lack of intelligence or skill is fixed. As a result, those with a fixed mindset often give up easily in opposition to challenges and failure.
On the other hand, a growth mindset thrives on challenges and sees opportunities for growth and stretching one’s existing abilities. There’s a belief that, while some people certainly are more naturally gifted towards certain areas of knowledge and/or aptitudes, everyone can develop an increased propensity for a specific skillset or knowledge domain through time and effort.
Growth minded individuals love the process of learning new things and further evolving their capacity of learning how to learn. They face difficulties, challenges, and failures head on as a means to grow and develop.
Some of the key differences between a fixed and growth mindset can be boiled down to:
Fixed mindset limits
Intelligence, talent, and ability are all fixed and immutable
Flee from challenges and give up easily
Ignore negative, yet constructive, feedback that can help improve them
Avoid trying new things in fear of failure
Focus is on the outcome rather than the process
Growth mindset liberates
Intelligence, talent, and ability can all be developed and improved
Embrace challenges with confidence
Accept negative feedback as a way to improve and grow
Loves novelty and experiencing new things
Focused on the process without worrying about the outcome
Shifting From a Fixed Mindset to a Growth Mindset
As most of you probably have concluded, it seems reasonable that a growth mindset is more favorable than a fixed mindset in the grand scheme of things. However, just having an open, flexible mind does not automatically qualify one as having a growth mindset.
In certain situations, pressures and challenges may overwhelm us to the point where we feel insecure and defensive, adopting a fixed mindset in the moment. Fortunately, there are certain types of triggers in these types of events that, if we become aware of them, we can observe and determine patterns that will trigger the onset of a fixed mindset and learn to switch over to a growth mindset.
Here are a couple of strategies that can help you in developing this mindset shift:
Change the Narrative
Stories are a huge driving force in our personal lives as well as with daily global affairs. Much of what moves forward towards positive outcomes is driven by stories and much of what regresses towards negative outcomes is driven by stories.
When we’re faced up against particularly challenging times and moments in our lives, how we react and choose to perceive them is largely in part based on the stories and narratives we tell ourselves on a day to day basis. So the first step to shifting to a more growth-oriented mindset is to make a shift in the language you use to cultivate your own stories.
Pounce on Your Failures
Failure teaches us more valuable lessons than any amount of success ever could. When we fail, we are provided the opportunity to pounce on them by reviewing what went wrong and how things went wrong in order to devise a plan to improve and correct past mistakes.
We can apply this incremental, agile mindset shift by adopting mental models, such as the inversion principle, to our mental arsenal. Once we adopt these types of models which allow us to look at failures and problems from a variety of different angles, our minds will start to crave more and more for the opportunities failure presents.
Stay Consistent and Flexible
Much like eating healthy and exercising, you can’t expect long-lasting changes to happen overnight like the flip of a switch. It’ll be a process of learning to adapt and building habits to gain momentum and consistency.
Consider reflecting on a regular, periodic basis and asking yourself the sort of questions:
What caused me to react the way I did last time?
Did I choose a fixed or growth mindset in that situation?
Is this a pattern that causes me to adopt a fixed mindset?
Asking yourself these questions regularly will keep you flexible by identifying certain trigger points and cues that cause you to go into a fixed mindset mode. As you continue to ask these questions, you’ll soon find yourself in an everlasting growth mindset mode.
All of us are unique and have our different ways of absorbing, processing, and reacting to information and stimuli. How you react to something will differ than how I might react to the same thing. However, we all have the ability to constantly seek out new facets to our lives if we embrace a growth mindset.
Take the steps above to begin practicing the habits that’ll reinforce the growth mindset mentality. And if you’re curious to learn more about habits and the psychology behind them to help you in this journey, you can read more on them here. Once you’ve fully embraced the growth mindset, don’t forget to promote the mindset to our children and the future generations to come!
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow; learn as if you were to live forever.“ - Mahatma Gandhi
