Mindset is a word that seems to be used more frequently. On numerous occasions this past summer whilst watching the Olympics and other sports coverage I’ve heard commentators refer to a sports person’s mindset when discussing their performance. They remark that they have a positive mindset or the right one to succeed. Having a mindset that is geared and focused on achievement and fulfilment is important not just in sport but also business, education and life in general.
What is mindset and why is it so important to growth and fulfilment of potential?
The Oxford dictionary defines mindset as a fixed opinion or state of mind formed by earlier events.
I have always thought of mindset as a way of thinking, a frame of mind that has been shaped by events and experience.
A more complete description would be that mindset is your collection of thoughts and beliefs that shape your thought habits. These habits affect how you think, what you feel, and what you do. Your mindset impacts how you make sense of the world and how you make sense of you.
Carol Dweck, in her excellent book Mindset – the new psychology of success, talks about two types of mindset- fixed and growth.
The fixed mindset
In a fixed mindset people believe their basic qualities like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success without effort.
People with a fixed mindset tend to avoid challenges, give up easily, see effort as fruitless, ignore useful negative feedback and feel threatened by the success of others. As a result of this they achieve less than their full potential. They become non-learners.
The growth mindset
In a growth mindset, people believe that their most basic abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. Brains and talent are just the starting point. This view creates a love of learning and a resilience that is essential for great accomplishment. Virtually all great people in history and from the present day had/have these qualities.
People with a growth mindset tend to embrace challenges, persist in the face of setbacks, see effort as the path to mastery, learn from criticism and find lessons and inspiration in the success of others. As a result of all of this they reach ever higher levels of achievement.
The following extract from Carol Dweck’s book explains how people become non – learners.
Benjamin Barber, an eminent sociologist, once said, “I don’t divide the world into the weak and the strong, or the successes and the failures, I divide the world into the learners and non-learners.”
What on earth would make someone a non-learner? Everyone is born with an intense drive to learn. Infants stretch their skills daily. Not just ordinary skills, but the most difficult tasks of a lifetime, like learning to walk and talk. They never decide it’s too hard or not worth the effort. Babies don’t worry about making mistakes or humiliating themselves. They walk, they fall, and they get up. They just barge forward. The fixed mindset puts an end to this exuberant learning. In the fixed mindset it’s not enough just to succeed. It’s not enough just to look smart and talented. You have to be pretty much flawless and you have to be flawless right away. After all, if you have it you have it, and if you don’t you don’t.
A fear of failure therefore gets in the way of people fulfilling their potential. For those with the growth mindset, success is about stretching themselves, becoming smarter and being prepared to make mistakes. They see these setbacks as opportunities to grow and learn.
This week, why not take a few moments out to think and reflect. How is your mindset at present? What action could you take to make it more positive? Is there anything you can learn and apply from the list of things that make up a growth mindset?
This week’s quotation:
“What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk
Abidoye olalekan ben
I so much love this, but i need to know more
As an institution student how can one have first class mentality from it poor state
Stephen Pauley
Thank you for the feedback. Glad that you enjoyed reading the blog.
If you would like to know more about a growth mindset, I suggest that you read the wonderful book by Carol S Dweck called Mindset.
You will easily find it on Amazon.