What It Means to Have a Growth Mindset
We talk a lot about growth mindset at e2L. But what exactly is a growth mindset? And how do you accomplish the more daunting task of developing a growth mindset?
What is a growth mindset?
Author and professor Carol Dweck said it best when she defined growth mindset as “the understanding that your abilities can be developed.”
A growth mindset is the mental attitude that you can become smarter through hard work that pushes you. The growth mindset processes feedback not as “Did I do well?” but as “What can I do better next time?”
The growth mindset processes feedback not as “Did I do well?” but as “What can I do better next time?” Click To TweetWhy growth mindset matters
This concept isn’t a fluffy buzzword. It’s a real state of mind that can make or break your success.
In fact, people with this kind of mindset tend to achieve more than people with fixed mindsets. A growth mindset isn’t a guarantee of success, of course, but doing your best each time you’re up to bat means you’ll score more hits.
A growth mindset also improves happiness and self-esteem by focusing on constant improvement over negative self-talk. It’s a great mindset to develop resilience and take on increasingly challenging tasks.
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How to develop a growth mindset
Changing your mindset is no easy feat. Fortunately, there are several steps you can take right now to build a growth mindset.
Model
Act like you have a growth mindset, even if you don’t feel like you have one! It’s all about modeling the behaviors and the mindset you want. When you model behaviors to yourself, you’ll see your desired outcome, which is a stronger growth mindset.
Even if you aren’t perfect, every step towards perfection is a step in the right direction.
Praise
Growing isn’t easy. Remember to congratulate yourself for a job well done. With a growth mindset, it’s more important to celebrate the fact that you’re trying to grow, instead of unrealistic results. Growth mindset is all about the effort of improvement.
Reframe thinking
Don’t get us wrong: it’s still important to measure your growth and success. But it’s not about having a win-lose mentality. Reframe your thinking by practicing self-kindness. You can still be honest about your failures without beating yourself up.
How do you nurture a growth mindset? Let us know in the comments!
