Mindset is something that can be narrowed down to what we believe and it is one of the most valuable tools in our lives. The way in which we think determines many important factors such as whether we'll see life with a positive viewpoint as opposed to a negative viewpoint. When it comes to mindset, an important concept to consider is how challenges are approached. Some people would gladly accept an obstacle to overcome while others may become paralyzed at the thought of venturing into unknown territory. Do you think it would be more beneficial to overcome an obstacle and learn from it or avoid it because it could call your intelligence into question? It's a question that will provide a valuable answer to help you determine your mindset.
The Two Types of Mindsets
Do you ever think about why you do the things you do? We all have our reasons, but many times we don't even realize why we're doing what we're doing. I recently read a book titled Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck which went into detail about the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset. Essentially the idea is we can either believe we're born with an ability, which is a fixed mindset, or we can develop an ability through hard work and dedication, which is a growth mindset.
My Personal Journey
When I was growing up, I never would have thought I had a fixed mindset. I was incredibly focused on being the best at whatever I wanted to do. I excelled in school and wouldn't accept anything less than a grade of an "A" on any schoolwork which included a variety of assignments, exams, projects, and tests because I had to be "perfect." I had to succeed. If I brought home anything less than "perfect," I would be mortified. In order to avoid the horror of not being "perfect," I would spend hours upon hours studying. I remember when I was in sixth grade, I spent two hours writing a single page paper by hand. Why did it take so long? I didn't like how my handwriting looked and I would throw the entire paper away each time I made a mistake. My habit of being "perfect" reared its ugly head.
The "perfect" habit followed me throughout most of my life and provided a sense of fulfillment to me. When I was in eighth grade, I was the only student to receive high honors all year long. High school and college were also incredibly rewarding to me as I achieved everything I wanted through hours of sacrifice to be the best. I felt like I was on top of the world until I realized when I was graduating that I felt lost. I had no direction. What was I going to do? I worked incredibly hard for years to achieve what I wanted and realized it wasn't what I thought it would be.
I never reflected on why I really wanted to achieve all of the goals I had until a few years ago. I've been successful in my endeavors and knew that I could do whatever I wanted to do because I had the consistency, dedication, grit, intelligence, motivation, and willingness to make sacrifices to achieve anything in my life. After I finished Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, I had an epiphany. I realized I was after the "A" and all of the awards for the wrong reasons. I was focused on the recognition and felt the need to continuously prove myself in any way, shape, or form. I was too scared to have a growth mindset because it could potentially ruin my idea of "perfection" and being the best. I had always been too focused on the outcome and not enough on what really mattered which was the journey.
Your Mindset
How do you determine whether you have a fixed mindset or a growth mindset? It's easier than you think, but it may be difficult to accept. Refer to the question in the first paragraph. Which would you choose? As I had mentioned in the second paragraph, the fixed mindset focuses on being born with a natural ability and the growth mindset is aimed toward developing an ability. Is it possible to convert from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset? Absolutely, but it will take some work. Do we only have one specific type of mindset? Not necessarily. Is one type of mindset better than the other? That's a good question and the answer varies.
I've lived with a fixed mindset for most of my life and I have been slowly converting to a growth mindset over the past several years. I now have more characteristics of a growth mindset than a fixed mindset. I've realized that having a fixed mindset has limited my beliefs and prevented me from growing due to fear. In my fixed mindset, I wanted to always be an expert; never failing, never appearing to be a novice, and always having the right answer. What happened as a result was I didn't give myself an opportunity to make mistakes and learn from them which halted my growth as an individual. I've come to realize that failure is more of a gift than I could have ever imagined. When we fail, we learn. When we learn, we grow.
What Does This All Mean?
Once you've determined which type of mindset is more dominant, it will be easier to understand why you've made certain decisions in your life. Your mindset can either hold you back or propel you forward to reach your goals and it impacts everything you do. Sometimes reflecting on why we do the things we do can be difficult or even painful, but it is necessary to resolve any agendas hiding below the surface. Ultimately, you have to decide which mindset is the most beneficial to your life, find a good balance, and become the best version of yourself.