Since birth, it is engraved into our heads that we should get good grades in school and eventually further our education by obtaining a college degree. That is typical. Many of us, including myself, are living up to that expectation by being enrolled in college, but by no means are we all primarily focused on our intelligence levels.
As a human, we are classified under two specific mindsets: fixed mindset or growth mindset. A fixed mindset can be described as someone who believes they are who they are and they cannot change. A person with a fixed mindset often gives up. They don't see hope in situations.
A growth mindset would be the complete opposite, meaning you are someone who believes you can improve with effort. You are able to shape yourself into the person you would like to become based on your positive attitude and effort.
Although education is the key to ultimate success, you must have a positive attitude and the effort to make accomplishments. In the workplace, especially, they're more concerned about how positive you are, your effort to complete tasks, and your effort to collaborate with colleagues.
That college degree may place you higher on the list of potential hires, but social skills, effort, and attitude outweigh that degree that costs you thousands of dollars. The deciding factor is how you handle setbacks and challenges.
Regardless of which category you may fall under, there is always time to change and develop yourself to have a growth mindset. The following strategies can be followed to make yourself fully aware that you are as growth-oriented as possible.
1. Don't stay helpless.
We all reach those moments where we feel helpless, but the real test is how we recover from that feeling. We have two choices: accept the hopelessness and quit, or fight to return. When in doubt, think of the major names out there.
Henry Ford failed twice before succeeding with Ford. Walt Disney was fired from his job at Kansas City Star because his editor thought he lacked imagination and didn't have any good ideas. Imagine if these people were to accept that and quit. We wouldn't have Ford cars or Walt Disney World.
When they felt hopeless is when they began to rise.
2. Be passionate.
What you lack for in talent, you can make up for in passion. If you have a passion for something, you can succeed in all areas. Even if someone may seem better than you in talent, don't let that discourage you.
Most times, the most talented people lack passion. They choose to continue doing whatever they're good at simply because they're good at it. Those are the people who are afraid of failure.
3. Take action.
It's not that people with a growth mindset are naturally better at overcoming fears and the feeling of paralysis after failing; they just know how to take action. Someone who has a growth mindset is self-empowered. They are high on confidence, never cocky.
To overcome their fears and avoiding that feeling of paralysis, they use to take that in and come back stronger than ever. They use that fear and failure to better themselves. Why wait? Taking action means guaranteed constant energy.
4. Expect positive results.
Knowing that failure may be an outcome will keep you humble, but always expect positive results. The more positive you are, the more positive the outcome will be. If the results aren't what you expected, that will immediately motivate you to do better and continue the cycle of empowerment.
5. Don't complain.
Complaining is the number one sign of someone who has a fixed mindset. Be the person to realize what went wrong, and change. Someone with a growth mindset looks for opportunity in everything, even failures.
Success in life is all about how you deal with failure. Having a positive attitude and effort will get you farther than the person with the degree with little to no social skills.
