According to researcher and psychologist, Carol Dweck, people have two kinds of mentality: growth and fixed mindset. A person with a fixed mindset knows that they cannot change their ways and so, when challenges come up, they resist and use the same methods again. However, a person with a growth mindset changes, takes conscious effort to improve themselves. A person with a growth mindset can outperform a person with a fixed mindset multiple times – even if they have a low IQ.
One of the ways to determine success is how you handle failure. Failure is actually a marker – either you can learn from it and say ‘Being a problem-solver, I can find another approach to this’. Or you can be affected by it, internalize it and avoid the problem entirely while being depressed about it.
There are certain strategies to help you develop the growth mindset:
Don’t Be Helpless
One of the worst things that happens is when people give up at times when nothing is going their way. Yes, it is a time when you feel terribly helpless. You feel like you have hit rock bottom. However, these are the times when you walk forward, learn from your mistakes, and try and move to a better area. You have experienced an event of growth.
Walt Disney got the sack from Kansas City Star due to his lack of imagination. Oprah Winfrey was let go from a morning show because she was too ‘emotionally invested’. Guess what, these perceived weaknesses became their strengths. Even Steven Spielberg was rejected at USC’s Cinematic Arts School. However, they had the growth mindset to learn from these. If they had a fixed mindset, they would wallow in self-pity and stay in the same place without growing
Passion
If you want to be truly empowered, you have to follow your passion. Yes, you may not be naturally talented at it, but your hard work will make up for it. Talent without hard work is nothing. And if you are not talented, you can do better than a naturally talented person with your hard work. Use Buffet’s method to identify your passion. Write 25 things you love doing, cross out the last 20. The 5 remaining are what you really want to do with your life.
Action
Start taking action and not worry about how things will turn out to be. Fixed mindset people lose a lot of their time worrying about things. However, for growth mindset people, worrying is just a waste of time. Why worry if you can use that worry and convert it into actions? They act and work on themselves to actively make the worry go away. Their action speaks louder than words.
Going The Extra Mile
When you are passionate about something, you are willing to go the extra mile. You don’t mind if it tires you out or if it’s the worst day of your life – you will work and make things happen for the day. You have daily goals and you will meet them, no matter what.
Bruce Lee and his encounter with a student is a perfect example of this. When one of his pupils was too tired after running 3 miles, Lee told him to do two more. He told his mentor that he would die if he did another mile. Bruce Lee said that he should do it then. Angry, the pupil started running and did two miles. When he confronted Lee afterward, Lee said that if he was going to quit, he should better die than quit. Exceeding your limits is what you need to do to achieve what you want in life.