Have you heard of “The Growth Mindset”? Do you consider yourself to have a growth mindset? What does it mean – and what can it mean for you in your (business) life?
As children we begin to define our mindset. Babies and toddlers are programmed to learn – and not to give up. Imagine if a toddler thought “this wwalking malarkey is just too hard, I have fallen over the last two times I tried, it’s just not for me, I’ll give up”! Ridiculous, yes? And yet – at some point in our development some of us begin to believe we “can’t” do things and so we don’t try or we give up. Who amongst us has said “I can’t do maths, I can’t speak foreign languages, I can’t climb hills”? Those comments come from those who have a fixed mindset – they believe that they “can’t”.
Carol Dweck, Professor at Stanford University has done a lot of work with children. So many children just give up or say “I can’t do that”. Some believe from an early age that they either have an innate ability to do something or they don’t. In fact – there is potential in all children (and in all of us!) to learn and to do better.
She talks about the Power of Yet – if you say “I can’t do that…. YET” then it has a whole different meaning – and it encourages children to try and to learn – freed from the Tyranny of Now!
The secret is to give praise for the process – and reward effort. Many people scoff at those certificates that schools give kids for e.g. persistence but the reality is that many – and yes I was probably one of them – just give up and think they “can’t do maths” if they are not getting the top grades. And many of us older individuals did have the stuffing knocked out of us by (some) teachers or parents, making us believe that we were inadequate, and that therefore there is little point in trying
If we reframe using Yet or Not Yet this gives children greater confidence and persistence. They should learn to say “Not Yet” for example to the question “Can you ride a bike?”
So what does that mean for us?
Many of us, as we get older, just accept the way things are.
If we have a growth mindset then even as adults we really can learn new things – we just have to be open to the idea – I can’t do maths YET – I can’t speak Spanish YET
If you have a Fixed Mindset then you believe that your level of intelligence is fixed at birth, that there is no point in making an effort and therefor you avoid challenges.
If you have a Growth Mindset then you believe that it is possible to develop your intelligence and talent, that making mistakes is part of the learning process, and therefore challenges should be sought and embraced!
People with a Fixed mindset look at the success of others and feel threatened.
People with a Growth mindset look at the success of others and feel inspired!
And the good news is – you can change your mindset! You can learn to adopt a growth mindset – even as an adult. The old saying “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” is completely false – unless you tell yourself it is true. It really is in your hands.
Do you remember a recent blog – Try New Things?
If you push out of your comfort zone and keep trying to learn then your brain will actually change and develop – the neurons in your brain wil grow and form new, stronger connections. So you can and WILL improve.
You can tell yourself you can’t do that YET.
You CAN take on new challenges
You CAN keep trying and accept feedback
And you will be amazed at what you can do!
Let me know in the comments what new challenge you are going to take on! Learn a language? Climb a mountain?
Get in touch if you would like to discuss further.
