What Is A Growth Mindset And How To Achieve It?

Do you believe that your latent talent and intelligence are fixed? Do you give up easily when faced with problems? If you answered yes, you might be limiting yourself unnecessarily. To unlock your full potential, the shift to a growth mindset is critical. Keep on reading to find out how we can achieve success with such a mindset!

Growth mindset vs Fixed mindset

The hallmark of a growth mindset is believing that your abilities can be continuously developed and upgraded (Dweck, 2016). On the other hand, a fixed mindset views abilities as predetermined and set at a specific level. However, this is not productive as it discourages people from learning and improving themselves (Cote, 2022). 

How can we shift from a Fixed mindset to a Growth mindset?

1. Identify fixed mindset triggers 

   1. Why do we stop and limit ourselves from growing? Perhaps your trigger is getting challenged - where you find it difficult to work on a certain task and your solutions repeatedly fail that you give up entirely. Pinpointing your triggers helps you to change your internal dialogue and guide your reactions to look at the situation more optimistically (Western Governors University, 2019). 

2. Accept failure 

   1. Experiencing failure can be a blow to our self-confidence, making us question our abilities. Yet, failure does not spell the end of our paths as it is merely a step in the cycle of learning. With a positive attitude towards failure, we can identify our weak spots and work on them by yourself or with the help of other people. Having a growth mindset can then also make us more confident about risk-taking and innovation (Hasan, 2023). 

3. Be patient and persevere

   1. Achieving progress is not a clear-cut nor linear journey. It is inevitable to have both ups and downs but your effort to do better should remain consistent (Hoxie, 2021). If you fall, pick yourself up again, keep moving forward and you will get there eventually. 

With these steps in mind, you are bound to embark on a positive transformation as you adopt a growth mindset! Happy growing!

Written by: Shernice Feng

References

Cote, C. (2022, March 10). Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset: What’s the difference? Harvard Business School Online. https://online.hbs.edu/blog/post/growth-mindset-vs-fixed-mindset  

Dweck, C. (2016, January 13). What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/01/what-having-a-growth-mindset-actually-means 

Hasan, A. (2023, April 26). The Role of Failure in Learning: How to Embrace a Growth Mindset . The Economic Times. https://hr.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/the-role-of-failure-in-learning-how-to-embrace-a-growth-mindset/99790553  

Hoxie, T. (2021, March 22). How To Adopt A Growth Mindset And Revolutionize Your Career. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/ellevate/2021/03/22/how-to-adopt-a-growth-mindset-and-revolutionize-your-career/?sh=3f741ea6e9d9  

Western Governors University. (2019, April 12). What Is A Growth Mindset? 8 Steps To Develop One.  https://www.wgu.edu/blog/what-is-growth-mindset-8-steps-develop-one1904.html