At eight years old, I was told I was bad at Maths. In high school, my Maths teacher refused to support me when I wanted to join a standard class whose results wouldn’t be scaled down at the end of the year. Throughout my education, I believed that my abilities were fixed. I believed Maths would always be my downfall and that I could never improve. Growth mindset challenges this notion.

What is a growth mindset?

Growth mindset is a concept developed by psychologist Carol Dweck. It was one that I first came across when I was studying to be a teacher, and boy, has this concept taken off in schools since then! A mindset is a belief or perception that a person holds about themselves, such as my negative belief about my mathematical ability. According to Dweck, having a fixed mindset means that you believe “basic qualities, like intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits… that talent alone creates success – without effort.” On the other hand, having a growth mindset means believing that “basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work.” In other words, a person with a fixed mindset will believe that their initial abilities cannot be changed and will inevitably give up when they see a challenge, whereas someone with a growth mindset will see a challenge and work hard to master it. As I mentioned before, this concept is now heavily reinforced in the classroom today (as it should be). Why can’t adults get on board too?

Why do I need a growth mindset?

We’re not in school anymore, but I bet negative self-beliefs, like your ability in a certain school subject still haunts you. Today, I still have to catch myself before repeating someone else’s narrow-minded judgement, “I’m not good at Maths,” as an excuse to not even try some simple mental arithmetic. A fixed mindset can be dangerous. Don’t you want to let go of these negative self-concepts, and move forward with your life?

If you want to make any sort of progress with self-improvement, it all begins with your mindset. If, for example, you want to lose 10 kilograms, but find your weight loss flatlining, or worse, increasing, without a growth mindset, you might just give up altogether! The way you think about your abilities can have a huge impact on your progress and achievement in literally any area. Nothing big has ever been achieved without a little bit of elbow grease i.e. effort.

Additionally, having a growth mindset can help you build resilience when you get thrown a curve ball. We all know that life is no bed of roses. Problems occur. Things can change in the blink of an eye. Tempting as it may be to view yourself as a victim and cry that there’s nothing you can do when faced with a challenge (fixed mindset), the better option is to look at the challenge as a learning opportunity and overcome it (growth mindset).

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (2008), on average, around 1 in 6 women and 1 in 8 men will experience some level of depression. The rates of depression are similar in other Western societies such as the UK and the USA. Many experts believe that a lack of a resilience could be the cause for the rise of depression in society. Where does a lack of resilience stem from? A fixed mindset. Isn’t that reason enough to get on board with growth mindset?

Psychologist Peter Gray an interesting article on declining student resilience, if you’re interested in finding out more.

How do I develop a growth mindset?

While putting your negative self-perceptions to bed is hardly as easy as flicking a switch, if you start applying the principles below, you’ll eventually develop a growth mindset.

1. Recognise and accept your weaknesses – to improve, you’re going to have to acknowledge that there’s a problem.

2. View challenges as opportunities to grow – when you try something there’s a risk that you may fail, but in failure there’s always a lesson that can be learnt. Learn more here.

3. Focus on your potential for growth, rather than others’ approval – when you prioritise praise or what others think about you, you neglect potential learning opportunities.

4. Value the journey – life is a journey and so is learning. Don’t rush to get to the end or you’ll miss the good stuff.

5. Understand the purpose – when you know why you’re doing something, it can keep things in perspective.

6. Reflect and seek feedback – if you want to improve, you’ll need to find out what you can do better next time. What’s the lesson?

7. Remind yourself that improvement is not always synonymous with failure – it can just mean “make better”.

8. Reject the idea that nature defines you – while you may have a certain natural talent or weakness, you can improve by putting in more effort. Genius is 1% talent and 99% hard work.

9. Take calculated risks – humans learn by making mistakes. The more often you take risks, the easier it will be to keep doing it.

10. Be conscious of your attitude – when you’re conscious of how you’re feeling, you can turn things around. Don’t let one bad thing ruin your entire day.

Here are some phrases that you can say to encourage a growth mindset:

At some point, we’ve all believed that our talents and abilities, or lack thereof, were fixed. A growth mindset rejects this idea, and encourages dedication and hard work in order to succeed. In order to learn, you will need to open yourself up to the possibility of failure through taking calculated risks. A growth mindset is also key in the development of resilience, which we all need to deal with the issues that arise in our lives. A mindset shift can be a slow process, but by changing the way you think and rephrasing what you say, you can develop a more positive sense of self and continue to learn and grow.

What do you think about the concept of growth mindset? Let me know in the comments below. Want to stay connected? Subscribe and get sent new blog posts by email. You can also follow me on Instagram.

Talk to you again soon!

Grace x