It wasn’t until I stepped on this book Mindset written by Carol Dweck, renowned Psychologist, I realized that I was operating from a limited belief system my whole life. I wasn’t aware of the term what a limited belief system or fixed mindset meant. Growth mindset is foundational skill that needs to be seeded as a child. I wish I had known about growth mindset as a kid. I am glad, world is slowly embracing it.
I am not so good at singing, there is no use of pursuing it – Giving up before trying my very best
I ‘m afraid of public speaking, I’m not good at it, I ‘m going to avoid it. – fear of moving out of comfort zones
Of course anyone would say, that is what makes your personality. Yes this surely defined me, holding a limited belief system unconsciously. Carol Dweck explains that a person’s constant fear of judgement stems from the core belief people have about them self or people around them. That is everyone is born with a set amount of intelligence and cannot process beyond their intellectual capacity. This is called a fixed mindset. Carol studied such patterns over and over again in her research and found that most candidates who got high grades in their childhood didn’t fare well when they grew up and faced competition. They gave up and started to believe they weren’t enough. Some of them who did well in life did not believe talent and intelligence are gifts we are born with. They believed with the right strategy and effort, we can acquire any skill. They are not afraid of trying new things, making mistakes or getting out of comfort zones. They are not worried about what people will say if they make a mistake. This is referred to as the Growth mindset.
Science has proven that regardless of how old you are, you can change your brain, speed up the circuitry in the brain or rewire the brain to increase performance.
Here are few suggestions how you can make the shift to growth mindset.
Instead of saying I’m not good at this ; Say: I’m not good at this yet.
I’m afraid of failing; Say: Failures make be learn better
It’s too hard; Say: It will get easy with practice
They are smarter than me; Say: I can learn from them
I can’t make this any better; Say: Is this my best?
Every time you face with an obstacle, pause and ask yourself whether you are operating from a growth mindset? If no, shift into growth mindset mode. Slowly with practice you will be able to execute in growth mindset without a thought.
Having understood the downside of holding myself back, I started slowly challenging myself and trying new stuff which I would otherwise avoid. Shifting into a growth mindset, expanded my learning and trust to do better, persevere and not fear failures. I would urge you all to please keep a watch on your children’s mindset and tap in before it’s too late. Growth mindset is super essential and should be cultivated during the early years of the child’s development.
Hope you found this article interesting. You can also watch this on YouTube channel TLVTALKS. Please subscribe to support the channel. Also you may like to watch Carol Dweck on how to develop growth mindset.
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