The success of Growth Mindset
“Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life... “
Roy T Bennett
We all have dreams and ambitions. We believe one day we’re invincible and can reach the sky but then, out of nowhere, we can feel like a failure. When this happens it’s easy to be disparaged and think our dreams are unobtainable. But why do some people find success when we can’t?
The secret of success is having a Growth Mindset: a skill that is easily learnt, just like practising a new instrument. It’s attainable by everyone, irrespective of past experiences or setbacks. If we are able to see adversity in a positive light, overcome worries and fears and trust we can push through, we will be
empowered, confident in the knowledge we can achieve anything we put our minds to. We either succeed or learn.
Take Michael Jordan for example, the NBA's Most Valuable Player who risked his athletic prowess to fulfil his dream.
"I can accept failure he says, everyone fails at something. But I cannot accept not trying."
In his career, Jordan missed more than 9000 shots and lost 297 games
26 times, he was trusted to take the game-winning shot... and missed!
In his life, he failed over and over again but that did not prevent him to persevere.
It requires time & effort to become a champion, and despite excruciating training, Jordan never gives up he remains focused like an eagle targeting its prey nothing distracting him, reason for his success.
Making mistakes and failures are part of everyday life. Each mistake we make provides an opportunity to learn something new which helps us grow.
Sometimes when we encounter hardships, we automatically think that we don’t have “what it takes” to succeed. Carol Dweck known for her work on the mindset psychological trait refers to it as having a “fixed mindset”—the belief that people essentially are “who they are and don’t change”
With her fixed mindset, my daughter Elisa used to say, “I cannot draw”. All she was doing was reinforcing her subconscious that, indeed, she couldn’t, a perfect excuse to avoid practising. The fixed mindset prevents us from failing in the short term, but in the long–term it can hinder our ability to learn, grow, and develop new skills.
Alternatively, a person with a “Growth Mindset" strongly believes they can “change and grow”. By focusing on the positives and developing this skill, their mind keeps growing and they reach their potential. Needless to say, that over time not only Elisa has learnt to draw, she has also embraced the power of “yet”. “I can’t do it … yet”.
Even as adults, we are constantly learning; with effort, focus and perseverance we can take our failures and transform them into successes.
Life’s path isn’t always smooth, there will be bumps, twists and turns. No matter how well we plan we are bound to encounter disappointments, difficulties, and defeat along the way.
Don’t waste time and energy on regrets or might have been. There is no growth there.
How you choose to live life impacts everything you do and you can use our Growth Mindset to aid your choices.
Growth Mindset is the key to success, by developing new strategies, drawing inspiration from one another we gain constant improvement.