How you approach opportunities and challenges is down to your mindset, and your mindset is the cornerstone of your personal development journey. Do you believe you are in the driving seat and can influence your own success? Or do you believe the universe has already laid out its plans for you?
Which mindset are you?
Do you believe your career path is already mapped out? If you are not born for success, maybe it’s best to just keep your head beneath the office parapet, avoid challenges and put in the bare minimum of effort. What a waste! Those who adopt this fatalistic view of life have a ‘fixed’ mindset, a term popularised by Carol Dweck, a US professor of psychology. In contrast, she described those with a ‘growth’ mindset: they think that personality and achievement are not fixed, but something you can develop.
With the Fixed Mindset, you can give up easily, see effort as fruitless and feel threatened by others’ success. After all, it just proves to you that talent is something you are born with and can’t be learned. But with a Growth Mindset, you persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the key to overcoming problems and are inspired by others’ success. You believe failure does not define you and can even be a springboard to future triumphs.
A Growth Mindset enables you to see the value in acquiring new skills and actively striving for improvement. It builds resilience, fuels your motivation and fosters a healthy self-esteem. Even better, those with a Growth Mindset motivate those around them to embrace personal development as well.
Techniques for change
So how can those with Fixed Mindsets take practical steps towards challenging the beliefs that are holding them back? The best way is by mirroring the habits of those with Growth Mindsets. They reach their full potential because they are not frightened of failure, or what others think of them. Their crucial strength is freedom: freedom to change their lives and the lives of others. So to emulate their success, adopt their behaviours: be curious, step out of your comfort zone – and allow yourself to fail. The rewards are worth it. Your mindset is the foundation on which all personal development is built. It shapes your attitude, actions and ultimately your outcomes. Nurturing it is a powerful step toward becoming the best version of yourself.
Put this into action
Start with self-awareness. Recognise your Fixed Mindset beliefs. Shift your language so instead of saying ‘I can’t do this’, say ‘I can’t do this yet’. Embrace challenges as growth opportunities. Learn from criticism, celebrate effort, foster curiosity – and stay resilient.