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  • There is a psychological trait that all successful people appear to have in common.

  • It's been cosigned by Bill Gates and NASA uses it as a criteria for selecting potential

  • Systems Engineers.

  • This concept is called the growth mindset, a term originally coined by Carol Dweck.

  • People with the growth mindset believe that intelligence or skill, in any field, can be

  • developed through effort.

  • Basically, they believe that anyone can nurture their abilities in anything.

  • The inverse of the growth mindset is the fixed mindset.

  • People with this mindset believe that intelligence and skill are innate: it's something that

  • we're born with.

  • We're either born gifted or not; there is no room for change.

  • Basically, they believe intelligence is fixed from birth.

  • In this essay, we'll explore why the growth mindset is the better one and how we can develop

  • it.

  • So, we talked a little about what the growth mindset is: the belief that intelligence and

  • skill, in any field, can be developed.

  • But, let's also talk about what it's not.

  • It's not magic.

  • It won't help you get everything that you want out of life and it won't make you the

  • next Elon Musk or Steve Jobs.

  • However, it is a very powerful lens with which to see the world and it can improve the probability

  • of your success.

  • All of us are a mixture of both the growth and fixed mindsets.

  • In some areas of our lives, we operate with the growth mindset.

  • In others, we operate with the fixed mindset.

  • Because of this, I want you to think of both mindsets like a pair of glasses.

  • Some people wear the growth glasses more often and others wear the fixed glasses more.

  • However, we all wear both in different situations in our lives.

  • Although, we should all strive to wear the growth ones much more than we wear the fixed

  • ones.

  • But, why?

  • Well, a lot of research seems to suggest that people with the growth mindset are more successful

  • than people with the fixed mindset.

  • For example, a study found that

  • Students who held a growth mindset were three times more likely to score in the top

  • 20% on the test, while students with a fixed mindset were four times more likely to score

  • in the bottom 20%.”

  • Another study found that when 7th graders participated in a growth mindset program,

  • they were able to avoid a drop in grades which usually occurs in middle school.

  • People with the growth mindset are much more resilient which allows them to overcome challenging

  • and difficult situations.

  • Because they prioritize learning over failure, they are unafraid to take risks.

  • They prioritize growing over stagnation.

  • On the other hand, people with the fixed mindset don't want to challenge themselves because

  • they believe talent and intelligence are fixed.

  • They look at failure as an assault on who they are as a person.

  • To them, lack of knowledge is an indicator of stupidity and failure once means failure

  • always.

  • A person with the growth mindset believes that they are always in a state of flux and

  • transformation; so, they don't attach their identity to their results.

  • Instead, they focus on the process of growing and learning.

  • Few people will deny that the growth mindset seems to map nicely onto reality.

  • We know that the brain can continue to learn until the day we die, thanks to the field

  • of neuroscience.

  • It also seems quite intuitive that people must work hard and persevere, despite obstacles,

  • to end up being successful.

  • So, the growth mindset seems to be a much more accurate view of reality than the fixed

  • mindset.

  • People with the growth mindset are living in greater accordance with reality than people

  • with the fixed mindset.

  • They can make truer decisions where as a person with the fixed mindset lives in a greater

  • state of delusion.

  • What do I mean by this?

  • Imagine two entrepreneurs: one has the growth mindset and one has the fixed mindset.

  • They are both in the early stages of their entrepreneurial journey.

  • Suddenly, they both encounter a roadblock and are forced to make a decision.

  • The one with the fixed mindset see's the long and arduous journey ahead of her due

  • to the roadblock.

  • The journey is in the way of what matters to her: the result.

  • She believes that entrepreneurship should come easy to those who are destined for it.

  • She decides to quit.

  • The one with the growth mindset see's the long and arduous journey ahead of her and

  • smiles.

  • The journey is the way for her; the journey is what matters.

  • Taking the role of a student, she accepts the long and arduous path as her teacher.

  • She will allow it to mold her into the person she needs to become, to achieve the results

  • she desires.

  • She decides to persist.

  • When we look at both of these examples, most of us would agree that the entrepreneur with

  • the growth mindset has a greater understanding of reality.

  • Her decision is truer.

  • We know that things take time, effort, and strategy to achieve but it's often difficult

  • to put that kind of thinking in to practice.

  • So, how can we develop the growth mindset?

  • The first key to developing a growth mindset is actually very simple: understanding that

  • it exists and that it's possible for the brain to change.

  • Neuroscience has shown that our brains are not fixed, and, in fact, they are very malleable.

  • We can always grow and learn new skills.

  • For example, a study found that taxicab drivers developed more grey matter in their brains

  • to help them navigate more effectively in large cities.

  • They also found that the amount of grey matter in their brains was correlated with the number

  • of years that they had been working as a taxi driver.

  • This suggests that the act of driving a taxi led to changes in their brains which allowed

  • them to be more effective at their job.

  • The second key is to focus on process over results.

  • Dweck has said that we should praise others for their efforts and their process, rather

  • than praising them for their results.

  • For example, it's better to say,

  • you studied very effectively for that test and your hard work really paid off,”

  • rather than,

  • you're so smart, you got an A!”

  • In the former example, we're focusing in on and praising the student's process which

  • is something that they can control.

  • Hopefully, they'll learn to associate themselves and their results with the process.

  • However, in the latter example we praised the student for a result which is, ultimately,

  • out of their control.

  • Unfortunately, this student will likely begin to associate themselves with the result.

  • I think it's really important to emphasize that it's not easy to pass a growth mindset

  • on to others.

  • It's not as simple as telling someone that they're a hard-worker and that they just

  • need to put in the effort.

  • They need to internalize that they can change their results by changing their process.

  • So, they need to know how to effectively create a process, alter it, and produce results from

  • that process.

  • My solution to this is to keep a journal.

  • Pick an activity that you want to get really good at.

  • For example, let's say that I want to get really good at math.

  • In the journal, I would write down my process for studying mathematics.

  • I would list out the steps and put a quantifiable measurement to as many things as I can.

  • For example, my process might look like this: * review my notes once a day,

  • * do 10 practice problems a day, * read the textbook for 60 minutes a day,

  • * and meet with my professor for 30 minutes a week.

  • So, my process has been solidified and everything has been quantified.

  • Now, I need to designate a result that I'm looking for; I need a target to aim at.

  • Let's say that I'm looking for a grade of 80% or higher on my next exam.

  • When I get my exam mark back, I compare it to my goal.

  • If it's higher, than I know my system works.

  • But, I can still go back and alter parts of it to see if I can do even better.

  • Or, I can try and optimize it.

  • Maybe I can spend less time reading the textbook, and more time doing practice problems.

  • If my grade comes back lower, I definitely need to go back and refine my process.

  • I believe this method of keeping a journal, creating a process, and refining it until

  • the desired outcome is achieved will help promote a growth mindset.

  • It keeps our mind focused on a changeable process.

  • The results are measured and paid attention to only as an indicator of how well our process

  • works.

  • The process either works as intended or it doesn't, but it says nothing of the person.

  • The process is always malleable.

  • It's not that it doesn't work, it just doesn't work yet.

  • I think another good idea is to seek advice from peers and teachers.

  • Look for those in the same position as you or those who have already done what you're

  • trying to do.

  • Ask them about their process and see how your's measures up.

  • You might find things that they do, or have done, that you would like to adopt into your

  • process.

  • Read books about people you admire.

  • Try to find details about their process that you can incorporate into your own.

  • Lastly, do challenging things.

  • To even have a chance of fostering the growth mindset, you have to step outside of your

  • comfort zone.

  • People who don't leave their comfort zone begin to believe that their success is due

  • to innate talent, because everything comes so easy to them.

  • For example, a student who is never challenged in school will begin to believe that they

  • are innately smart.

  • “I get A's, therefore I'm smartthey might say.

  • The result comes so easy to them that they don't even think about the process.

  • Unfortunately, all they see is the result and they get attached to that.

  • When they, inevitably, get a bad grade they will think that they're dumb.

  • They lose faith in themselves because they didn't get the result that they're used

  • to receiving so easily.

  • On the other hand, going outside of your comfort zone forces you to adopt the growth mindset

  • to avoid shattering under the weight of adversity.

  • You have to focus on and adjust the process, because you can't possibly achieve the result

  • you desire with your current process.

  • By definition, that's what it means to step out of your comfort zone.

  • So, now you know about the growth mindset, why it's important, and some ideas on how

  • to develop it.

  • Keep in mind that it takes a lot of effort to develop and that it'll always be a battle

  • to avoid falling into the fixed mindset.

  • People will say certain things, or things will happen, that trigger a fixed mindset

  • in us.

  • It's important to notice when this is happening and try to avoid getting fixed in place.

  • I'd like to close out with this quote from Carol Dweck,

  • the path to a growth mindset is a [lifelong] journey, not

  • a proclamation.

There is a psychological trait that all successful people appear to have in common.

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