In this article, discover what Mindset is and most importantly, what is Growth Mindset. We will discuss why it’s so important to learn, work hard, and why you need to embrace failing. We will start at the basics, then dig deeper, to give you a stronger perspective and a foundation to help get you into Growth Mindset Mode.
American psychologist Abraham Masclow once said, “One can choose to go back toward safety or forward toward growth. Growth should be chosen again and again; fear must be overcome again and again.” To continue to grow, one must not shy away from hard work. You must understand that boundaries need to be pushed, and new concepts learned to foster growth.
Growth Mindset
“In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work—brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment.” ( Dweck, 2015). Growth Mindset is accepting that in time the journey will pay off and will be rewarding. Your abilities are being expanded through new learnings, hard work, and strong dedication.
Steve Jobs and Apple
After Apple fired Steve Jobs back in 1985, Apple went through several years of change. This eventually led to the year 1997, when Apple acquired a company that Steve founded (NeXT). With NeXT joining Apple, Steve Jobs once again came into position to leed the company he founded many years prior. It was said that once Steve left Apple in 1985, he went through a journey of personal transformation. This journey led him to take a more collaborative approach with his team and company leads.
While we can’t say for sure this is what led Steve to come back to Apple. However, this comeback eventually turn Apple into one of the most amazing forward thinking companies out there. Steve’s setback of being fired and then coming back to Apple 12 years later and acheiving everything Apple did in this timeframe, is proof of his mindset.
Fixed Mindset, the nemesis of Growth Mindset
Ever say to yourself (or hear someone say), “I’m not good enough?”. When you get into a fixed mindset, you have a really hard time understanding your value and worth. In many cases, people tend to take the easy way out of a situation and often try to avoid conflict. The terms; I can’t, I’m not good enough, I give up, or I don’t know, are often associated with the presence of a fixed mindset. There is hope though, if you find yourself saying the things above, help is on the way! There some ways to get you out of a fixed mindset and more into the mode of a Growth Mindset.
How to Get out of a Fixed Mindset
Remember, you see your life through a very distinct lens. Please checkout one of my recent articles on discouragement. In the Article, “How to Stop or Avoid Feeling Discouraged“, I disscuss about not comparing yourself with others. I also explain how people are more interested in themselves, then you. Your biggest enemy when you have a fixed mindset is yourself. This is a very important concept to understand. As a person, you can’t allow what you THINK.… others are thinking about you… get in the way of doing something great. Challenge yourself with new experiences and don’t be afraid of failure.
Embrace Failure
Failure is a way of figuring out what doesn’t work. Take the time to identify what didn’t work and develop a plan or checklist to correct. When you fail, you grow as a person, which grows your mindset. Do you think Michael Jordan is a failure for missing over 9,000 basketball shots? Were the Beatles a failure because they were rejected by a number of record labels. The Beatles were also told they had no future in the music business! Did you know that Def Jam dropped Lady Gaga after only three months? These people didn’t fail, they just never gave up! They also learned something from their setbacks. You could be the next person on that list. Don’t allow the idea of failure or a setback to hold you back from greatness.
Stop Constantly Seeking Approval
This one can be HARD! We all want more “likes” and we all want approval. However, the more we constantly seek approval, the more we chip away at our self esteem. That’s not to say that you shouldn’t pressure test or seek advice. However, you should not let someone’s opinions get in your way of achieving something great. There is a massive difference between someone receiving support vs someone constantly seeking approval. In time, the person always seeking approval’s self esteem will depend on the approvals of others, rather than their own self worth.
Staying Comfortable Will Ruin Your Life
There is a TedX Talk by Bill Eckstrom where he discusses how staying comfortable will ruin your life and stunt your growth. Bill held an executive position where he enjoyed a great salary, bonus, and other benefits. His life changed one day however, when in 2007 the CEO asked for Bill to meet, which resulted in Bill’s termination. Bill explains that after he finally accepted what happened, he realized that “only at a state of discomfort, can you continually grow,” this became Bill’s mantra. Bill went on to develop the term Growth Rings Environment, which are; stagnation, order, complexity, chaos. These four growth rings impact how much or how little we grow. You can check out Bill’s website and take a quick quiz to find out which Growth Ring you’re in and how knowing can help. https://www.billeckstrom.com/the-growth-rings
Take Extreme Ownership
Jocko Willink is a retired Navy Officer who held the rank of Lieutenant Commander and served in the NAVY Seals and was a member of Seal Team 3. Willink tells his story of extreme ownership during his presentation at TEDx Talks. Jocko talks about the fog of war; confusion, mayhem, human error, awful luck, and bad judgement that led to one of his darkest days. While in Iraq, Jocko’s team engaged in a firefight, but unknowingly to him or his team, the firefight was with friendly forces. One Iraqi soldier died and two US Soldiers were wounded in what Jocko calls a mortal sin of combat. Jocko explains that he was the person in charge, and therefore accountable for what had happened. He further explains that there was nobody else to blame and he took full extreme ownership of the situation.
Lastly, Jocko explains that you need to take ownership of everything in your world, both the good and bad. Take ownership of mistakes, shortfalls, problems and most importantly the solutions to get your problems solved. Jocko finishes his story with the advice of; take ownership of your mission, and your life and lead yourself to victory. A link to this powerful speech is located here on YouTube.
Conclusion
Having a growth mindset and realizing that you can teach yourself anything and accepting that setbacks are part of finding out what does or doesn’t work is extremely powerful! Allowing yourself to be inspired by others and trying new things will allow you to grow continually as a person. Take yourself to the next level by developing and harnessing a growth mindset!