Did you know that there are different kinds of mindsets that people have? Carol Dweck is an author and psychologist at Stanford who is known for her work on mindsets. She defines mindsets as the “beliefs about yourself and your most basic qualities.” Examples of your qualities would be your intelligence, personality and your talents. Are those things that stay constant or do they shift over time? Exploring the fixed and growth mindsets might help you see where you fall between the two types.
People with a fixed mindset believe that what they have been given for brains and talent is all that they will get. They don’t believe that they can really do anything to affect or change those things. If they view that they have enough brains and talent to do what they need to do, then they don’t really need to focus on developing them further. However, they may face the constant struggle of feeling inadequate and that they are always trying to prove something.
On the other hand, if you have a growth mindset, you will see that there are ways to enhance what you have been given. You will take the brains and talent that you have and find ways to make them better. There will be a focus on your development, learning and practicing to improve your skills. For a person with a growth mindset, they don’t put any limitations on how much they can grow and develop.
Why do people have different mindsets? It was originally thought to only be driven by physical traits like the size of your head or your genes. Now there is more research stating that it is also driven by what you have been exposed to in your life, how you learn and your experiences. These things all work together to determine your mindset.
We have all heard the stories of the people who practice and spent thousands of hours to improve. They are the people who believe in challenging themselves and pushing themselves out of their comfort zone. You won’t improve overnight. It will take time and motivation to push through when it gets hard. Those who have the belief that they can improve their talent, learn more things and exceed your potential are the people who will be ready for any challenges that come their way.
Each person has a choice to make. You can either accept that what you have can’t be changed or believe that you can be more than you are. Which mindset do you want to have in your life?