The Path to Success
Imagine this.
You are talking to someone you deeply value and respect, and they make a comment about your identity or personality that you find inaccurate. Maybe they say you are not assertive enough or that you don’t listen enough. So you feel compelled to argue your way out of that description; you insist that you’re not like that at all, but that isn’t enough. A seed has been planted in your mind. You start to scrutinize and adjust your behavior in an attempt to change that person’s perception of you.
Does it sound familiar?
We do this a lot: we constantly judge and evaluate our behavior and actions; we build an identity with all the characteristics that we think we were born with; and then we make an effort to stay true to that character. When we don’t succeed, it just doesn’t feel right.
Well, it turns out that this mindset might keep us from being successful!
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Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset
The idea that we are born with a certain set of unchangeable qualities is what Carol Dweck calls a “fixed mindset”.
This is the mindset that you have if you’ve ever said: “That’s just who I am”.
But there’s a different mindset where, as Carol Dweck puts it, “traits are not simply a hand you’re dealt and have to live with, always trying to convince yourself and others that you have a royal flush when you’re secretly worried it’s a pair of tens.”
It’s called the “growth mindset”, and it is the belief that your qualities and abilities can change and can be acquired through effort. It’s the belief that you can learn to do anything you want, that challenges and failures can help you grow, and that hard work leads to mastery.
A “growth mindset” is essential for success. For example, studies show that this type of mindset is a better predictor of academic success than socioeconomic background!
But why?
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The direct consequences seem obvious, but they have enormous implications. People with a growth mindset are:
- More likely to take on challenges because they see them as opportunities for growth, no matter the outcome.
- More likely to take risks because they understand that failure doesn’t define them and that they only have to work harder to achieve success.
- More likely to continuously improve themselves and their relationships simply because they believe it is possible.
- More likely to be inspired by other people’s success because they see it as an attainable goal.
- More likely to cultivate new abilities and skills because they believe that all abilities can be learned.
- More likely to persevere because they are confident that it will lead to success.
Some examples
Consider a person with a fixed mindset. Even when offered the same learning opportunities as someone with a growth mindset, the outcome would be entirely different. For example, an entrepreneur with a fixed mindset might read information that is critical to success, but he wouldn’t act on it because “only gifted people can really be successful,” and “I’m not talented enough,” or “this is something I’m not good at.”
Or, a student with a fixed mindset might believe that he won’t be able to complete a certain assignment no matter what, so he might give up without even trying.
Personally, I made several mindset shifts during my entrepreneurial journey, and shifting from a “sometimes-fixed” to a growth mindset was one of the biggest.
I stopped viewing failure and negative feedback as a reflection of my own worth and started seeing them as a direction and an opportunity to grow.
I have learned that when we are just outside our comfort zone, it is the best time to challenge ourselves and flourish.
I have learned that the identity I have built is only the sum of my experiences and of the beliefs I have accumulated throughout my life, and that I can change those beliefs any time I want. We are ever-evolving individuals, and we can choose to grow in any direction we like, as long as we believe that change is possible.
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How do we foster this mindset in children?
Having a growth mindset early in life is so important. If we want our children to feel motivated to learn new things, be curious, take risks, and chase their dreams, we have to make sure that they believe that change and growth are a possibility.
So how do we do that?
We have to avoid praising our children for their traits (how intelligent, successful, or talented they are) and for their results (how many A’s they’re getting) and instead praise their effort, their improvements, their resilience, and their perseverance. We have to use the words “not yet” when they don’t complete a challenge, so they will learn that they’ll be able to conquer it if they try hard enough. We have to encourage them to focus on the process and not on the results.
For children and adults, a growth mindset is critical to success. So as Carol Dweck suggests, the next time you find yourself dealing with a difficult problem, ask yourself this question: “Are you not smart enough to solve it… Or have you just not solved it yet?”
Listen to an audio version of this article below.
Voiced by the Author, Serena Fadlun.
Serena is an inventor, game designer and entrepreneur. She completed a BHSc in Psychology in Auckland, New Zealand and then returned to her home country (Italy) and worked as a translator for a few years.
In 2020 she became a mother and decided to follow her dream of becoming an inventor. After successfully licensing in the toy and game industry, she decided to bring one of her ideas to market on her own; The Bendy Butler. It will be available in June 2023.
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