“… a growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts” – Carol Dweck
Reason 1: Develop your ability to improve
We are often told that successful people are born with talents and gifts. That they are born smart and have superhuman powers. Unfortunately, it causes people lose motivation when they believe that they cannot fulfill a specific task.This concept is wrong because “practice makes perfect” !
we hear this all the time and read it everywhere without taking the time to reflect on it.
With a growth mindset, you know that you have the power to improve your skills and learn to perfect them if you put the time and effort into it. This applies to students wanting better grades at a subject or employees interested to work on new projects.Access to learning has never been this easy in history due to the existence of learning platforms on internet. From entrepreneurship to knitting, there is something for everyone’s interest!
Reason 2: Thrive during challenges
Some people tend to use hardships and difficult challenging situations to evaluate and confirm their intelligence or character. It could be in a relationship or career. The situation is then given power over one’s own personal reality.
Did my book get rejected because I am a bad writer? Did I not get called for the job because I am not smart enough? These questions allow challenging situations confirm whether or not we are good enough.
When we develop a growth mindset, we see challenges differently. Our mind starts asking the right questions: How can I improve to make it work the next time? What skills should I learn to be considered for this career? How can I approach the situation to make it work next time?
These questions automatically shift one’s attention from the outside world to one’s inner self and withdraws the power back to oneself – from chaos to order! The failures become practice exercises and the “no thank you” become new horizons to discover. That’s how you learn to appreciate everything, positive or negative.
Reason 3: boost your creativity
Some people would be discouraged after a few attempts. We see this mostly when entrepreneurs face challenges and hard decisions to either give up or keep trying. Sometimes it isn’t about to keep trying but rather how you are trying. Doing it the same way over and over, most of times, won’t get you anywhere!
With a growth mindset, the will to have a different outcome will push one to explore new paths and try new learning technics to improve. One of the impressive examples is John Kwik’s story and how his learning weakness at a young age enabled him to develop an impressive know-how of innovative quick learning technics that he shares through his learning events.
“out of limitations comes creativity” Debbie Allen
Reason 4: enjoying the process
If the current situation isn’t satisfying, a fixed mindset person will feel stuck and frustrated about it without attempting to change it. The reason, often behind this, is waiting for some external factor or person to save you. Which, obviously, will never happen! In addition, who enjoys sitting in the waiting room? Especially if that takes forever!
With a growth mindset, you will compare yourself to who you were before and seeing improvement and development makes your journey enjoyable and the effort worthy.