The Mindset Mantra
Over the years I have come to realize that mindset is what makes a person who she or he is. Why is mindset so important in shaping a person and giving her or him a personality? Before we go there, a basic question that one would want to ask oneself is “What is mindset”?
Simply put ‘mindset is a person’s way of thinking and their opinions’ to quote Cambridge dictionary. That in a way suggests that if you think of positive thoughts laced with confidence and trust, you will be curating your mindset to be one that is positive, reeks of self-belief and is forward looking. On the contrary if you let negative thoughts flourish in your mind, invariably your mindset will become negative and retrogressive.
In my experience, consciously instilling positivity, confidence and trust in people and things around you does play a significant role in shaping your mindset and how that mindset manifests in your behavior. I have evolved over the years from someone who would easily fall into the trap of self-pity bordering on negativity, to someone who lets objectivity and positivity take over. That has made me a more open minded, confident and balanced individual with a more positive outlook.
Growth and Fixed Mindsets
Now with this premise, I want to get into the space of Growth and Fixed mindsets. I chanced to read about this theory of Growth and Fixed mindset propounded by Stanford University Psychology Professor Carol Dweck. In her book “Mindset: The New Psychology for Success”. she talks about how the attitude we bring to our daily activities can play a large role in shaping and extending the ways we utilize our innate talents and skills-based qualities.
Fixed mindset is based on the belief that our abilities are permanent. Growth mindset is based on the belief that our basic qualities are malleable and able to be cultivated through effort.
Carol Dweck analyses these mindsets and their effects on domains such as career, sports, business, relationships, ability, and parenting. She concludes that a growth mindset leads to higher achievement whereas a fixed mindset leads to early plateaus and lower levels of success.
If we use Fixed mindset to interpret intelligence, we tend to believe our intelligence is static and based on what we have achieved and accomplished in the past, leading us to want to appear intrinsically smart and infallible. This can result in avoiding challenges, giving up easily when faced with hurdles, having a closed mind to feedback and feeling threatened by the success of others.
On the contrary, Growth mindset makes us believe that our intelligence is not defined or limited by our early education and experience. Rather this makes us want to keep learning, be open to constructive feedback, embrace challenges as opportunities and feel inspired by the success of others.
I am a great believer in having a Growth mindset and the joy I get from learning, whether it is from people or experience or intentional learning is immense and is helping me feel more motivated and fulfilled, regardless of what titles I hold or what awards I get or what is going on around me in my career or life.
If you haven’t done already, try cultivating a Growth Mindset.. it works!
