The importance of having a growth mindset

Take a second to reflect on how you view yourself and your challenges. Are there parts of yourself that you believe are just “the way you are”? Are there certain things that you see other people do but feel like you just simply can’t? Or do you think you have the capacity to learn and improve at anything if you put some effort into it? 

I have found in my practice one of the biggest determinants of change is one’s ability to see their capacity for it. I’m not talking about motivation, which always comes and goes, I’m talking about mindset. 

Have you heard of the term growth mindset? This is the perspective that anything can be learned and improved with focused effort. Someone with a growth mindset perseveres through setbacks and focuses on actions that can be taken to improve a situation. Contrast this with a fixed mindset, one that focuses on outcomes, expects perfection, and sees mistakes as failure or even personality flaws. A fixed mindset may say things like “I am just not the type of person who eats vegetables”. Can you see how a fixed mindset is more limiting and restrictive than a growth mindset, and how that perspective can influence your ability to change? 

If you feel you tend to lean more towards a fixed mindset, you are not alone and there is nothing wrong with you! However, you may be ready to try something different. Is there something that you feel you simply “can’t do”, or “aren’t the type of person for”? Take a moment and think back on your life. Can you point to a time where you made a change, learned a skill you hadn’t been able to accomplish before, or realized upon trying a food you used to hate, that it wasn’t all that bad? 

I can guarantee at some point in your life, there has been a time where you have changed, which proves that you are a complex person, capable of change where you may not have seen possible before. The first and most important step towards moving in that direction is having compassion with yourself and recognize that you have made changes in the past, so you are capable of making change now and in the future. Just because you haven’t been able to succeed at something yet doesn’t mean you are incapable of success. True change comes through action and practice, and it is never too late to practice having a growth mindset!

If this article has resonated with you and you would like to discover for yourself the power of adopting a growth mindset in the process of change, navigate here to schedule your free consultation with me!