Mindset is defined as a person’s way of thinking and their view of the world.
How’s your mindset helping you to stay aligned with your goals in life and business?
The psychologist Carol Dweck has been investigating the questions – Why some people with no apparent exceptional skills or talents become successful while others don’t. She wrote the Mindset book in which she examined this topic in depth.
Her and her team did an experiment. They worked with students and divided them into two groups. One group was praised for their ability while the other group was praised for their efforts.
When the ability group solved a problem, they were told “You did this so well! You must be really good at this!”
And the group that was praised for the effort were told “You did this so well, you must really have worked hard on this!”
After a while, the group that were praised for their efforts continued to excel while the group that was praised for their ability declined in their progress.
Professor Dweck explains that we have either growth mindset or fixed mindset.
Someone with a growth mindset, believes that they can accomplish anything with some hard work and effort. While someone with a fixed mindset believes that we are born with a set of abilities that determines how successful they are and there’s really nothing they can do to change it.
How do you know what kind of mindset you have; growth or fixed?
Think about something that you did that didn’t work out as you hoped or planned. What was your thoughts about that? Did you think that you were just not good idea and you should just not do that and focus on other things? Or Did you think that there was something you can do differently to get a better – more desired outcome?
What if I have a growth mindset vs fixed mindset? Why does it matter in my business?
Well your mindset could be either helping you get ahead or holding you back! If you believe someone is just a “natural born public speaker” or that you “just can’t speak in public” you’re holding a fixed mindset. With a fixed mindset, you avoid new challenges because you’re afraid of being judged. So when challenges come-up, you tend to give up quickly.
In a growth mindset, you believe you can develop any ability through dedication and hard work. Because of this belief, you have a desire to learn. This enables you to embrace challenges and persevere when setbacks happen during the learning process.
How can we change our mindset from fixed to growth?
Step 1: Become aware of your fixed mindset
Listen to your fixed mindset “voice”. When you’re working on your business and trying to find opportunities, you might hear your inner voice saying “if I only had this ———— ” or “If I was good at ————— things would be a lot easier”. Recognize it as your fixed mindset voice.
Step 2: Recognize that you have a choice to change your fixed mindset self talk
When you hear your fixed mindset voice, you have the choice to interpret it as challenges, setbacks and self-criticism (fixed mindset) or as an opportunity to challenge yourself and learn something new, explore strategies for better results and continued growth and self-development.
Step 3: Talk Back to your fixed mindset voice
As you approach a challenge, your fixed mindset might say “Are you sure you can do this?” Answer with your growth mindset voice “I am not sure that I will get it right the first time, but with some experience and learning I will be able to know how to run a successful business”.
Step 4: Take consistent growth mindset action
Take consistent growth oriented actions. In time, this will help to reprogram your fixed mindset to shift to growth mindset.
Now I’d love to hear from you! How is your mindset helping you or holding you back from starting your business?