How to Manage Your Mindset & Change The Way You Think
Brisbane Counselling for a Growth Mindset
How to manage and change your mindset to develop a mindset of personal growth.
How to manage and change your mindset to develop a mindset of personal growth.
What is a mindset and why is it important to understand our mindset?
The definition of mindset is an attitude which includes the beliefs you have about yourself, your talents and what ultimately gets realised in your life. Put simply our mindset it the lens or filter in which we view the world and our experiences. How you view yourself or the lens through which you see yourself can have a significant impact when it comes to what you experience in your life.
As Henry Ford once said… ‘If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right’. If you believe that you and your qualities are unchangeable or fixed you will prove yourself right, if you believe that growth is possible for you and that you can improve, you will also prove yourself right.
Ford understood what science has now shown… that when our beliefs about who we are and our capabilities are skewed towards the negative, they become fixed and rigid, which leads to a whole range of thoughts and actions. The reverse is also true. When the beliefs we have about ourselves and our capabilities are positive and focused on growth, this leads to different thoughts and actions, taking you down an entirely different and productive road.
When it comes to our mindset, people often speak about a mindset being positive or negative. In this blog, I am going to be discussing the two types of mindsets based on the work of Dr Carol Dweck which are fixed mindsets and growth mindsets.
Let’s start with fixed mindsets.
What is a fixed mindset?
A fixed mindset is a mindset is one where we believe that success is based on talent. when we have a fixed mindset we are more likely to choose options that feel easier or even decide to opt-out of things that make us feel uncomfortable, for fear of not meeting our goal and feeling ashamed or embarrassed of the end result. With a fixed mindset, we are rigid and unmoving and are more focused on proving ourselves vs improving ourselves.
A fixed mindset is often an initial default position for many of us and it’s not always bad or wrong as our brains are wired to minimise threats and maximise reward. Our brains will always want to move us away from anything that represents a threat and towards what feels comfortable.All of us will also experience a fixed mindset from time to time and that's ok. However, being stuck here means we become stagnant and do not grow. It also means we can reach a plateau and achieve less success than what we are actually capable of.
If you have a fixed mindset you may find yourself:Believing that talent alone creates successPreferring to avoid challenges or problems rather than facing themGiving up more easily, or tending to take the easier optionFeeling as though your efforts don’t make much impact -a sense of this is worthlessWanting to avoid “negative” feedback or useful constructive criticism (may also ignore feedback)Feeling threatened by the success of othersOpting out to avoid failure or embarrassment
The second type of mindset is a Growth mindset.
What is a growth mindset?
A growth mindset is one where we believe that we can improve our abilities and create success by working hard, ongoing practice and learning. With a growth mindset, we decide to take on new challenges even if there may be a risk that we might “fail”. When we have a growth mindset we embrace failure because we know that the end result is always learning from the lessons. A growth mindset is one that has a focus on improving.
If you have a growth mindset you may find yourself:
Having a strong desire to learn
Believing you can improve your abilities
Understanding you can create success by working hard, practising and learning
Taking challenges even with the risk of “failing”
Persisting in the face of setbacks
Wanting to learn from criticism
Embracing “failure” because you know you will receive the learning and lessons from it.
Finding lessons and inspiration in the success of others
The benefits of a growth mindset
Overall a growth mindset leads to higher levels of achievement and it embraces a “not yet’ philosophy.
An example of the not yet philosophy is a high school in Chicago where students had to pass a certain number of courses to graduate, and if they didn’t pass a course, they got the grade “Not Yet.” This meant instead of receiving a failing grade, and thinking “I’m nothing” or I’m not good enough” students were able to understand they were on a learning curve and there was still a path into the future.
The not yet philosophy is powerful because how we word things affects our confidence. The words ‘yet’ or ‘not yet,’ can give us greater confidence as well as a path into the future that creates greater persistence. In short, We can change our mindsets.
In one study Dweck gave 10-year-olds problems that were slightly too hard for them. The results were interesting. Some of the children reacted positively and said things like, “I love a challenge,” or, “You know, I was hoping this would be informative.” They understood that their abilities could be developed. They had a growth mindset!
Other students didn’t respond positively, for them it was catastrophic. They had a more fixed mindset. They felt as though their intelligence had been up for judgment and they failed. Instead of the power of yet, they were gripped in the rigidity of now.
In another study, the students said they would probably cheat the next time instead of studying more if they failed a test. whilst another study showed that after a failure, students looked for someone who did worse than they did so they could feel good about themselves. Study after study, the evidence shows us that those with more fixed mindsets run from difficulty or challenge.
Scientists also measured the electrical activity from the brain as students confronted errors. What this showed, was that students with a more fixed mindset had hardly any activity as they ran from error and didn’t engage with it.
However, students orientated to a growth mindset, who believed that their abilities could be developed, engaged more fully. Their brain was on fire with yet! This was because they engaged in the learning, confronted and processed the error and chose to learn from it and correct it.
Developing a growth mindset
Because our mindsets are mostly unconscious, changing a fixed mindset and embodying a growth mindset starts with self-awareness. Remember, it is possible to change a fixed mindset by focusing on learning the thoughts, behaviours and actions required to move from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset.
Growth mindset key points:
Focus on embracing learning and improving
None of us are in a growth mindset 100% of the time
The more you embrace and embody a growth mindset the more you will rewire new habits and patterns in your brain
When you come up against your fixed mindset, acknowledge it, accept it and reframe it to something new Eg “ Were doing something different this time, and we are getting started.”
Having someone to help you continue to develop this mindset is also a great way to speed up the process of developing a growth mindset as well as work through any resistances to change you might come up against. A growth mindset can be developed over time and with repetition. Just like any muscle, we need to practice using it consistently over time to strengthen it.
I hope you have enjoyed this blog if you are looking for some support in developing a growth mindset and creating long term sustainable change you can book a session with me HERE.
Natajsa is a Clinical Psychotherapist with a private practice is based in Ashgrove, Brisbane. She provides psychotherapy and counselling to individuals and couples and facilitates fortnightly group therapy focused on interpersonal process. Natajsa believe's that the relationship we have with ourselves and others is the essential ingredient to our emotional health, happiness and wellbeing.
As a Gestalt therapist she is interested in the topics of connection, belonging and the importance of human relationships. Her focus is on helping people develop self-awareness and understanding of their challenges, so they can create long-term, sustainable change that leads to more fulfilling and meaningful lives. Natajsa has been featured as an expert both locally and internationally and has contributed to a number of print and online media outlets including Women's Health and Fitness Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine, Being Magazine, The Courier Mail, ABC Online and many others. You can find her online at:
www.natajsawagner.com
www.facebook.com/NatajsaWagnerPsychotherapy