Do you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? Your answer could determine whether you reach your dreams as a writer. Studies show we can fulfill our potential as writers by cultivating a growth mindset. Instead of viewing struggles, mistakes, and challenges as failure, we consider them part of a learning process that makes us smarter at our craft.

A growth mindset creates a passion for learning our craft, and instead of becoming discouraged by failure, it becomes part of that passion. The cherished quality of being a writer doesn’t have to be inborn.

It can be cultivated through ups-and-downs and challenges. That’s why so many famous writers like Stephen King, Janet Evanovich, and James Lee Burke—who got tons of rejections — became successful. For writing “growthers,” it doesn’t make sense to stop trying. They learn from their struggles and refuse to give up. The poet Sylvia Plath said, “I love my rejection slips. They show me I try.”

Today’s Takeaway

Cultivate a growth mindset by considering failures, challenges, and struggles as a way to learn and allow you to thrive with resilience and become better at the craft of writing.

Excerpt from Daily Writing Resilience by Bryan E. Robinson, PhD, with permission from the author and publisher.

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Author(s)

  • Bryan Robinson, Ph.D.

    Journalist, psychotherapist, and Author of 40 books.

    Bryan Robinson, Ph.D.

    Bryan Robinson, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, psychotherapist in private practice, and award-winning author of two novels and 40 nonfiction books that have been translated into 15 languages. His latest books are CHAINED TO THE DESK IN A HYBRID WORLD: A GUIDE TO WORK-LIFE BALANCE (New York University Press, 2023)#CHILL: TURN OFF YOUR JOB AND TURN ON YOUR LIFE (William Morrow, 2019), DAILY WRITING RESILIENCE: 365 MEDITATIONS & INSPIRATIONS FOR WRITERS (Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018). He is a regular contributor to Forbes.com, Psychology Today, and Thrive Global. He has appeared on 20/20, Good Morning America, The CBS Early Show, ABC's World News Tonight, NPR’s Marketplace, NBC Nightly News and he hosted the PBS documentary "Overdoing It: How To Slow Down And Take Care Of Yourself." website: https://bryanrobinsonphd.com.