Growth Mindset
What really distinguishes champions from others?
Why others succeed and others don’t? It is not your talents, support, environment, being wealthy or luck, it is all down to you and your mind!
I encourage you to read the book “Mindset ” written by Dr Carol Dweck. In this book, you are going to find answers to most of your questions and some of these answers could be a surprise to you! Carol says: “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.”
Everything in life requires skill and can be learnt. Even in most unfavourable conditions, you can master the skills required for your success, as long as you want to and you have a growth mindset! Most of us, once we reach a certain point in our lives feeling “comfortable” where we are, we can’t be bothered with learning a new skill, going an extra mile, pushing for promotion, as we are ” not interested” anymore, or we believe that ” it can’t be done”.
In this fascinating book, you will learn how our brains respond to various challenges. You are going to find multiple examples from top athletes to top entrepreneurs who by applying a “growth mindset” reached the top. You will learn about the truth and many myths will be busted. After reading this book hopefully will portray yourself differently and will want to test some of the theories. I hope you do and I hope you will benefit from it.
Below are my top 9 points summarised from the book:
- Treat setbacks as a path to success, by asking this question: “What did I learn from this setback?”
- Try different learning tactics, don’t be so shy and fixed with your own approach. There’s no one-size-fits-all model for learning. What works for one person may not work for you. Learn about different learning strategies and test them.
- Redefine your failure. Replace the word “failing” with the words “learning and improving”. We all make mistakes, so when you make a mistake learn from it and always say: “I have learnt this, next time will be better”
- Educate yourself on brain plasticity. Neither the brain nor mindset isn’t fixed.
- Acknowledge and embrace your imperfections. Understand that perfection does not exist. Hiding from your weaknesses means you’ll never overcome them.
- Begin viewing challenges as opportunities! When you have a growth mindset you are using opportunities as a challenge and self-development.
- Genius requires hard work, not talent alone. Don’t rely on your genius, because genius alone won’t help you to reach the top.
- Awake your passion for learning, by welcoming mistakes and new opportunities into your education journey. Stretching your comfort zone will be the best thing you can do for yourself.
- Change perception about criticism. Start noticing positive aspects of criticism.
- Become more positive in your own abilities and keep trying.
