What Having a “Growth Mindset” Actually Means

Do you get frustrated when you make a mistake? Or when you’re faced with a challenge, do you give up because you assume that you can’t do it?

These are two reactions that someone with a fixed mindset would have. People with a fixed mindset believe that they’re born with their skills and those skills can’t be changed. However, there is a big difference between people with a fixed mindset and people with a growth mindset.

Growth mindset enables you to believe that you’re in control of your skills, meaning you can learn develop new skills and improve them throughout your life. Your abilities are something you can grow over time–like a muscle.

And think about it, in order to build your muscles, you have to challenge them by adding weights to create a struggle–but this is a productive struggle. This is the same principle that applies to learning new things. You need to challenge your brain in order for it to grow.

Now, if you have a fixed mindset, you may take this idea by going to the gym just one time, lifting weights, and noticing that there’s no change to your body when you’re done. But building both your muscles and your brain takes time and repeated practice.

Here’s another thing to think about: You also can’t go to the gym and watch someone else lift weights and then get stronger yourself.You have to actually take action and practice. Again, this same principle applies to learning.

These two mindsets have a huge impact on your ability to achieve your goals.

When you’re facing a challenge with a growth mindset, you see it as an opportunity to build upon your abilities–making you more optimistic and more likely to seek out challenges for the purpose of improving yourself.

If you hit a point where you’re recognizing the fixed mindset voice holding you back, take action. Take on that new challenge, learn from that mistake and try again, Persist until you succeed. Adjust your method based on others’ feedback.

Whatever you do, don’t simply quit with the belief that you have hit your limit.