Here's a cute and short video that describes some of the aspects of Growth and Fixed Mindsets.
You might remember my Facebook post a while back where I mentioned that I was delivering a course locally on the topic of Mindset.
Basically, when you boil down everything and look at every approach, it comes down to whether we are in one of two Mindsets: a Fixed Mindset or a Growth Mindset.
Now, I won’t go into huge detail here – that’s a topic for another post, or video, or even an online course… But, briefly -
A Fixed Mindset tends to be more pessimistic, being concerned with not getting things wrong, avoiding mistakes at all costs, and believes that we are failures if we don’t get the activity or event “right”. Basically, I believe that if I can’t do something, I’ll never be able to do it – end of story.
As you can imagine, there is a lot of negative self-talk with Fixed Mindset and the Inner Critic looms large (btw, if you're an Introvert like me, you'll also have a superior ability for retrospection and a highly developed inner world. Yes, we Introverts are VERY good being in a Fixed Mindset 😊).
In contrast, a Growth Mindset tends to be more practical or optimistic, believing that we can handle what comes our way – and if we fail, we believe that we can learn from it and do better next time.
A Growth Mindset focuses on the process and doing that to the best of our abilities and is less concerned with perfection of outcomes. It is concerned with learning from mistakes, improving performance, and runs self-talk that is encouraging, kind, patient, and supportive.
There's a bit more to it than that - but that is enough of a description to wet your appetite...
Question:
Do you recognize these Mindsets in your own work and life? In yourself or in others?
Which Mindset do you notice you or others adopting in particular work situations? How well does the Mindset lend itself to achieving the desired outcome for that situation?
Tip: As you may have already guessed, we move back and forth between these Mindsets depending on the circumstances we are in at the time.
But the interesting thing is – and this was what I was teaching in my Mindset course – is that you can choose which Mindset you use in a given situation. The fancy phrase for this is "Self Directed Neuroplasticity" (drop that one in at your next conversation coffee break at work!)
What this means is that you are not always at the mercy of external circumstances, people, situations, etc that determine your Mindset as Fixed or Growth.
No, instead, you can choose your Mindset depending on which one gets you closer to a particular goal. And even better, practice makes perfect - you can practice particular ways of thinking that will begin to replace the unhelpful thoughts that might be getting in your way. That's pretty amazing - we can rewire our thinking to get different and more desirable outcomes.
“How?” you ask.
Well, again, that’s a topic for another time – but the important thing is to begin noticing which Mindset you are occupying in a given situation and ask yourself:
“Is this the Mindset that will get me what I want?”
If not -
1) begin catching the unhelpful thoughts that might be getting in the way
2) decide what better, more helpful thoughts would be, and keep repeating those until they become automatic
"That's easy for you, Karl - but very difficult for me", you say.
"And that's a brilliant example of a thought that is from a Fixed Mindset", I'd say. "How can you turn that around a bit to be more helpful and therefore from a Growth Mindset perspective?", I'd continue. "And by the way, that's no more easy or difficult for me than it is for you. I have to keep working at it and changing how I think, too - so you're not the only one", I'd say.
"How about: 'That's challenging for me, but I will keep at it because I know it will get easier over time'?", I'd offer to you.
"Yes, that makes a lot of sense and it's not as difficult as I thought", you reply.
So – two more questions for you:
Do you get stuck sometimes in a Fixed Mindset at work?
Would you benefit from some tips on how to shift from a Fixed Mindset to a Growth Mindset?
Then as one of my subscribers, I have just the thing for you!
It’s called a Leverage Your Introversion session – this is a FREE, no obligation 45-minute coaching session with me.
I’ve found that this is a great way to help people to get unstuck and breakthrough a challenge that is stopping them from getting the success they want.
For example – I mentioned a client named Richard a while ago.
Richard was stuck because of his Fixed Mindset at work. He -
- operated only on his own
- didn’t speak up in meetings
- flip flopped and overthought his decisions
– it was driving his colleagues bonkers – all due to his Fixed Mindset…
In his FREE 45-minute Leverage Your Introversion session, Richard learned to access his Growth Mindset and be flexible in his thinking and behavior at work.
Now he:
- gets on famously with his colleagues
- has developed greater mutual trust and respect with his colleagues
- works better in collaboration and helps his team meet their targets consistently
- has become more decisive and not afraid to “get things wrong”
And what about you? Want to make that breakthrough, too? And if not now, then when?
I only make a few time slots available for these “Leverage Your Introversion” sessions – so I strongly encourage you to grab some time in my calendar before the spots are all taken.
Don’t delay doing now what you need in order to have the success that you deserve in the very near future!
Click the button below and let’s talk!
I look forward to talking with you soon.