{"id":96945,"date":"2023-03-27T16:33:07","date_gmt":"2023-03-27T20:33:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=96945"},"modified":"2026-01-21T16:40:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T20:40:00","slug":"developing-a-growth-mindset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/developing-a-growth-mindset\/","title":{"rendered":"Developing a Growth Mindset: 4 Ways to Excel and Thrive"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Do you believe you\u2019re incapable of growth? What\u2019s the difference between a fixed and a growth mindset<\/a>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you\u2019ve gotten older, you\u2019ve probably discovered certain abilities that you excel at and ones you struggle with. But this doesn\u2019t mean that you\u2019re stuck with what you have. A growth mindset helps you improve by embracing challenges and learning new things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s look at what a growth mindset is and four ways that developing a growth mindset<\/a> can be a smooth process for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to Mindset<\/em><\/a> by Carol S. Dweck, you typically live by either a fixed mindset<\/a> or a growth mindset, which shapes how you learn<\/a>, cope with setbacks, and relate to others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you have a fixed mindset<\/strong>, you believe your abilities are unchangeable. You were born with certain traits and a certain amount of intelligence and that\u2019s that. Many people are trained in this mindset from an early age\u2014for instance, by a teacher who believed your IQ determines everything: You\u2019re either smart or you\u2019re not, and you can learn or you can\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you view your abilities as unchangeable, you feel you must constantly prove yourself. If people get only a set amount of intelligence and a certain character, you want to prove you have a lot, although you secretly worry you were shortchanged. You don’t want to look unintelligent or fail. You feel you\u2019re being judged or rated in every situation and must measure up. Children inculcated with this mindset often fear losing their parents\u2019 or teachers\u2019 approval and love if they fail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you have a growth mindset<\/strong>, you believe the abilities you\u2019re born with are a starting point you can build on with hard work, persistence, and the right learning strategies<\/a>. You have a passion for learning, welcome mistakes as opportunities to learn, and seek challenges so you can stretch. You also have a greater ability to survive difficult times. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The author first encountered the growth mindset<\/a> as a young researcher while studying how children coped with failure. She gave kids a series of puzzles to solve, progressing from easy to difficult ones. She was surprised to find that some children loved attempting the hard puzzles, relishing the challenge and opportunity to become smarter. Until then, the author had viewed intelligence and problem-solving as fixed abilities, but watching kids learn from failure<\/a> changed her mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believing in the ability to learn and grow doesn\u2019t mean believing anyone can become an Einstein or believing anyone can do anything they aspire to if they apply enough effort. But the growth mindset recognizes that you can\u2019t predict someone\u2019s potential or how far their passion, work, and learning can take them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to Develop a Growth Mindset<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important to know that, even if you have a fixed mindset now, you can learn<\/em> the growth mindset, which can transform many aspects of your life. Below we\u2019ll look at four ways to develop a growth mindset<\/a>, from admitting you have a fixed mindset to staying hopeful and optimistic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Admit You Have a Fixed Mindset<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Often, just learning about the two mindsets<\/a> and how they affect you can prompt change. However, completely developing a growth mindset takes time. The fixed mindset hangs around, competing with the growth-oriented ways of thinking that you\u2019re trying to adopt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your fixed mindset beliefs about being smart, ambitious, superior, and super-competent may be your source of self-esteem. This makes it difficult to give them up for more challenging ideas about developing yourself<\/a> through effort, taking on challenges, making mistakes, and learning through constructive criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You may temporarily feel that you\u2019re losing your sense of who you are. But the growth mindset ultimately frees you from constantly judging yourself so you can be authentic<\/a> and explore your full potential.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing a growth mindset is a journey. You don\u2019t get there all at once\u2014you have to take one step at a time<\/a>. The first big step is recognizing that you have a fixed mindset, according to Mindset<\/em><\/a>. Here are the steps to doing so:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1) Accept having a fixed mindset<\/strong>. Even when you\u2019re on a path to growth, you have lingering fixed-mindset beliefs. Everyone has a mix of fixed and growth-oriented beliefs. You can accept this reality without accepting the negatives a fixed mindset causes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2) Learn what prompts your fixed mindset<\/strong>. When is your fixed-mindset persona likely to materialize? It might be when you take on a challenge, when you face obstacles or fail at something, or when a friend or colleague achieves something you envy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3) Name your fixed-mindset persona.<\/strong> This can help you identify when you\u2019re acting with a fixed mindset and remind you that\u2019s not who you want to be<\/a>. Pay attention to what happens with this persona is triggered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4) Confront your fixed mindset<\/strong>. When your fixed mindset materializes, have an imaginary conversation with it. For instance, if you\u2019re about to take on a new challenge, your fixed-mindset way of thinking may prompt you to worry about failure and want to quit. However, you can be ready to counter these beliefs when they come up by reminding yourself that risk is inherent in growth and that failures are opportunities to learn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Learn From Failure<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Mindset drives how people define and cope with failure<\/a>. For people with a fixed mindset, failure is an identity<\/em> that they fear and try to avoid rather than something that happens<\/em>. Failure is hard for growth-minded people, too, but they don\u2019t let it define them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the core of Matthew Syed\u2019s argument about developing a growth mindset in Black Box Thinking<\/em><\/a>: As an individual, you can improve only by learning from your failures<\/a>. <\/strong>On the flip side, neglecting to learn from mistakes<\/a> means that you can\u2019t improve. For example, a dancer who takes every mistake as a chance to grow will get better, while a dancer who ignores or denies her errors will remain static.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This also applies on the institutional level: Organizations that learn from failures iron out systemic flaws and improve their performance<\/strong>. Organizations that ignore their mistakes will continue to make them, risking stagnation or worse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From here, Syed argues that we need to spread failure-based learning throughout modern society<\/strong>. Progress\u2014our ability to develop<\/em> our knowledge, our societies, or our technology\u2014is a hallmark of human civilization. We develop by learning from failure. But, so long as such major institutions neglect this opportunity, we won\u2019t progress as smoothly<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

View Failure as Beneficial<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

According to Syed, learning from your mistakes<\/a> starts with changing how you think about failure<\/strong>. By reframing failure<\/a> as positive and beneficial, you can overcome the fear of erring and start learning from mistakes<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syed argues that having a fixed mindset correlates with fragile self-esteem. Because failure could reveal your inadequacies, you\u2019ll avoid it for fear of looking foolish or incapable. Regarding failure, people with a fixed mindset are threatened by failure and do everything they can to avoid it because they see it as a reflection of their self-worth.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In contrast, having a growth mindset means you understand that errors are intrinsic to learning. <\/strong>So you\u2019ll regard difficulties, like a challenging work project or struggling relationship, as chances to learn. Regarding failure, people with a growth mindset believe failure is to be expected, and it\u2019s a tool to be used.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Seek Feedback<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s one thing to observe your own mistakes and own up to them, but it\u2019s another for other people to point out your mistakes for you. Sometimes, we put on rose-colored glasses for ourselves. We don\u2019t want to see certain things that need to be improved. That\u2019s why, in their book Thanks for the Feedback<\/em><\/a>, Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen say we need unbiased outsiders to give us feedback to develop a growth mindset.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When seeking feedback<\/a>, be clear about whether you\u2019re looking for advice, assessment, or appreciation. This will prevent you from getting frustrated or discouraged if you receive the wrong type.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how objective a giver of feedback tries to be, there\u2019s always an inherent element of judgment and interpretation. But, as much as we may value objectivity and strive for it when giving feedback, total objectivity is not actually the goal. Proper judgments and interpretations are what move us forward toward improvement. People who are skilled at giving feedback are valuable precisely because<\/em> their judgments are sound. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The goal of understanding feedback<\/a> is not to eliminate judgments but to understand them so that you can discuss them:<\/strong> Why is this<\/em> more important? Why was that<\/em> excluded? Is coming in just above projections good, or should you have greatly exceeded it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary difficulty when we receive feedback is that it triggers emotional responses that cloud our judgment and prevent us from properly comprehending the feedback. Gaining control of your emotions involves fully understanding the triggers that produce them.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTriggers\u201d are instinctive and usually negative knee-jerk responses that can cause you to dismiss feedback or get angry about it. But there are ways to control these triggers so you can apply the feedback and grow as a person: finding your blind spots and looking for differences<\/em> instead of \u201cwrongs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find Your Blind Spots and Tells<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A \u201cblind spot\u201d is something we ignore or attribute little importance to but that other people see clearly. When people give us feedback about a trait we\u2019re blind to, we dismiss it as untrue. Recognizing our blind spots can prevent this. <\/strong>There are different categories of blind spots:<\/p>\n\n\n\n