When you think about your abilities — whether it’s participating in a sport or playing an instrument, writing a brief, hitting your sales goals or leading others — do you think your skills are innate? Or do you believe your skills developed because of hard work over time? Your answer to this question will help you understand whether you have a growth mindset or a fixed mindset. The type of mindset you have can make a significant difference in how you approach life and how you think of yourself.
What is a growth mindset?
People with a growth mindset believe that their skills, talents and abilities develop over time through hard work and learning. These people tend to achieve greater success in school, work and home life because of their willingness to share information, recognize and admit mistakes, and take risks.
People with a growth mindset want to learn. And they don’t care if a question they ask makes them look ill-informed. They don’t mind being wrong. Their only goal is to improve.
Conversely, someone with a fixed mindset believes their intelligence, abilities and skills are set in stone and unchangeable — fixed. Often, those with a fixed mindset believe that intelligence can’t be enhanced; you either have it or you don’t.
Most people fall somewhere in between a growth and a fixed mindset. For instance, you may have a growth mindset at work, being willing to take risks and open yourself up to feedback. But at home, you may be more resistant to constructive feedback and likely to adopt a fixed mindset about household tasks and challenges.
It’s OK to have differing mindsets for different aspects of your life, but you can always work to improve in all areas and change any behaviors that aren’t productive or healthy.
Benefits of a growth mindset
Individuals with a growth mindset tend to experience greater success because they aren’t resistant to taking on challenging work. They are motivated by learning.
A growth mindset also has other advantages, including:
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Better self-regulation of emotions
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Greater persistence and perseverance
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Higher overall well-being
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Improved ability to handle transitions or adapt to changes
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Improved self-esteem and self-confidence
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Reduced stress and feelings of aggression
A growth mindset can affect all aspects of your life, improving your mental health, career success and relationships with others.
How to adopt a growth mindset
You can begin developing a growth mindset by making a few simple changes in the way you think. You can try tactics such as:
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Being open to feedback and willing to improve
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Finding ways of learning that appeal to you and your particular mindset
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Resisting looking for approval from others, but rather seeking your own satisfaction
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Taking risks in front of others and not fearing failure
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Understanding that failure is an opportunity to learn
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Using positive self-talk to praise your own actions rather than praising innate traits. For instance, congratulating yourself on working hard instead of thinking you just “got lucky” because you already knew something.
It may take time for you to become more comfortable with disappointments and critical feedback from others. But give yourself grace and time to learn how to be more open to learning, change and risk. As you develop a growth mindset, you’ll begin to feel the many benefits of seeing the world — and yourself — through a different lens.
