What is a growth mindset? It’s all about your perspective. Instead of looking at shortcomings in your abilities and learning as fixed, try to use failures as springboards to success. There’s a number of ways you can keep yourself engaged and moving forward, but one of the most effective is adopting a “growth mindset”.
Use your imagination.
When you imagine your future or goals, do you hold yourself back or go as big as you can? If you fear risk, then you also fear failure. With a growth mindset, however, failures are viewed as learning opportunities. If you create goals based on your current abilities, then you aren’t envisioning your potential to grow.
Focus on effort and practice.
With a growth mindset, great things require hard work and effort. If learning is your priority, it’s about the process and not just the outcomes. Focusing too much on results of success or failure, especially when critiquing others, hides the steps taken to get there. Is failure a result of a lack of effort?
Go easy on yourself.
No one can maintain a growth mindset continuously. You’ll get stuck at times. What causes you to hide your mistakes or become risk adverse? Perhaps it’s criticism or competition. Read more about striking this balance in the Harvard Business Review.
Remember the power of not yet.
Caroline Dweck is a pioneering researcher. She noticed that some students run from difficulty, while others use it as a sign that they are “not yet” where they want to be. When you believe abilities can be developed, you will be more engaged and able to overcome challenges. You don’t need to get the answers right, right now, you’re just not there yet. Watch her full TED talk.