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What is a Growth Mindset? - 5 Ways to Start Having One
Have you ever felt stuck in life, or compared yourself to others and their successes? The comparison game is easy these days with social media. We are constantly comparing ourselves to one another, getting down on ourselves, and shying away from what we are capable of. This type of thinking is called a Fixed Mindset. We don’t want to have a fixed mindset, we want to have a Growth Mindset. Because with a Growth Mindset, we continue to learn, grow, and push our boundaries.
I first learned about a growth mindset through athletics. Growing up, I played all the sports but focused on basketball mainly. Over the years, I learned a lot about what I was capable of as an athlete. However, it wasn’t till later (probably in the middle of my college basketball career) that I realized that a growth mindset applied to all areas of my life, not just sports.
I learned that we want to have a growth mindset, not a fixed mindset. With a Growth Mindset, we embrace the challenges we encounter. We continue to improve ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally. We NEVER stop learning and growing. Cultivating a growth mindset takes consistent effort and daily work. (Like all things in this life) This is one of those things that if it were easy, everyone would already be doing it.
When we develop a growth mindset our lives can change for the better. We can also be a positive influence for others to start to grow and change. My hope is you find this information helpful and can begin to develop your own growth mindset. Get started with 6 quotes that can help you build a positive mindset. And remember to keep moving forward. You got this.
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Top 5 ways to start cultivating a growth mindset
1. Pay attention to how you speak to yourself and others: Are you judging others or yourself too harshly? Do you have negative thoughts more often than positive? Just observe. Don’t judge or be critical. Even pay attention to your thoughts. Does the little voice in your head always tell you that you can’t do something? Or is it telling you that you might screw up and look dumb? Silence that voice as best you can. When cultivating a growth mindset the first place to start is how we speak to ourselves and others.
2. Enjoy the Journey: What’s the opposite of life? Death. Which means life is a journey to death. So what are we rushing through life for if the end goal/result is death? Life is a long journey full of ups and downs, good and bad, and everything in between. So we need to stop looking for the end destination and continue to learn, grow, and enjoy the journey.
3. Learn and embrace your mistakes: One of the best things you can do for yourself is acknowledge when you make a mistake or fail at something. Know that everyone fails at something. We are all beginners at some moment in time, we are all human, and we all make mistakes and fail. However, it’s about what we do next after we make a mistake. Do we learn from it and grow, or do we continue to make the same mistakes again?
4. Stop looking for acceptance and approval from others: This one is hard for many people and is still hard for me sometimes too. But the more we can let go of what others think of us or the need for approval from others, the more we can grow. Why put happiness and self-worth in other people’s hands, especially, when that happiness and self-worth is our own? The more we can focus on accepting and approving ourselves the more we can grow. Don’t let others tell you how to live your life.
5. Explore your strengths and weaknesses: We all have strengths and weaknesses, things we are naturally good at or things we have to work a little harder at than most. Explore and find what you are passionate about and good at, but also explore what you may need some work on. Then take a moment to appreciate what you are naturally good at, (or what you have worked very hard to be good at) and the areas that you may need to improve on. We shouldn’t shy away from our weaknesses, but find a way to improve them if we can.
Want to find out if you have a fixed or growth mindset? Take the mindset quiz on Calmerry. Click on the mindset quiz button, take the quiz, and find out if you have a fixed or growth mindset.
To Recap:
A growth mindset means you never stop growing and you never stop learning. Remember the end destination of life is death. So why are we in a hurry to get there? Let’s enjoy this journey, and continue to learn and grow as much as we can!
Sending you all the Good Vibes💜✨🌙
“It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.” – Confucius
