I’m reading a book right now called “Mindset” by Carol Dweck. It’s so good and really eye-opening. Mindset is so important in how you see your life. The good and bad. If you constantly think about what you don’t have, you will never have enough. If you choose to think about how much you do have you will find more and more to be grateful for. It’s true. But there is so much more to mindset than I ever realized.
There is a “fixed” mindset and a “growth” mindset. Whichever one you have says a lot about how you achieve things in your life, how you tackle your goals and how you think you are perceived by others.
In a “fixed” mindset, there is an urgency to prove yourself over and over. Every situation is evaluated as; Will I succeed or fail? Will I look smart or dumb? Will I be accepted or rejected? Meanwhile, those with a “growth” mindset believe that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts, strategies and help from others. Fascinating, huh?
So, what does this mean? It means that if you have a fixed mindset you are always trying to be the smartest person in the room rather than open yourself up to learning and growing. In a fixed mindset, you feel like you should already know everything you need to know and if you don’t, you feel like a failure. In a growth mindset, you know that you can learn and adopt skills that will bring you closer to your goals. It seems there is a lot less pressure to the growth mindset. It’s hard to always must know everything, which of course we know we really don’t.
Think about when you were in school. Did you always raise your hand to answer questions even if you weren’t sure? Or did you only do it when you were positive the answer was correct so you could look smart? I was definitely the second scenario. The amazing thing is these other kids didn’t really care if they got the answer wrong if they learned the right answer or how to get to the right answer. WHAT? It seems alien to me! That’s because I’ve mostly had a fixed mindset.
I believe I have been making a change to a more growth mindset without even realizing it but now, I feel like the whole world has opened and I can do anything! Yes, yes I can. Because if I don’t know how yet, I will learn! And so can you. This is why I find this type of research so fascinating. I had no idea that something so simple had such an impact on my life, the way I lived and the way I thought about myself. If you can change that one little thing you can a whole new world in front of you.
If you want to learn more about this please read “Mindset” by Carol Dweck. But in the meantime, start realizing that you don’t have to have all the answers. You can learn them. You can grow. You can become the person you are meant to be. And now the pressure is off as well! Thank goodness. Life is hard enough without thinking that one answer to a question proves how smart you are. Geez Louise!
It’s taco Tuesday. Put a little thought into which type of mindset you have and if you are happy with it. Because if you aren’t, guess what? You can change! Grab a taco and go make it your best day yet!
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