Carol Dweck, a researcher from Stanford University, established two learning theories; a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.
A fixed mindset is a state in which a person believes that they have unalterable traits and qualities. Essentially, if you have a fixed mindset, you acknowledge your talents but you don’t believe you can better them.
Contrarily, individuals with a growth mindset have a belief that effort and experiment can greatly improve their talents and abilities. Therefore, such people often put effort into improving themselves and eventually get better.
What are the Negative Impacts of Having a Fixed Mindset?
Yes, it is. This is because a fixed mindset discourages you from making the improvements needed in your life. For instance, if you believe that you can’t improve your ability to learn, you will never improve in that regard. This, in turn, translates into a severe lack of confidence and low self-esteem.
How to Develop a Growth Mindset
Having seen its positive effects, below are some of the methods of developing a growth mindset.
- Embrace your weaknesses – it is important to acknowledge your flaws. Growth mindset enables you to create goals on how to overcome them.
- Accept challenges – even if a task seems difficult, always give it a go. You should consider challenges as new learning opportunities.
- Accept criticism – if somebody identifies a shortcoming in you, take it as a compliment. It also allows you to focus on removing such flaws.
- Learn from others’ mistakes – when you notice a mistake made by others, growth mindset is important to keep it in mind for next time you are in a situation like theirs. This, however, doesn’t mean that you should compare yourself with other people.
- Continuous assessment of yourself – every day, make sure that you take note of the new ideas you have learned. This makes it easier to monitor your progress.
- Don’t focus on approvals – if you worry about the opinions others have on you, you will never improve yourself.
- Focus on the process – instead of emphasizing the end result, enjoy the process you take towards achieving that goal.
- Understanding is better than fast-learning – learning well is better than learning fast.
If you are looking for Growth Mindset training please visit The Mindfulness Academy of Asia (MAA) is a new subsidiary school of The American School of Bangkok, specializing in the teaching and learning of mindfulness in education.
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