Uncovering Your Growth Mindset

Inspired by the work of world-renowned Carol Dweck, American Psychologist, and author of the best-selling book Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, and seeing how this topic is so aligned to my role as a mindset coach, I decided to share my thoughts and ideas behind her coined phrases of the “Fixed Mindset” and “Growth Mindset”.

This started out as a webinar but for those who would prefer a read, this is a watered down version of the 60 minutes webinar.

I think that all of us at some point in our lives and in different situations have had self-limiting and self-imposed ideas of what we can never be, and how we might never be able to achieve a particular something.

That is having a Fixed Mindset.

But I also think (and truly believe) that the Growth Mindset exists in our psyche, and we just need some help in understanding ourselves and our past experiences better, to be able to uncover those moments. And with that uncovered understanding, be better able to adopt strategies to practice and live out more areas of our lives with the Growth Mindset.

Before we dive deeper into the Fixed and Growth Mindset, I would like to distil the essence of what “Mindset” means and why this is relevant to how we make sense of the world and how we make sense of ourselves.

What is Mindset?

Mindset is a way of thinking and a “frame” of mind. It is a collection of our thought habits which affect what and how we think, feel and do. These thought habits are based on our life experiences, and they all come from different points of our lives and converge to shape our mindset.

Our mindset shapes our attitude, and our attitude reinforces our mindset. So when a person comments that someone has an “attitude problem”, chances are this some also has a “mindset problem”.

Belief and values play an important part as well in how we frame scenarios and situations in our mind. An example of belief would be the belief of giving abundantly to receive abundantly as well.

Values are principles or standards of life and behavior, that you hold true and dear to yourself. Integrity and honesty, faithfulness, determination and perseverance, are all examples of values that shape mindset.

These help to frame our mindset and are the perimeters to which we formulate our thoughts.

Mindset and how our Brain functions

The good thing to know and note is that your mindset can be trained. Recent advances in neuroscience have shown us that the brain is far more malleable than we ever knew.

One reason why high performance athletes get better and improve with each training and competition is because their brains are stretched and trained to take more stress and more challenges as they work towards their goals.

Even for yourself when learning to ride a bicycle or a new skill, you brain remembers new actions and movements to be able to repeat the new skill with greater ease.

So… how does it work in your brain?

Research on brain plasticity has shown that the connectivity between your neurons can change with experience. As we practice more of a new skill, the neural networks grow new connections, strengthen existing ones, and build insulation that speeds transmission of impulses within the brain.

It’s like the information super highway where we can increase our neural growth by the actions we take, by adopting relevant and good strategies, asking the right questions, practicing, and observing good nutrition and sleep hygiene.

What are the benefits of putting focus on Mindset?

Why are we talking about mindset in the first place?

Because you know the importance of mindset and it is a very accurate representation of who we are and what we can become. And perhaps if this article is not for yourself, then possibly for your colleague or team, and even for someone at home.

Mindset affects our motivation levels and therefore probability of success

It defines who we are and what we can become. And more often than not, how we perceive something already determines the outcome.

Mindset helps with how we cope with life’s challenges. When the going gets tough, a resilient and positive mindset is what keeps us going.

Mindset propels our potential. And rightly so, our ppotential is only as high and far as we set it out to be for ourself.

Growth Mindset Explained

Carol Dweck defines the Growth Mindset as an approach to life in which an individual believes that their talents, intelligence, and abilities can be developed further.

She believes that people with a Growth Mindset seek opportunities to learn, gain new skills, and enhance their existing skills. They have a passion for stretching themselves and sticking to it, even (or especially) when it’s not going well. Failure is never what defines you as a person, but is something to reflect upon and learn from.

“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.”

– Winston Churchill

This is one of my favourite quotes. Because it mentions three important things in life in just that one sentence.

Success. Failure. Courage.

The statement means seeing failure as a chance to develop your abilities further. It’s not an end point or the end of the road with any failure experienced. And more importantly, it is mustering that courage to level up.

When presented with a challenge, an individual with a growth mindset doesn’t see it as a chance to fail, but rather, as an opportunity to grow. They believe that hard work, and not luck or chance, can take them further in life.

Of course… believing is not enough — it’s the combination of your beliefs and actions that make the Growth Mindset work.

Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset

Th truth is… we are always on a continuum of fixed to growth mindset in different situations and I believe that it is about uncovering them and having that self-awareness to want to train, learn and progress more in all areas of our life with the Growth Mindset.

The key is to have that awareness, and to be able to identify where we are, so we do not fall trap to the fixed mindset we might be creating for ourselves.

P.A.R.T

If you find yourself caught in a situation where you know you’re thinking in a Fixed Mindset and want to reframe to a Growth Mindset.

Try P.A.R.T!

PAUSE

ANALYSE & ASK

REFRAME

THINK POSITIVE & GROWTH

Conclusion

Your mindset can be learned and trained and your mindset determines your outcome.

We function in a Fixed to Growth Mindset continuum so don’t be too hard on yourself when you find yourself thinking in a Fixed Mindset.

Remember P.A.R.T to practise and work towards having an automatic Growth Mindset to all areas of your life.

About Alex Loh

I am a consultant and coach in the fitness, health and wellness space, podcast host, business owner, loving husband and doting father.

My compass is guided by the desire to help people. I coach individuals and business owners to find purpose. Together we unlock fruitful solutions, experience growth and achieve targeted success. My focus is to help businesses and organisations harness fitness, health and wellness as the vehicle to build sustainable solutions. These sustainable solutions translate into elevated happiness and fulfilment for the individual and organisation.

Come speak to me about Developing Wellness Strategies, Finding Purpose, Building Communities and/or in Optimising your Life.