Have you ever seen someone who seems to enjoy a challenge and who views an error as an interesting fact rather than a failure? That individual most likely has a growth mindset. This isn’t just a catchphrase; psychologist Carol Dweck invented this potent concept, which radically alters our perception of our own potential. The idea that your fundamental skills, intelligence, and talents are not fixed attributes but rather may be developed via commitment and hard work is known as a growth mindset. It’s the belief that learning and hard work, not natural talent, are the real secrets of success.
It is striking how different this is from a fixed mindset. You tend to shy away from challenging jobs because you fear they will reveal your limitations if you think your intelligence is a fixed, unalterable quality. You internalize your failures, feeling guilty and thinking, “I’m just not good at this.” On the other hand, the Growth Mindset views the brain as a muscle. It becomes more powerful the more you challenge it. Instead of being a threat, a difficult new work is an opportunity for “brain growth.” This change enables you to persevere longer and bounce back from setbacks more quickly by transforming difficulty from a cause of anxiety into an essential component of the learning process.
Your everyday life can be truly transformed by adopting this viewpoint. It alters your attitude to managing interpersonal relationships and gaining new skills. When you adopt a growth mindset, your attention shifts from looking for approval to looking for personal development. You begin to view criticism as constructive criticism that is required for future development rather than as a personal assault. The emphasis switches from the result—the test score, the job title—to the process: the work you put in, the tactics you attempted, and the fortitude you developed. Long-term compounding of this constant effort and learning is what ultimately determines not only what you do but also who you become.